Shoulda Been A Champ? (WWE 2010-2020)

MynamesColm · 31-08-2020 2:37pm #1

So I've often seen articles and discussions about who the best wrestler to never be a world champion was.

Usually these discussions are dominated with names from the 80s and 90s (Owen Hart, Ted DiBiase, Jake Roberts, Scot Hall, etc). But ... limiting the conversation to wrestlers in WWE over the last ten years, who do you think was good enough to be given a chance with one of the WWE top titles (WWE Title, Universal, World Heavyweight)? Maybe it's Cody Rhodes, Wade Barrett, or even Ryback?!

Personally I was a big fan of Cesaro's over the years, and he seemed to be at many times very over! When he was wrestling as part of the Real Americans people were practically salivating at the thoughts of him in the mix for the top titles (that's my memory at least).

riffmongous · 31-08-2020 3:08pm

Good idea for a thread

I think first you have to make a distinction between those who could have been a champ based off of their long term potential and those who were never good enough to carry a brand but could have been champ in the short term. In the later category I definitely think you could include Ryback, he was very popular at the time and they should have capitalised on it because when they didn't, they killed the character completely.

Then you've got the guys like Caesaro, Rusev, Big E who had potential but never the creative backing that would have allowed them to get on a roll and get a title and really show what they could do. Rusev and Big E could definitely have been the top heels on a brand imo, but guys are great wrestlers who can connect with the fans. I liked Caesaro a lot too but I think he'd still need either a specific gimmick or a guy like Colter to talk for him

chopperbyrne · 31-08-2020 7:48pm

Barrett should have been champion.

Ryback should have been champion, but after a longer streak. He got the title match way too soon.

Kofi should have been champion during his first run against Orton, but he made one mistake in the finish of a match ("Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!") and his push ended.

CastorTroy · 31-08-2020 8:49pm

I'm sure some of the women would qualify.

Others could've won a title in NXT based on talent or popularity but were always pushed aside or called up before their chance.
Like Tyler Breeze only won his first title last week and it was the NXT tag title

JP Liz V1 · 31-08-2020 8:55pm

I think Christian deserved a few world title reigns

Barrett and Cesaro for sure

I think Tyson Kidd also

Bo if pushed right could have been bigger than Bray

Coybig_ · 31-08-2020 9:05pm

1. They could have given it to Santino at Elimination Chamber. The crowd was begging for it and they should have just called an audible. Given what they ended up doing with Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania, there was no reason not to. Although the "Yes Movement" probably started the night after Wrestlemania that year.

2. Mark Henry 100 percent should have beaten John Cena when he did the retirement angle.

3. I feel like they should have given the belt to Sting when Rollins beat him, it would have been a better storyline for Rollins to lose both belts and try to get them both back I think. Think Sting deserved it too for having to lose to Triple H at Mania and it only had to be for a month.

Agent Coulson · 31-08-2020 9:23pm

Mr. Kennedy

RocketRaccoon · 31-08-2020 9:27pm

Sandow, 100%

PTH2009 · 31-08-2020 10:38pm

Shane McMahon, Oh wait he was given the best in the world trophy

Wade Barrett should of been champion and become the top British star but sadly never came for him. Quite possible he could return full time

A bit before 2010-2020 but my god Sean O'Haire was a wasted talent. He had the look of a top star and very good in the ring. Sadly addiction took over his life and he passed away in 2014

MynamesColm · 01-09-2020 5:11pm

RocketRaccoon wrote: »

Sandow, 100%

Sandow was great craic. Even after he left WWE I expected him to be big somewhere, but seems to have just bounced around Impact, NWA, and the indies.

sky88 · 01-09-2020 5:40pm

wade and rusev 100% are ones that instantly come to mind

then theres ones like Kenndey and Carlito who i thought at the time should have been champ but thinking back i think them not being champ was the right move

Lithium93_ · 01-09-2020 5:52pm

R-Truth, when he had his crackpot conspiracy/Little Jimmy phase in 2011. Should've beaten Cena for the WWE Championship at Capitol Punishment.

CastorTroy · 01-09-2020 6:54pm

Well now Truth must be one the most decorated people in the history of the company. He's a 39 time champion

The White Wolf · 01-09-2020 9:40pm

The beef I would have is that in the last decade, they've handed the title around too much and it made not one of them a star or put them on the next level. Owens, Rollins, Ambrose, Balor, Reigns, Bryan all got over yet the title itself played a miniscule role in same for all of them.

The best run of the decade was Punk's, but even that was overshadowed by the Rock and Cena's feud.

Nakamura really should of come out of the AJ feud as champion for his heel work. Ditto Samoa Joe. Both of them head scratchers.

Ekerot · 02-09-2020 6:59pm

It's weird to this back now of an entire generation of wrestlers being killed off/wiped out by burials/non pushes/joke character acts etc around the 2008-2012 mark.

Mr Kennedy, John Morrison, MVP, Lashley, Rhodes and Dibase JR, the list goes on if I could remember more of them.

They should've been like in the period where Jeff Hardy and Edge moved further up the card into the Main Event, working with the newer guys right now like Rollins and Nakamura, but instead they just faded out entirely.
Some of them went on to better pastures like Cody and a few came back like MVP and Lashley, but it just felt like Vince squandered it all.

Who would've thought though that Miz would've have the best career out of any of those guys back in 2009?

B.A._Baracus · 03-09-2020 10:36am

It's a thread like this that shows how extremely hard and unlikely you are to get anywhere near the top in WWE.

It's funny as there has been a lot of guys over the years that surely would have been a success if given a chance and or booked right.

Can't help but think what Crash Holly said in a shoot interview before he died (paraphrasing here) "I've got this toy (he does holding an action figure type gesture) I'm gonna play with this toy now. Then another toy comes along and this is my new toy. I don't care about the other toy now"

Shoulda Been A Champ? (WWE 2010-2020)

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