Wrestlers who took too long to get to the main event

[The Rick Jericho]

Which superstars did you feel WWE took too long to get them to the main event?

I guess the perfect one to start with is Daniel Bryan. Only in 2014 did they finally recognize him as a main eventer, only to be short lived due to injury.

[Nosnorb]

Big E. And he was never made to look like a main eventer.

[Deleted]

Apr 15, 2022 10:17:08 GMT -5 Nosnorb said:

Big E. And he was never made to look like a main eventer.

He should have been THE GUY straight out of NXT.

Dude should have shown up, squashed a heel champ with a five count, and been the next Hulk Hogan.

[Nosnorb]

Also Cesaro. Dude finally got a shot at the main event in 2021, when he should have had a crack at it a lot earlier.

[Stone Coke Miami Watson 🥃]

Mark “Hall Of Pain In A Salmon-Colored Suit” Henry.

[oxbaker]

Cody Rhodes.

[ChitownKnight]

It took Bryan 4 years to get a mania main event. He still won the WHC in 2011 (a year after he debuted) and the wwe title in 2013

[Deleted]

I'm actually going to be an outlier and say Bryan taking 4 years to get into the main event isn't as bad as it sounded back then. I like that. He was good on the lower card, worked well in the midcard and gradually made it to the main event scene. Yeah, he wasn't there when from a storyline scene it made the most sense (after the Cena WM match) but 4 years in retrospect? A few months later after he should have? That's great. Most talent these days take far longer. The issue in that storyline wasn't that he wasn't in the main event scene, it was that he wasn't world champion.

Kofi, Big E, Cesaro (who was in the main event for like what, 1-2 matches if that), there's way better picks than Bryan.

[Pooh Carlson]

Kofi should've been in the main event ever since 2009.

[mcstoklasa]

Steve Austin? His body was already falling apart by 98 though I guess that's because of Owen Hart

[David-Arquette was in WCW 2000]

Apr 15, 2022 14:25:00 GMT -5 Stone Coke Miami Watson 🥃 said:

Mark “Hall Of Pain In A Salmon-Colored Suit” Henry.

Who'd have thought a mere 15 years after joining the fed Mark would become a legit Champion and threat?

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

Apr 15, 2022 14:25:00 GMT -5 Stone Coke Miami Watson 🥃 said:

Mark “Hall Of Pain In A Salmon-Colored Suit” Henry.

I'm really, really not sure of that. A huge number of people only realised Mark had that in him when they gave him a shot at it, he'd been profoundly un-over for years and even when he was over, had pretty much never had a good match. I think the second he proved he was worth pushing they pushed him.


Another one to add, though - Kofi Kingston, and I'm happy to throw that one in because I, like WWE, thought he had no hope as a main eventer at all. Of course it seems WWE also agreed with me after he lost the strap, so at least I learned my lesson even if they didn't?

[bob]

Big E, CM Punk --- he looked like a joke with his first run with the big gold belt so don't count that, Christian, Kofi

[Nosnorb]

Apr 15, 2022 19:25:49 GMT -5 "Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay said:

Apr 15, 2022 14:25:00 GMT -5 Stone Coke Miami Watson 🥃 said:

Mark “Hall Of Pain In A Salmon-Colored Suit” Henry.

I'm really, really not sure of that. A huge number of people only realised Mark had that in him when they gave him a shot at it, he'd been profoundly un-over for years and even when he was over, had pretty much never had a good match. I think the second he proved he was worth pushing they pushed him.


Another one to add, though - Kofi Kingston, and I'm happy to throw that one in because I, like WWE, thought he had no hope as a main eventer at all. Of course it seems WWE also agreed with me after he lost the strap, so at least I learned my lesson even if they didn't?

Dude did have a brief flitation with the main event in late 2005/early 2006, but him injuring Batista I think put paid to that.

Mark Henry was on fire in 2011. Imagine how good he would have been if WWE put more effort into training him instead of trying to get him to quit.