Could they have been?

[HEIDENREICH]

Попадна ми много интересна статия в 411mania.com за хора които са били близо да станат световни шампиони,но по една или друга причина не ги е огряло.Aвтора е Larry Csonka .Преди време в стария форум дискутирахме темата,но изпуснахме доста имена.Enjoy

Introduction:

There are always a lot of "maybe" scenarios in wrestling. Hindsight is always perfect in theory, and we all have ideas of what could have been. One of those in wrestling is always, "who could have been the man, the World Champ?" We all have our favorites, some of tem may not have made a good world champion when we think back, and some probably could have. In this week's installment, we look at what could have been with five popular names from the past.

Could They Have Been?

Ted DiBiase: Ted DiBiase's story is that of a sad one actually. DiBiase was always looked at as a very good worker, as well as a good man on the mic. He was a 2nd generation wrestler and really came into his own in the Mid-South/UWF era of wrestling. During that time there was a lot of talk within the NWA of bringing DiBiase to the top and making him the NWA champion. But with the NWA there was always the politics game, and DiBiase didn't have anyone of importance on his side so it never came to pass.

DiBiase would then move onto the World Wrestling Federation. He was christened the "Million Dollar Man" and would easily rise to the top as one of the best heels of the era. Heading towards WrestleMania 4 it was rumored that he was promised the world title in the WWF. But things change and as we all know Randy Savage walked out with the world title, and into a yearlong build to battle Hulk Hogan.

Within the span of a few short years DiBiase was promised 2-World Titles and received none. To me he is one of those guys that I would have loved to have seen get a run as champion. People easily would have paid to see him get beat, and he had the in ring skills and charisma to work on top as the champion.

Probability of him succeeding as champion: 95%

Roddy Piper: The Hot Rod is often referred to as most over heel of the 1980's. The biggest thing people always say about Piper is that the character was so over that he never needed a title belt. This is true as he proved throughout his time in the business. He drew huge crowds against Hogan and was a huge part of the initial WrestleMania. He was always gold on the mic, as evidence of the longevity of Piper's Pit.

Piper did find singles success in the NWA as a multiple time US Champion, including great feuds with Ric Flair. In the WWF he only achieved the Intercontinental Title, but that was much later on and as a face. Piper's over-ness cannot be disputed, and the possibilities with him as world champion would have been endless, as the crowd would have paid huge money to see him defeated.

Probability of him succeeding as champion: 95%

Jake Roberts: A noted by many wrestling journalists and historians, Jake Roberts was the master of wrestling psychology. The way he moved and executed maneuvers in the ring were smooth like a snake, and his promo ability was even better. Roberts was continually over with fans, but never got the big push; possibly due to his well know substance abuse. It is a true shame because this man had all of the tools to go to the top and hold that title.

Jake Roberts always said, "I've never needed a title around my waist for people to view me as a champion." While that is a great sentiment, many dismiss his greatness due to him never winning the big gold.

Probability of him succeeding as champion: 75%

Owen Hart: The little brother of Bret Hart always seems to be greatly over looked, or greatly over hyped since his passing. Owen when he began was a very exciting worker as he has a great mix of the light heavyweight style from Japan, and a little from Mexico. This gave him a great distinction from other North American workers, but never seemed to be jumped on because of Vince's big man fetish.

Eventually Owen would get his shot and begin to climb the card. With his feud with Bret, people bought him as not only a threat but as belonging. As WrestleMania X rolled around Owen was eventually seen as Bret's equal with a spectacular match, and more importantly a win at that event. The brothers entered into a heated set of matches and at this time it would have been the best time to place the title on him, but they never did. Later on knee injuries would force Owen to tune down his style, but he was still a great worker. They seemed to miss the boat back when he feuded with Bret and never got close after that.

Probability of him succeeding as champion: 25%

Arn Anderson: Known the world over as "The Enforcer" Arn Anderson was always known as a good worker, and a great promo man. He had the gift to make any tag team he was a part of work, with Ole, Eaton, Tully and Zbyzko he all had successful tag runs, tag runs that always seen to be easily remembered. As a former 4-time NWA/WCW TV Champion he is also greatly remembered as one of the best and or favorite TV champions ever.

In all of his years of success, Arn seemed to be stuck as the "#2 man" in the 4 Horsemen behind Ric Flair. He always had great matches, he always gave great promos but there just seemed to be no effort ever to push Arn any higher than he was. To me Arn always had that "working man's" look and ethic about him, that combined with his in ring work I think could have worked for him in the right circumstance. Unfortunately for Arn, he just never got that chance.

Probability of him succeeding as champion: 20%

First of all I didn't anticipate doing one of these again so soon. I wanted to make this a series, but with all of the feedback I got for the first one, I figured I'd get on my horse and get another one done. The goal of the first one was exactly what I accomplished, name five stars that didn't win the big gold and what I think their chances were. Apparently I succeeded. My criteria are this. If they held the WWWF, WWF, WWE, World, WCW, NWA (Minus 94 through the birth of TNA, since the Colorado Kid and such sucked and the NWA was a joke then) Major Japan Titles or the AWA title then I recognize them as a world champion. So Curt Hennig and Rick Martel have to me already been world champions as they held the AWA title and Rude held the WCW International Title. This time I have decided on six names from the list I made to discuss.

So with that in mind…there are always a lot of "maybe" scenarios in wrestling. Hindsight is always perfect in theory, and we all have ideas of what could have been. One of those in wrestling is always, "who could have been the man, the World Champ?" We all have our favorites, some of tem may not have made a good world champion when we think back, and some probably could have. In this week's installment, we look at what could have been with six popular names from the past.

Could They Have Been? (Part II)

Ravishing Rick Rude: While he did hold the "WCW International Title" most do not count that as a world title, and since it is sketchy and even I am not sure about how I view that title, we'll discuss him here today. The Ravishing one was hated wherever he went. He had the look and the matching attitude that made him one of the greatest arrogant pricks (and I mean that in the greatest way possible) in wrestling history. His gimmick has been ripped off in various different ways by various people, but no one has ever has the success that he had. He was a good worker, did the right things at the right times and knew how to work the audience to perfection. He had the honor of being the first man beating the Warrior and the heat he had was off of the charts. Whether in WWF or WCW he easily could have held the big belt and had a successful run.

Probability of him succeeding as champion: 95%

Wahoo McDaniel: To me this should have been such a slam-dunk. I have no clue how they never took the chance on him. His marketability was off the charts. He was a former NFL player, he was a legit tough bastard that would scare the fans and drew real heat and he was Native American. When you have the legit background in sports, are also legit good at the wrestling side of things and could have totally won over the Native American demographic that is a license to print money. He had money feuds with Valentine and Flair and in the confines of the NWA would have been a very successful champion. The main reason that he never got the gold is that he would complain about low payoffs and refused to be ripped off. Hey, and man has to stick to his guns.

Probability of him succeeding as champion: 95%

Magnum TA: Magnum TA was a man that seemed destined for greatness in the world of wrestling. During the 80's he was mad over through his skill, association with Dusty Rhodes and feuds with Nikita Kolloff and the Four Horsemen. He was very similar to Barry Windham as his was a good size man that had great skills as a worker and was always dependable. He also had great matches that some may not know about due to when they happened, including the stellar "I Quit" Cage Match with Tully Blanchard over the US Title.

Magnum I feel would have had the shot to carry the belt if he wouldn't have had the car accident that ended his career. This is an ultimate "what could have been" as he wasn't held back by management, but by an accident.

Probability of him succeeding as champion: 85%

Scott Hall: Scott Hall, before I knew about all of the problems he had off screen with drugs and such was always a mystery to me. He had a successful run in the AWA and then went to WCW where he seemed to disappear. Then he debuted in the WWF and was extremely successful. He was a multiple time IC Champion, and had excellent matches with Jarrett, Hart, Hennig and others. While he was always over and has the skills, he was never fully pushed to the big gold. But then he went to WCW and rode the n W o wave and his career was revived. But with Hogan as the top guy in the group, Hall was relegated to the tag titles and US Title. I feel that Hall could have had success as the top guy at the right time.

Probability of him succeeding as champion: 75%

Jimmy Snuka: Jimmy Snuka is another name that always comes up when discussing "what could have been" in regards to the world title. Snuka is a legend in wrestling for his classic cage dives and of course the Piper's Pit segment. Through all of this he was arguably the most over baby face in the company, even when Hogan was there, there were times when you could argue who was more over. Unfortunately his actions and demons outside the ring were probably the reason he never got the shot, but if he did I am sure he would have had a really good shot and succeeding.

Probability of him succeeding as champion: 75%

Davey Boy Smith: The British Bulldog is another favorite of mine actually. He had great success in the tag ranks and efficiently transitioned into a good singles worker. He has great matches with Bret and HBK and many thought that he had world title written all over him. Then the steroid trial hit, he failed a drug test and was off to WCW. WCW had big plans for him and while he had some good matches, it was just never meant to be. He had another solid WWF run, became the IC, Tag and Euro titles and could have become a Grand Slam champion, but it was just never meant to be. Once again, another man that probably wasn't fully pushed due to his outside demons.

Probability of him succeeding as champion: 50%