9 Wrestlers Who Could Have Been WWE Champion In The 1990s

At the start of the Monday Night Wars, both the WWF and WCW were eager to reach through the battle lines and snatch up the others' talent. One performer Vince McMahon became fixated on was Marc Mero, who in WCW got over big as Johnny B. Badd: a flamboyant pastiche of Little Richard.

In recent interviews, Mero has discussed how enamored Vince was with him and his persona, and claims that McMahon was contemplating putting the eagle on him early in his run.

However, Marc Mero's run was a nightmarish cocktail of bad circumstances. For starters, Johnny B. Badd was a WCW trademark. That meant Mero had to craft his persona, the USP that earned Vince's interest, entirely from scratch. Then, less than a year into his run, he suffered a knee injury, and during the time he spent healing, his wife Rena (then known as Sable) took off and became more popular. By the time Mero returned to action in late 1997, he had neither the support of the fans nor the company. A heel turn ensued, and he would slide lower and lower on the totem pole until he was jobbing to Duane Gill and his own wife.

Perhaps is the cosmos were kinder to Marc Mero, he may well have been Vince McMahon's next golden boy.