WWE: 15 Wrestlers Who Should Have Been Top Guys

14. Brian Pillman

If there's one thing wrestling fans and detractors can agree on, it's that wrestling is a work. A fan will tell you, "Of course. That's the point." A non-fan will say, "I don't want to watch fake stuff. Put on American Idol." That's why the infamous Brian Pillman/Steve Austin "gun angle" was so disturbing. It was an eye-roller, to be sure, a desperate attempt to get some attention away from then-ratings champ WCW. It was only unprecedented in the sense that it hadn't happened in wrestling. Bad guys have been brandishing firearms onscreen since "The Great Train Robbery." It was only a matter of time before a gun became a storytelling device on a wrestling show. Even so, the USA Network was livid after the incident, and it undoubtedly affected Pillman's career afterward. Austin went on to unprecedented heights of popularity. Pillman wound up wearing a dress. It was a sign that the writers had run out of things to do with the "Loose Cannon" character. He died of heart disease in 1997, an unfortunate loss of a great talent.