The Top Ten Missed Opportunities

[HEIDENREICH]

Eто новата рубрика на бай Джулиън този път ми беше доста интересна темата за първи път от доста време насам .Към пропуснатите възможности бих сложил и Инвазията от 2001-ва вместо тази гавра можеше и нещо много по-добро да се направи.

Honorable Mention: Muhammad Hussan

When the character of Muhammad Hussan appeared on WWE TV in late 2004, the WWE had given us one of the most compelling characters in recent wrestling history. The fans booed Hussan ferociously, but if you actually listened to what he was saying, he was completely right. Hussan complained about being an American citizen, but being treated as a terrorist because of his ethnicity and his rantings helped expose just how racist America truly is. There were so many ways that the ‘E could have gone with his character. He could have stayed a heel and tell the fans that he was going to prove that he was better than all of them by destroying all of their heroes in the ring, he could have became a face by earning the fans respect and denouncing his views on racism, he could have become an anti-establishment type face by showing no respect to any authority figure and stating that the authorities showed him no respect so why should he respect authority, or he could have just remained the same type of heel he initially was which was the type that despised the fans because of their unfounded hatred towards him. They always say that the best heels are the ones with a great motivation to being one and what better reason is their to hate the fans other than they hate you because of your heritage. Instead of any of those scenarios, they made Hussan a terrorist (allegedly) and since his "attacks" on The Undertaker happened the same week as the London bombings, there was no choice but to take his character off of TV. Muhammad Hussan was an extremely complex and interesting character that was given no time to develop due to the WWE once again going overboard on a storyline that didn't require that.

Honorable Mention: Rhyno's initial WWE run

When the man-beast, Rhyno, made his debut in the WWE, his impact was immediately felt. He came in as a friend of Edge & Christian and helped the Tag Team Champions retain their titles on numerous occasions. Soon, Rhyno started to build his own niche as a competitor in the hardcore division and it wasn't long until fans were firmly behind the Man Beast. Even when he joined up with The Alliance, he would still constantly be cheered by fans because of his uber-aggressive style. The only person on The Alliance more popular than Rhyno was RVD and that's saying a lot considering The Alliance included such guys as Stone Cold, Kurt Angle, Booker T, and The Dudleyz. Eventually Rhyno went down with an injury that put him on the shelf for a couple of months and then he came back and did absolutely….nothing. He had huge fan support yet he came back to team up, and eventually turn on, Chris Benoit and then did jack shit after that. If you heard the great crowd reactions Ryhno was getting before, and even after, his injury, you would know that the ‘E had a superstar in the making on their hands. He may not have ascended to Austin or Rock-like levels, but I think he would have been a very strong upper-midcard guy much in the same vein as a Kane or King Booker (ie: guys who are perennially over no matter what type of shitty feud their placed in). I think the WWE missed the boat on Rhyno and he could have been a very vital part (maybe even champion) on either Smackdown or ECW at this time.

Honorable Mention: Samoa Joe as TNA Champ

So Samoa Joe got yet another title shot this past Sunday and once again he lost. It may be too early to place this on the top missed opportunities list, but I think that TNA has really blown a huge opportunity they had to make Joe the face of TNA because honestly, there's nobody else in that company more capable of being the poster boy than Joe. He's young, athletic, a great wrestler, and can cut a great promo. He's the type of wrestler than can attract viewers from the outside not only because of his unique look, but because of his intensity and articulation. TNA did a good job of building up Joe as an unstoppable monster, thanks to his undefeated streak, but once he lost to Kurt Angle, it seemed that all his mojo was gone. He began to continually lose during the big-time matchups and if TNA doesn't fix this problem soon, he's going to wind up being the Lex Luger of this generation (ie: choker that can't win the big match). TNA has to stop banking their future on WWE rejects like Test and start building their future with guys like Joe because if they keep delaying putting the title on him, eventually people aren't going to care about him, or TNA, anymore.

10) Scott Steiner in the WWE (circa 2002-2003)

Remember how pumped everybody was when news broke that Scott Steiner was coming to the WWE in late 2002? Remember the huge pop he received when he debuted at Survivor Series '02 at MSG and how awesome it was when he told the ring announcer to "give him the fucking mic" and he went on to promptly kick both Matt Hardy and Chris Nowinski's ass? Yea, that was cool. Within a year, he would be in a lame feud with Test and the fans didn't give two craps about the Big Booty Daddy. The problem was that the ‘E tried to thrust Steiner into the main event right away by having him feud with Triple H at the Royal Rumble and work a style of match that he wasn't comfortable with. The result was one of the worst matches of this decade and Steiner's reputation amongst WWE fans took a tremendous hit. If the ‘E had slowly built up Steiner and allowed him to work the style of match he was comfortable with, they could have had a huge star on their hands. Instead, Steiner was ineffectively used until he was eventually gone from the WWE. Vince and Co. definitely blew it here because they could have had a top tier heel for years to come, but instead he was gone before he even had a chance to make an impact.

9) RVD as ECW Champion in the original ECW

When RVD arrived on the scene in the original ECW, nobody really regarded him as anything more than a cocky pretty boy who could pull off a few cool moves. Within a couple of years, however, he was easily the most popular man on the roster and was selling out shows all across the US. His lengthy reign as the TV Champion was the stuff of legend and it seemed that was going to be the stepping stone to him becoming ECW Champion. But due to injuries and other incidents, RVD never wore the ECW strap in the original ECW. By the time 2001 rolled around, ECW folded and RVD never had a chance to wear the belt. It can be argued that had RVD won the title belt, ECW would have ascended to new heights which would have gotten them a better TV deal and maybe they'd still be on the air to this day (instead of the watered down WWECW version).

[b]8) Magnum TA as World Heavyweight Champion

In the mid-1980's, Magnum TA was suppose to be the NWA's response to Hulk Hogan. He was young, brash, good-looking, a great talker and could get it done in the ring. Magnum had a tremendous following and it seemed like it was only a matter of time until he wore the World Championship around his waist. On a fateful night in October of 1986, Magnum lost control of his car and crashed in a horrific accident that left him paralyzed on the left side of his body. This ended his in-ring career and one of the most promising careers in the history of the business was gone in a flash. Obviously this was a situation that nobody could have prevented, but you can't help but think that a huge opportunity was lost due to Magnum's accident because he was on the verge of becoming a huge star for the NWA at the time and who knows what may have happened if that had happened.

7) Brock vs. Goldberg: What COULD have been

From the second that Brock Lesnar made his debut in the WWE, people quickly started to compare him to Goldberg. His intimidating style and brute strength made it very easy to compare him to the former WCW Champ. So when Goldberg debuted in the WWE in mid-2003, many fans were clamoring over a potential Goldberg/Lesnar showdown even though both men were on different shows. Their wishes finally got answered at the 2004 version of The Royal Rumble when Lesnar cost Goldberg his shot at winning the rumble and the shit, as they say, was officially on from there. The fans were very much into the feud as witnessed by the reaction at The Rumble as well as the huge pop garnered when Goldberg speared Brock during Brock's title match against Eddie Guerrero. So you have a big time match that the fans are dying to see, nothing could possibly mess it up, right? Right? WRONG! A few weeks before they were set to square off at Wrestlemania XX, word leaked that Goldberg was going to be done with the company after Wrestlemania and Lesnar would also be leaving after Wrestlemania to pursue a pro football career. To say the fans were pissed would be a tremendous understatement. Instead of what would have been an epic encounter and guaranteed Wrestlemania moment, what we got instead were the New York fans completely and utterly crapping all over the match. They were booing from even before the bell rang. The booing just got louder as the match progressed and it obviously affected both competitors. I don't think that these two would have had a 5 star classic or anything, but I think that they were capable of at least putting on a decent-good match and instead we got a big turd of a dream match.

6) Austin vs. Goldberg

Stone Cold Steve Austin helped usher in a new era in pro wrestling when his meteoric rise to the top began in the WWE and the only thing that kept WWE from completely overtaking WCW back then was Goldberg. Goldberg's aggressive style and undefeated streak helped to keep a lot of the viewers that were starting to tune into Raw and he was one of the main reasons that The Monday Night War lasted as long as it did because honestly, without Goldberg, it would have probably been over in mid-1998. So when news broke that Goldberg was coming to the WWE in 2003, people automatically started envisioning an Austin/Goldberg matchup. Due to health reasons, though, Stone Cold was never able to step into the ring (competitively) with Da Man. The only glance of an interaction we got between the two was when Austin stunned Goldberg at Wrestlemania XX. Even though it's hard to place this on this list due to medical reasons being the reason it didn't happen, I can't help but feel this was a match that could have happened since Austin in early 2004 was said to be in good shape, yet the ‘E never pulled the trigger on this match. Ohh well, at least we got to see Austin stunner Goldberg's ass out of the WWE.

5) Kurt Angle in the original ECW

After Kurt Angle won a gold medal at the Olympic games in 1996, Paul Heyman reached out to the gold medalist to invite him to compete in ECW. Heyman wanted to continue the tradition in ECW of blending hardcore wrestling with technical mat wrestling to appeal to both sides of the wrestling audience. Kurt Angle expressed interest and even attended a live ECW event in 1997. It just happened that this live ECW event contained Raven mock-crucifying The Sandman at ringside and wrapping his head in a bed of barb-wire instead of a bed of thorns. Needless to say, this appalled Kurt Angle and all talks he had with ECW up to that point ceased. Two years later, Kurt would debut in the WWE and go on to be one of the biggest stars of this generation. But if that mock-crucifixion hadn't taken place that night, who knows if Kurt Angle might have ended up in ECW and what kind of impact that would have had on the future of that company.

4) Bret Hart's run in WCW

When it was leaked that Bret Hart was going to leave the WWE for WCW, many felt that the move could prove to be the nail in the coffin for the WWE. Bret was, after all, one of the ‘E's top superstars and had built a lofty reputation during his years under the Titan umbrella. So most fans thought that Bret's defection to WCW signaled the final victory for WCW. Instead, the ‘E was able to spin Bret's defection to their favor by creating the ruthless Mr. McMahon character while WCW made Bret….a referee. Bret's WCW run was so meaningless and forgetful that the only things I really remember from it was his match with Benoit in memory of Owen and that Goldberg ended his career. WCW had the chance to really end The Monday Night Wars with the acquisition of Bret, but they did absolutely jack and shit with him which was one of the most horrendous misuses of talent that I've ever seen.

3) Hogan vs. Flair in Flair's first WWE run

When Ric Flair defected to the WWE, fans creamed their pants with the potential Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair matchup that had only been dreamed about up until that point. Flair was the ultimate heel and Hogan was the ultimate face so it seemed obvious that the WWE would try to set that match up as soon as possible. Instead, Flair was paired up with the likes of Roddy Piper, Macho Man, and Mr. Perfect while barely interacting with Hogan. By the time 1993 rolled around, Flair was gone and soon Hogan would follow him to WCW where the two men would finally meet one-on-one. The WWE definitely missed a huge opportunity as a Hogan/Flair match in 1992 would have drawn huge-gantic money and if that match had headlined Wrestlemania 8, that would have been one of the greatest moments in the history of the sport. Instead, the first Hogan/Flair match was wasted on some WCW PPV (I think Bash At The Beach) and instead of being a moment that fans remember forever, it's a moment that people have to think about for a second to remember when they first saw it.

2) The Four Horsemen in the WWE

In September of 1988, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard left the NWA to join the WWE and form The Brainbusters tag team. Soon after, fellow Four Horsemen member Barry Windham also joined the WWE. There was a lot of speculation at the time that Flair wasn't too happy in WCW and was considering a jump and if that had happened, you can almost bet that Vince would have wanted to recreate the magic of The Four Horsemen in the WWE. Can you imagine if the Four Horsemen went up against a super stable consisting of Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Roddy Piper, and The Ultimate Warrior? They could mix and match the feuds and that would have created some of the most intriguing matches ever seen in the world of pro wrestling. Instead, Arn was back in WCW by late 1989 and the Horsemen were reformed with their new member Sting. While it may have been a long shot that The Horsemen would have even been reformed in the WWE, you can't deny that it would have been insanely cool to see the greatest heel stable ever going up against the biggest babyface ever.

1) Austin vs. Hogan

The biggest face of the 80's against the biggest face of the 90's. The two most popular superstars in the history of the WWE. The All-American hero against The Texas Rattlesnake. A matchup between Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin would have been one of the most anticipated matches in the history of the industry. I think that the crowd reaction for that match would even eclipse that of the Rock/Hogan match and that the crowd would be more split since the fans have been known to turn on Rocky while they cheer for Austin religiously. Even though the Hogan/McMahon and Rock/Austin matches at Wrestlemania 19 were both entertaining, I can't help but feel that the ‘E dropped a huge ball by not going with an Austin/Hogan match there. As it is now, Austin is officially retired and Hogan is busy making his fake reality show so the chances of ever seeing this match are now slim to none with chances leaning more towards none. That really sucks because this could have gone down as an all-time Wrestlemania moment and if I got to see Austin stun Hogan out of his bright yellow boots or Hogan drop the legdrop on Austin's big, shiny head, then I could die a happy man.

[rawhide]

Забавна класация.. Бих поразместил някои неща, както и прибавил някои други като:

1. Brock Lesnar- За цялостен принос... Можеше да постигне страшно много, а постигна.. well.. sh*t...

2.Starrcade'97- невероятен build-up.. Ужасно PPV.. То заедно с пристигането на Bret определено можеше да се яви като повратната точка на Monday Night Wars.

3. nWo във WWF.. Без коментар.. По обясними причини...

4. Престоят на Goldberg във WWE- същото...

[DjPetko]

Аз бих добавил и WCW Invasion angle-a... Нещо което звучеше като страхотна идея за dream мачове, WWE честно казано не го book-наха като хората.