There are numerous superstars on the roster of WWE, and the future of the stars is solely dependent on the push they get from the company. Different superstars have different requirements, such as more in-ring time, a good gimmick, a decent storyline and more. Hence, even self-made wrestlers need support from the promotion, and in pro-wrestling terms, we call it push. But sometimes, things don’t work in the favour of the promotion as well as the wrestler. So, let’s take a look at the 10 superstars WWE pushed too hard.
The 10 superstars WWE pushed Way Too Much
10. Curtis Axel
Vince McMahon loved rebranding past superstars and one of them was Michael Mcgillicutty turned into Curtis Axel. But the push was so loud that Axel started his rebranded career with wins over John Cena and Triple H. Axel also got his hands on the Intercontinental Championship quickly. But his character also lacked connection with the audience, even after being a heel.
9. Chris Masters
Chris Masters made his debut in the promotion in early 2005. He has highly muscular in addition to his confidence. Hence, it was clear that he was going to get a huge push from Mr McMahon. Masters also started a Masterlock challenge, where he used put other wrestlers and even people from the audience in his lock. He was on a winning streak until Shawn Michaels walked victorious at 2005 Unforgiven. Afterwards, Chris Masters lost his relevance.
8. Ahmed Johnson
WWE was looking for the face of the company in 1995 because of Diesel’s miserable run as the top champion of the company. Following that, Vince McMahon thought that Ahmed Johnson was the one. But his push never actually took place, as he was super sloppy in the ring and then, injuries ended his career.
7. Jack Swagger
Around 2007-08, Christian was the face of ECW and during that time, Jack Swagger made his debut in the company. Then, he quickly became the ECW Champion. After dropping the title, he was shifted to the main roster where he won the Money in the Bank. He later cashed that on Chris Jericho to win the World Heavyweight Championship but his run was considered a flop.
6. The Great Khali
From Andre The Giant to The Big Show, WWE has also been dependent on a giant. Hence, Vince McMahon thought that the Great Khali will be the one who’ll play the top heel. After just one month of making his debut in the company, the Punjabi Playboy was in the ring at a pay-per-view with The Undertaker. The main problem with him was the lack of connection with the audience.
5. Mabel
Mabel made his debut as a member of the tag team, Man on a Mission. The team was doing good until 1995 when Mabel went on to pursue his singles career. To everyone’s surprise, he quickly became the King of the Ring. And from there, he injured a number of opponents and gave several terrible matches.
4. Ryback
Another rebranding took place when Skip Sheffield was presented as Ryback. In a couple of months, we were battling then-WWE Champion, CM Punk for the title. Surprisingly, he also replaced John Cena as Punk’s opponent in Hell in the Cell. However, Ryback’s pro-wrestling career was full of botches.
3. Randy Orton
In 2004, Randy Orton won the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam. He was doing great work in the company, but WWE made a huge mistake of turning babyface. Following that, he was in a feud with Evolution. And that looked too forced him. Also, the audience was not able to make peace with him.
2. Roman Reigns
After the Shield got disbanded in 2014, Roman Reigns got into a direct feud with the authority. While Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose were in a feud together, Roman Reigns took over Randy Orton and John Cena. Vince McMahon wanted him to be the face of the company, and we also saw him winning the 2015 Royal Rumble with hatred. Hence, his babyface push failed badly.
1. Jinder Mahal
Jinder Mahal winning the WWE championship was surely an experiment by the promotion, that failed. The audience always saw him as a mid-card star or a jobber. But Mahal suddenly winning the WWE championship made the title lose a bit of its credibility. However, the run is regarded as one of the biggest flops.
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