10 Wrestlers WWE Gave Up On Too Quickly

From Damien Sandow and Ultimo Dragon to Mordecai and Kaval, these are 10 Wrestlers WWE Gave Up On Too Quickly.
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Cultaholic provides video coverage of professional wrestling - including WWE (including WWE Raw, WWE SmackDown,, and NXT), AEW, IMPACT Wrestling (formerly TNA), NJPW, ROH, and more with daily news updates, reviews, lists, highlights, predictions, reactions, podcasts and much, much more.

[@user-dp6cw9po5k]

R.I.P. Shad Gaspard.😢

[@goof_yo]

R.I.P., my Condolences to His Family 🙏🙏🙏💚💚💚

[@random__itch]

Died saving his own son. A true heroes death. He has a seat at the table now. 👍🏻

[@karlymarxy909]

Potential, still didn't get big! Vince is racist. Period. Cryme Tyme was the one of the most racist groups created by Vince, just imagine Kofi and Xavier doing the same today? He deserved better!

[@RandyJ85]

​@@random__itchheart wrenching story 😢

[@zanethind]

Rip

[@MrPompey666]

Damien was a personal favourite of mine. Being a stunt double for Miz was class. Was definitely a great comedy character. Not saying he would have been world champion. But the respect that R-Truth gets now. That could of been Damien or even santino for that matter

[@rx-105xigundam2]

I really love the Mordecai gimmick despite Kevin Fertig's very short run of it in WWE.

[@claymathewselevator8121]

Same

[@Krow_YTAOS]

Mordecai had so much potential, it's a shame it never lasted

[@nicholaschristie8699]

For Kizarny, knowing that the idea came from Vince himself, that should have been a red flag right from the start because Vince, especially in his later years, had almost no good ideas and was idiotic enough to just give up on them and blame the performer for it not working because it is always someone else's fault, never his (that is what he thinks I mean).

[@GenericCoyote]

Damien Sandow was genuinely brilliant. His promos were hilarious

[@aaronhurst4379]

Maven now has a KZbin channel detailing his WWE experiences, which I highly recommend to anyone wanting to learn more about the ins and outs of the biz from an ex-pro wrestler's perspective

[@patrickdare5356]

I especially like that he recognizes the things that he did wrong that contributed to his lack of extended success.

[@aaronhurst4379]

@patrickdare5356 Absolutely, it's so refreshing as well as being (I'd imagine) quite hard to do considering much of that entails revisiting his past demons

[@MarkieDood]

Honestly several of the Nexus boys could have made this list, but Wade Barrett especially. That man SHOULD have been one of WWE's biggest stars of the 2010s.

[@eddiebrooks2510]

"Potato gene snitzky" maven deserved a title push based on that alone

[@ScumdogLuke]

It's kinda funny how they mentioned Sandow being the first to lose their MITB match. Funny because John Cena was the first to lose it the year prior

[@optimus2008]

That's how much WWE wanted to give up on Sandow. Geez. Convenient for them to put all the blame on Cena.

[@joekoe97]

Cena didn't lose. He won by dq when Big Show interferred, so was the first to not have a successful cash in.

[@VorpalBender]

I can proudly say that I was there for Kizarny's debut match in the IZOD Center in New Jersey (one of his two matches in WWE). To this day I'm still upset that they gave up on his character so quickly.

[@joekoe97]

I honestly think a character like that could work if done the right way.

[@nu-metalfan2654]

* Mordecai/Kevin Thorn * Sean O’Haire (should’ve been a big star) * Marcus Cor Von (though he did have to retire early to look after his deceased Sister’s children) * Trinity (not Noami, but Trinity who used to be in TNA and was bought in for the WWECW show but they didn’t want her to wrestle and she was a good wrestler) *Awesome Kong/Kharma (WWE signed her in 2011, but she got pregnant in 2012 and WWE decided to unfairly release her because of that) *Low Ki/Kaval (WWE signed him in 2010 and was apart of the NXT reality contest era, but was put on SmackDown with Layla and Michele McCool managing him and it didn’t go anywhere and was later released as Low Ki wanted out)

[@demonofdeath19]

Maven's case it was that he wasn't putting in much effort. He said if he had gone to practice in the ring with veterans he would have probably been there longer. They gave him plenty of opportunities to get better and he never did anything about it.

[@grandmastermario3695]

Its sad that they gave up on ultimo dragon so quickly he could of been a great star.

[@zanethind]

True I agree. He and Rey could've had bangers together

[@optimus2008]

@zanethind Oh my God, TVs would've been damaged by overheating due to the amount of fire matches viewers could see.

[@TheNath87]

Mike Aewsome, if he was presented in WCW and WWE like he was in ECW and Japan he could have been a big deal.

[@hbombs]

Surprised Hade Vansen wasn't on here. Bro teased a feud with the Undertaker then suddenly disappeared.

[@daltonpinell6251]

I think in the cases of Ryback and Low Ki, they partly made WWE give up on them cause of their habits of being pains in the tuchus

[@Avenrise]

I wonder how much Punk is earning right now...

[@daltonpinell6251]

@@Avenrise Touché

[@Avenrise]

@@daltonpinell6251 Never meant that in a snarky way btw, just some fun! Some wrestlers are more trouble than they are worth and while I don't remember a huge amount of Kaval Ryback I can see being a pain and if they had no solid plans for him then it's best to go separate ways. No doubt though that if AEW was around at that time they'd have snapped them both up (for better or worse)

[@daltonpinell6251]

@@Avenrise Yeah, Low Ki especially considering he takes his gimmick way too seriously, you know who also could’ve made this list? Teddy Hart

[@RybackToTheFuture]

@@Avenrise IIRC Low-Ki demanded his release because he thought he shouldn't have been used the way he was, even though he was almost immediately getting IC title shots. IDK, dude's got a stick up his ass.

[@RealWoesh]

It's gotta be Swerve for me. Seeing his work with the competition makes me wonder... what if...

[@Avenrise]

I honestly had no idea he was this good until he popped up on AEW. When they signed him I thought alright, face that I know but nothing special. Glad to have been proven wrong.

[@kevinfrank8164]

Oh yeah, wasn’t he only on Smackdown for a month before they fired him? Seeing as we have 100% proof of how over he can get when he is actually pushed that seems like a pretty obvious one in hindsight

[@Avenrise]

@@kevinfrank8164 I was watching NXT back then and wasn't too into Hit Row so maybe it's a bit of bias from myself as he clearly had something special prior to AEW. I have a tendency to zone out a little if the stable isn't my thing... its the reason I've really cooled on Balor and Ripley in recent times. Nothing to do with them, just dont enjoy the gimmick.

[@TheNath87]

Swerve is amazing in AEW. He's become one of my favourites to watch. Hopefully future AEW Champ.

[@dhenderson1810]

You can't have every MITB cash in be successful, or things get too predictable.

[@grandmastermario3695]

They may have given up on mordecai to soon, but he had another chance as a vampire and that didn't go well either.

[@TheNath87]

I sooooo wanted Tensai to be a big deal and possibly be a World Champion. Im a big fan of A-Train, loved his early 2000's run. One of my favourite wrestlers.

[@patrickdare5356]

IIRC, part of what wrecked Tenzan was that fans knew who he was and chanted "Albert" at his matches.

[@Beavie]

Eric Escobar is legit someone I just somehow remember. Like the whisper of "ESCOBAR" stuck out to me.

[@MrZombieTurds]

Ricochet is the new Kaval 😢

[@patrickdare5356]

Disagree. Ricochet seems like a genuinely good dude, and he is being used properly.

[@prestone.garrison4430]

Kizarny as a heel with his psycho circus possee would have been Freakish fun!

[@FFA441]

Kaval/low ki was more of a case of the man being a head case than on wwe

[@DwayneIsKing]

I know a lot of people that watch or is interested in wrestling already knows this, but Maven has a KZbin channel now and it's pretty dope. He talks about what it was like in the back at wrestling shows and what certain wrestlers were like. It's a nice watch

[@ellessiricketts3280]

7:17 Mike Chioda has some high flying moves man 😂😂😂

[@ericmonaco4509]

Is it funny that i thought Mordecai was Gandalf the White from the Lord of the Rings movies 😂

[@zanethind]

😂😅

[@zanethind]

Lo Ki would be great in present day NXT and the black and gold era too. Sadly he just was part of the wrong era of WWE

[@claymathewselevator8121]

Simon Dean was a guilty pleasure for me

[@cena0224]

Omg kizarny is actually my trainer!!! Love that man!

[@kendallhenderson]

If Ultimo Dragon stayed with the company he could’ve been as big if not bigger than Rey mysterio

[@torchedwithfire]

yoo @cultaholic Sandow was not the first failed MITB cash in. it was Cena in 2012. Sandow was the year later i reckon.

[@NGunn99]

I always thought kizarny was crazy Steve in tna😂

[@zanethind]

😂😅

[@FMM8Channel]

Paul Burchill should be here, he had potential but Disney crushed our hopes and dreams

[@Ellthom]

Mordecai could have been such a good anti-Undertaker like gimmick and I though Thorn carried it so well. I really loved the gimmick alot more than his vampire one. I just wish they gave it more chance to breathe, I really do :(

[@WhoGivesAFucCk]

Yeah I think they really dropped the ball hard on this gimmick.

[@k.konczak3291]

It should be a lot, not alot.

[@kylefisher6521]

He got into legal trouble and it was a headache WWE didn’t want t to partake in which is why they have up on him

[@denistuohy2535]

For me it’s Shannon Moore and Yoshi Tatsu I loved those dudes

[@FFA441]

Lord tensai still feels like a gimmick that with some tweaks could work

[@raisedbrow01]

I don't think the problem was the gimmick. I think the crowd knowing it was a-train and sarcastically chanting "albert" at him killed his gimmick and push

[@nujabeez6573]

Último Dragón should have been cruiserweight champion and should of dropped it to Rey Mysterio in a classic cruiserweight championship match

[@tthomaselli2]

I'm surprised that this wasn't a top-15 list, or, a top-20 list.

[@LawrenceSmith91]

Sean OHaire was an incredible wrestler. Away ahead of his time in terms of wrestling ability. Unfortunately it just wasn't what the audience wanted at that time. He would be so successful nowadays. RIP.

[@reallyretro]

I would have added Ahmed Johnson to this list, but they gave him numerous chances to be the top guy, but kept getting injured each and every time. For anyone who doesn’t remember, he was super over in 1996.

[@BoxyMan28]

Mordecai and Sean O'Haire had so much potential.

[@BFFR5150]

We NEED a new 24hr compilation🙏🏼❤️

[@CactusJackter]

The Mordecai gimmick, just like Waylan Mercy, was absolute gold. The wrestlers portraying them however...

[@freddiejohnson6137]

It's very easy to say they gave up on people too fast but there are many factors that we don't see on TV that can often lead to them being given up on. Usually many people of these also fail to find much success after either so they weren't exactly a big loss in the long run either.

[@jasontodd1896]

Wwe Bootlicker

[@gabemyers4516]

Cena was the first to fail a cash in

[@sh-spectrum409]

V1 from OSW: *How can you have this tailor-made feud for The Undertaker, it’s clearly what it’s for and never even get there?!*

[@LostWaffleFootball]

idea! top 10 shortest titles wins off from a cash in!

[@-_._._-]

Good ol' Kizarby. Wizzet Kizzunts

[@nigel_saxon]

The Tensai gimmick was ruined by the fans yelling "Albert".

[@facieboi2648]

As a kid i was so upset at not getting to see Mordecai. As a kid i genuinely thought he would be a cool ass scary character. Then nothing.

[@TheRealMrAndrew]

Tensai would have been fine had they had him on Smackeown, a taped show, so they could edit out the Albert chants. Eventually, those chants would dissipate and then they could have moved him to Raw. Also, anyone remember Atlas Ortiz and his rally towel?

[@Avenrise]

Convinced they should have just brought him back as Albert. Not necessarily going to win the big one but shove the IC belt on him and he'd have been a great final boss just like Gunther is atm. Instead they had him cosplay a samurai.

[@zanethind]

WWE was also at fault because they decided not even acknowledge Tensai's past as Albert. If they did then it wouldn't have been a major problem

[@zanethind]

​@@Avenrisevery true

[@TheRealMrAndrew]

@@zanethind That could of helped. On the one hand, I understand wanting him to be presented in a different light, but at the same time, Albert had a run, people were going to recognize and remember him, he wasn’t going to be able to just transition to someone new like Bray did when he stopped being Husky Harris.

[@ashcrimson2801]

Feed…Me…Bore

[@Alicious_Al]

Yeah! Cryback! 😂

[@Mega_Collosas]

if hes a bore then its weird how he got the biggest reactions out of dbryan and la knight in 2010s

[@Avenrise]

That was primarily booking though. Whenever they needed a spot for the video reel they'd just have him face two 150lb'ers instead of giving him some story to play with. Not the greatest on the mic I will admit but as some beef that could rile up a crowd he could certainly go, heel or face.

[@ashcrimson2801]

@@Mega_Collosas oh I never said that he didn’t have good pops…the problem was after his WWE championship losses to Cena and Punk…plus being eliminated at the end by Cena in the 2013 rumble…everything that was good that was going for him just kinda went…poof

[@williambstyles]

*Cena was the first to unsuccessfully cash in not Damien

[@grandmastermario3695]

Kavall was actually a great athlete but he had horrible attitude, and backstage incidents that cost him.

[@uzomaiwuagwu535]

I'm reading that had Low Ki joined the WWE when guys from the indies were given pushes and NXT went into its most popular era, he could've thrived. I agree that he joined too soon. I wouldn't have minded if he didn't sign with WWE at all, though.

[@payrysdoscs4903]

Deonna Purrazzo. Look at what she's done in Impact

[@Wwefan33]

Shout out to ultimo dragon!

[@zanethind]

Fandango was such an over guy in 2013, and Jericho put him over too which helped but WWE sadly did nothing with him even when he was part of the Breezango stable with Tyler Breeze, sure they won the NXT Tag Titles but that was during the pandemic and when Fandango made his return but it was just too late at that point. Even Tyler Breeze first run in NXT was amazing but when he got the main roster it was horrible he returned to NXT but again it was too late

[@yadielenielbellecolon982]

Thank For the Great Top 10 Video 🙊🤯🥰😍😁💗💐🌟🥇

[@jerranspearman3369]

good video

[@dirk8449]

They give up on so many, so fast, without giving it a chance....yet, they pushed and forced Roman reigns down our throats for 3 years and still nobody liked him, until he announced he was sick, then all of a sudden everyone loved him and couldn't wait for his return.....and now he's been champ for 3 years. Had he been treated like everyone else before him, he'd either be like the miz is now.. ...or like Jon moxley and not be in wwe.

[@jasontodd1896]

Exactly His sickness is a work/fake

[@ROBken2654]

Ultimo dragon smh damn man

[@elcactusdelamuerte506]

Genuinely don’t understand why he was on the list, then again with the likes of Ryback and Low-Ki either they tried to keep it exclusively kayfabe and failed or that it was really badly researched. Dragon broke his arm retired after multiple surgeries failed, then unretired after three years of zero in ring action. WWE didn’t give up on him too soon, they didn’t give up on him soon enough (surely dude getting injured to the point he was forced into retirement before hitting his prime is a sign you might want to help him get rid of some ring rust and make sure he can go before putting him on tv). All this coming from someone who adores dragon gate so I should probably have a bias for him being way better than what he has been the last two decades, best comparison is to look at his protege dragon kid who despite being almost 50 can do things in the ring his mentor couldn’t even imagine performing since he hit 30. Injuries robbed us of prime Ultimo.

[@grandmastermario3695]

Paul hated his run as kizarny

[@Octavio_CantuTB5]

John Cena was the first person to fail a cash in.

[@nu-metalfan2654]

I liked Damien Sandow but he was perfect in that mid card role, giving him the MITB was a ridiculous idea.

[@Mega_Collosas]

damien got over everything wwe gave him ...tell me how does that not work at the top?

[@KDE4LIFEBAYBAY]

Shad got a great theme though.

[@jamalvargas6146]

Ultimo Dragon Was One Of My Favorite WCW stars man sometimes WWE gets my goat and I've seen WCW TNA and AEW fall to WWE

[@bayleyaustin2202]

Forgetting Mr. Kennedy. I’m still salty about that one!!

[@claymathewselevator8121]

Loved Sandow

[@lukethomas6900]

WWE did not give up on any of these guys too quickly with the exception of maybe Damien Sandow. All the others that were mentioned here were NEVER going to be main stars or pushed to the top in any form or fashion (that includes a great like Ultimo Dragon). It's the truth, and sometimes the truth does hurt a bit.

[@Perthwildcat]

Zach Ryder for sure, guy got over purely from youtube alone

[@michaelswain868]

@cultaholic wrestling I know alot of youtube comments might say what about this or that guy when you put out this list. But the fact that Muhammad Hassan is not at the very top of your list let alone making it on talent WWE gave up on too quickly is borderline criminal, particularly when you consider he came with Davari whether it was a significant mid-card, potential tag team or main event that guy might have been the greatest heel in the 21st century..

[@danc3488]

WWE gave up on Tensai because the fans called them out on their bulls***. They had no business bringing that gimmick back to the states. The fact that nobody in WWE had an inkling of common sense that the fans were going to immediately recognize who it was tells you how stupid their train of thought was.

[@Tampafan33]

Somebodies sensitive😂😂

[@optimus2008]

@@Tampafan33 Tbf, Tensai was literally Albert with some samurai aesthetics.

[@Tampafan33]

@@optimus2008 i know but the op acted like his gimmicks were some evil thing😂 people just get so sensitive over the dumbest shit is all im saying.

[@GMRay739]

Low Ki was fun to watch but a total wet yogurt, and a few crayons short of a full box.

[@linkvagar2336]

Shame the Mordecai gimmick never went to a better talent

[@jwashy1]

not Swerve then???

[@mlgfoxymangle3657]

WHAT ABOUT EC3 WWE GIVE UP ON HIM

[@optimus2008]

@mlgfoxymangle3657 This is a top 10 list of lesser known ones. If they were to include everyone, this list would be full of 8000 people and last a 100 days.

[@claymathewselevator8121]

Most would’ve thrived in NXT 2.0

[@DaKoolDude]

Steiner 2003

[@TheNath87]

Is Kizary not what Seth Rollins character is now.

[@mcmurtersportsupdate7171]

I really think Maven had a strong future in WWE if they used him better

[@ArthurKillingsworthJr]

He looked like a generic create a wrestler

[@greasy2007]

Y didn't they jus keep tensai Masked, fans wouldn't have trolled him

[@jerryjanik480]

At WrestleMania 10 should have been Damien Demento versus max Moon World title facing off against facing off against Doink 😂

[@nicksoapdish157]

Personally I think they gave up on both members of Cryme Time too quickly.

[@SeasideDetective2]

There have been many brilliant gimmicks that WWE have been either too scared or too stupid to run with. Mordecai was a much better character than Kevin Thorn. I also would have liked to see a push for the "Gay Nineties"-inspired Vaudevillains. They were appearing in black and white well before "Timeless" Toni Storm. I still wish that team would return. Aiden English has retired, but Simon Gotch is currently tagging with someone else in ROH, so why shouldn't Tony Khan bring them to AEW?

[@KushInhailer215]

Long Live Shad

[@reeseprince8]

Fandango

[@bbsy1]

Eric Escobar? Wtf is that? Lol

[@oakland002]

I can see if you don’t want to leave (aka quit/ fire) I’m sure the company can have you in an “ accident”, and end your career . What a cut throat industry ..

[@ScarysReviews]

so, wwe ripped off wcw and have Seven for who'd become Mordecai? gee wizz

[@JohnWilliams-xj2yw]

What ever happened to Lars sulivin

[@lyght3043]

Mordecai was awesome.

[@e93sports80]

👍👍

[@babarazamsucks]

First!

[@torrotoakiramono]

9th

[@Deltrottersvan]

Loser

[@Frakkles]

#1 is a joke, right?

[@isninohamsa611]

I honestly don’t get wresting you train all those years of wrestling then you put your body on the life for your whole life, and then if wwe doesn’t believe in you. That’s a sad business wtf

[@jasontodd1896]

Vince doesn’t know talent

[@fanofbioshock2nolastname861]

Maven is a terrible ring name

[@syria0110]

That's his real name

[@matthewcox9993]

I know I'll get heat for this, but Kaval or Low Ki was overrated. He was good in smaller companies and lesser talents. When he came to WWE he couldn't hang. And I know I know 'It was WWE creative ' that's why he couldn't get over. Well Bryan Danielson wasn't given a great gimmick to start his career, and now he's one of the most beloved wrestlers ever.

[@Tampafan33]

I Actually really enjoyed mordecai