Failed Potential

[franticloser]

So iMPACT!+ is running a free month promotion, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I never had a chance to watch the weekly PPVs and so I started watching from the beginning. Watching a lot of these early 2000 shows is a bit of a nostalgia trip but also brought up that a lot of these guys who we may have thought where going to be stars but for what every reason never got off the ground. So, I though it might be fun to see who everyone thought was going to be a star but for whatever reason they never made it. Or maybe vice versa, people you never thought where going to amount to much and became huge later one.

I'll throw a few names out there.

 

Chris Harris - Looking back at the early AMW days Chris Harris looked like a future star, he had a great look, charisma, and could go in the ring. While James Storm looked like a goof with his toy guns and babyface. But for whatever reason once he signed on with the WWE he lost motivation got out of shape and never fulfilled his potential.

 

James Storm - Speaking of, Storm should have been given more then a one day run with the World title, once he matured a bit he had everything you want in a champion. But TNA never gave him a shot, and he chose to not sign on with NXT. Maybe he can get a run with the NWA World title now before he retires.

 

Sonny Siaka - This guy had a great look and was decent in the ring. I remember seeing him compared to The Rock a bit. He seemed like he was on the right track but he got cut from FCW and then retired shortly after. (Seems like someone who if he came a long a few years later would have thrived.)

 

Alex Wright - I never got why Wright didn't catch on more some where. WCW I can see with the politics (Duggan refusing to sell for Berlyn kind of sank that right away) But he was good looking, supremely talented in ring, and while not the biggest guy he wasn't small by any means. Someone else who I think if they debuted in the early 2000s or even in the last ten years, could be huge. But after WCW folded he didn't get picked up by WWF and mainly has stayed in Germany ever since.

 

Erick Stevens and Brent Albright - I'll lump these two together to round off today. They both had great looks, Brent Albright was from what I remember a beast in the ring, Stevens was no slouch either. But after their ROH runs ended they kind of just faded away.

[MrSelfDestruct]

Mordecai; should have feuded with Taker and made a big impact but for whatever reason was scrapped and came back later as Kevin Thorn.. which was mildly successful but I always thought the guy was better than given credit for.

 

A-Train, though he bounced around, his Japanese runs showed he could be taken seriously and achieve big things, easily could have won a WWE title at one point or the US/Intercontinental beyond his post-invasion title run. Underrated big man that was a big, nasty heel that always seemed to be a lackey.. Maybe a mouthpiece would have helped.

 

Agreed on Sonny Siaki, he had a good look and stood out to me early on, but never seemed his heart was fully in it.

 

Ultimo Dragon in WWE..

 

Steve Corino; guy would have been amazing in a WWE ring in the Ruthless Aggression era..

[Jaysin]

Sean O’Haire

Elijah Burke

[franticloser]

Ultimo Dragon would have been great in the current roster!

 

Sean O'Haire unfortunately became his own worst enemy I was a huge mark for him during his WCW run though.

 

On that Mark Jindrak should have done more, he turned into a great worker during his CMLL/AAA runs and I'm surprised he never caught on with TNA or something.

[cappyboy]

 

On that Mark Jindrak should have done more, he turned into a great worker during his CMLL/AAA runs and I'm surprised he never caught on with TNA or something.

 

I hear this a lot from folks who have followed lucha and one question always jumps in my head. Did he do the Reflection of Perfection gimmick too soon? Might it have been more credible that Jindrak was the perfect model of a wrestler if he'd had the skills to go with the look a la Curt Hennig? We'll never know of course. But I wonder every time Jindrak's sojourn in Mexico is discussed.