2. Shelton Benjamin
Another former NCAA Division 1 wrestling stud, Shelton Benjamin began his pro career in OVW as one half of the Minnesota Stretching Crew with Brock Lesnar. He had unparalleled athletic gifts and quickly made an impression on WWE's talent evaluators. He debuted on the main roster as part of Kurt Angle's Team Angle alongside Charlie Haas. They had fantastic matches with Edge, Chris Benoit, Rhyno and Los Guerreros among others and were an essential part of the tag team roster. The team was dissolved after Benjamin was drafted to Raw where he immediately made a huge impact with a clean win over Triple H. He continued his string of great performances against the like of Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, and Shawn Michaels. WWE decided to grant him the much-desired losing streak gimmick which always (NEVER) gets someone over. For added motivation, they began having his mother accompany him to his matches. Note to wrestling creative personnel: "Mommas" never, ever work. It didn't help Shelton, it didn't help Buff Bagwell, and it won't ever help anyone. Please stop doing it. Following Momma Benjamin's "heart surgery" Shelton had a heart-stopping spot in the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 22 and seemed to be back on track. He bounced around from Raw to ECW to SmackDown! with no real direction before being released as part of a talent purge in 2010. He's since been a consistent performer for Ring Of Honor and New Japan while continuing to show his ability to put on great matches with just about anyone. Whenever discussions arise of wrestlers WWE missed the boat on, Shelton Benjamin's name is always near the top of the list.