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Post by buckethead on Oct 17, 2022 16:50:21 GMT -5
The Russian Assassin
NWA tried pushing him as an invincible monster...hyped up his debut...and he sucked from day one.
Thankfully it didn't last long.
Magnum TA definitely does not belong in the category of failed prospect.
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Post by Marvelous1LUFC on Oct 17, 2022 16:57:18 GMT -5
Brakkus...
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Post by The Dark Order Inferno on Oct 17, 2022 16:58:40 GMT -5
Emery Hale. He was brought to WCW with the end goal of being an opponent for Hogan in mind, but he sucked to the point even DDP couldn't make him look good, and WCW folded. See also Ron Reiss.
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Post by Ronny Rayguns Is All Elite on Oct 17, 2022 17:08:52 GMT -5
I thought Ahmed Johnson was going to go STRAIGHT to the top when I was a kid.
Not so much
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Post by Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!! on Oct 17, 2022 17:16:30 GMT -5
If you listen very closely you can still hear Jim Cornette off in the distance shrieking about how Matt Morgan was the future if the business.
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Post by Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!! on Oct 17, 2022 17:26:12 GMT -5
Does Hernandez count? TNA tried line 8 different ways with that guy but he sucked, and then Lucha Underground tried, until they fired him because he was reckless and he still sucked. Hernandez was nothing without Homicide covering up his weaknesses.
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FHgrad99
Vegeta
Never mind that s***, here comes Mongo!
Posts: 9,024
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Post by FHgrad99 on Oct 17, 2022 17:45:50 GMT -5
I remember the WWE was really high on him but he barely made it to TV.
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Post by The Legendary Ring Troll {BLM} on Oct 17, 2022 18:43:25 GMT -5
I remember when NXT Season 2 started, Alex Riley was who everyone thought WWE wanted to win and wanted to push to the moon. Good ol' Alex Riley.
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Post by Baldobomb-22-OH-MAN!!! on Oct 17, 2022 19:07:25 GMT -5
I remember when NXT Season 2 started, Alex Riley was who everyone thought WWE wanted to win and wanted to push to the moon. Good ol' Alex Riley. You could see his entire career die with that "your breath smells like death itself took a dump in your mouth" line.
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chrom
Backup Wench
Master of the rare undecuple post
Posts: 84,941
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Post by chrom on Oct 17, 2022 19:09:26 GMT -5
I remember when NXT Season 2 started, Alex Riley was who everyone thought WWE wanted to win and wanted to push to the moon. Good ol' Alex Riley. Vince threw a temper tantrum when he didn't win which lead to the infamous ending of it.
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Post by Starshine on Oct 17, 2022 21:36:16 GMT -5
19 year old Kenny Dykstra Once he hit 20 it was all downhill from there.
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Post by "Playboy" Don Douglas on Oct 17, 2022 21:54:45 GMT -5
I remember Ron “H2O” Waterman being discussed as a future star, but I think he only made it as far as some dark matches.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2022 22:42:57 GMT -5
Richie Steamboat deserves a shout. They were building him up a lot in FCW (held that title where they had 15 iron man matches). Thought he was a shoe in for NXT season 2 and then IC title sooner than later. Sadly injuries got him to retire early.
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Post by Alice Syndrome on Oct 17, 2022 22:57:12 GMT -5
I remember Ron “H2O” Waterman being discussed as a future star, but I think he only made it as far as some dark matches. Oh yeah, the guy who was in a dark tag match featuring Lesnar and Orton. I mean I know the 4th guy in that match was Rico but he still got a better deal than Ron Waterman by way of getting like 3 years of TV paychecks and barely ever actually taking a bump.
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Post by Celexa Bliss 54 on Oct 17, 2022 23:16:59 GMT -5
Steve Bradley was hyped by the Apter mags as the next big star and he even won a Super 8 Tournament just before getting signed to WWF Developmental. He was there for a few years, was the first guy to ever pin Kurt Angle, won a few tag titles in HWA, then got released. And sadly, he passed away in 2008.
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Post by jason1980s on Oct 17, 2022 23:31:35 GMT -5
I remember him well. I also just saw him a few seconds on the Dark Side BFA re-run. Outside of a Shotgun match in 97 I think BFA was the only time he was in a TV match. He had promos in 97 or 98 saying "my name (in German) is Brakkus, I come-a from Deutschland." I never did see him on TV and then saw him on a UK PPV in April 1998. He lost to Jeff Jarrett who wasn't exactly on fire in April 98. Not sure if he had any other promos but next I saw him was BFA. Like was said on the Dark Side episode he had a body that Vince would have loved so I'm sure Vince signed him to some crazy contract but with lack of talent they didn't have anything for him. Tiger Ali Singh is another one who seemed to have been signed to a crazy contract WWF couldn't get out of so had to use him. You wouldn't see him for a year or 6 months then all of a sudden he's be on TV in a silly skit, fans didn't care and you wouldn't see him for months.
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Post by A Platypus Rave on Oct 18, 2022 0:04:16 GMT -5
I remember when NXT Season 2 started, Alex Riley was who everyone thought WWE wanted to win and wanted to push to the moon. Good ol' Alex Riley. You could see his entire career die with that "your breath smells like death itself took a dump in your mouth" line. One of his first promos on the main roster was to Cena saying something like [Cena]'s plan went... A-RY! the crowd didn't respond and they didn't give him a mic again for like a year.
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Mozenrath
FANatic
Foppery and Whim
Speedy Speed Boy
Posts: 121,127
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Post by Mozenrath on Oct 18, 2022 3:28:44 GMT -5
I remember Ron “H2O” Waterman being discussed as a future star, but I think he only made it as far as some dark matches. Oh yeah, the guy who was in a dark tag match featuring Lesnar and Orton. I mean I know the 4th guy in that match was Rico but he still got a better deal than Ron Waterman by way of getting like 3 years of TV paychecks and barely ever actually taking a bump. Considering Rico was like 40 or something when he was put on TV, it's kind of amazing how his career played out.
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Post by Viking Hall on Oct 18, 2022 4:44:17 GMT -5
Brakus is a weird one, and I've often wondered if he'd come along a few years later if he'd have fared better. He was one of the first people they ever signed who didn't have a wrestling background which obviously in later years has become fairly commonplace for them, but back in 1996 was pretty much unheard of. Nowadays they have a system in place to teach these kind of prospects from scratch, plus of course the tryouts to see how athletically capable they are.
Interestingly, Wikipedia reckons he was signed alongside The Rock and Mark Henry, who also came into the company with little to no experience. Obviously, The Rock was a once in a lifetime prospect and came from a wrestling family, so we can probably disregard him, but Henry did end up being put back into the development system and came out a far better wrestler for it. I wonder if Brakus had stuck around longer and been afforded a similar opportunity if it would be a similar story.
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Post by ThankGodForSidJustice on Oct 18, 2022 5:05:36 GMT -5
Regarding Brakus I recall Bruce Prichard telling a very funny story about him on his podcast. They put him with Jeff Jarrett on a house show loop in an attempt to help him learn by putting him with an experienced guy who was a good worker. Anyways Brakus puts Jarrett in a side headlock to start the match.
Jarrett: "Alright big man calm down now just listen to the people".
*Brakus proceeds to let go of the headlock and starts walking around the ring leaning his head out towards the crowd*
Brakus: "What? What are they saying? What are they saying?"
According to Prichard that's when they realized that all bets were off on Brakus.
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