Most Misused WWE Superstars of the Past 10 Years

For every story the WWE gets completely right, there's another that it gets oh-so-wrong, For every CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, or Shield, there's a Ted DiBiase Jr., a Damien Sandow, or a Cody Rhodes. Simply put, as great as WWE can be sometimes, they're not perfect. Even when a superstar seems destined for greatness, sometimes a combination of unlucky timing, and poor booking sends them out the door, even when they've accomplished nowhere nearly as much as their potential dictates they should have. So, since we're feeling quite negative today, let's take a look at the top 5 wasted (in this case, we're using "wasted" to mean released) talents of the past 10 years.

Honorable Mention: Ted DiBiase Jr. (had the look, obviously had the pedigree, had a surefire gimmick built into his name), Abraham Washington (remember him? Doubt it, but considering the upwards trajectory he seemed to be on before his premature release, I truly believe he could've made the Primetime Players a force to be reckoned with. However, with his release, now both Titus and Darren find themselves directionless, both currently saddled with rather...interesting gimmicks, to say the least), Beth Phoenix (excellent female performer during a time when the roster was littered with Divas as opposed to wrestlers. Certainly wouldn't mind her making a reappearance sometime soon.)

5. Wade Barrett- Just take a look at his body of work, and you'll understand why Wade Barrett (real name Stu Bennett) is on this list. Not only did this former King of the Ring winner (remember that? Me neither) somehow make one of the most ludicrous-sounding gimmicks I've ever heard into something watchable with his incarnation of Bad News Barrett, but he was also the main driving force behind one of the best storylines in recent memory, the Nexus. While there's no denying how that storyline went downhill pretty quickly, there's also no denying that Barrett did a phenomenal job in his role as leader of the degenerate group, and he should've been catapulted up the card as a result. Instead, he seemingly suffered from a lack of true direction, and other than a quite good feud with Randy Orton and a few reigns as IC champion, Barrett frankly lacks any sort of truly memorable legacy in the WWE barring the Nexus. Given his talent both in the ring and on the mic, this is a shame, because the former bare-knuckle boxer could've been a major player in the company for years to come, especially considering how thin the two rosters are in the post-brand split era.

4. Kharma- Considering how much initial hype there was behind her debut, it's actually quite remarkable when you think about just how little Kharma actually did during her time in WWE. After getting pregnant at literally the worst possible time, she eventually came back during the Royal Rumble match (which was an awesome moment, by the way), eliminated Michael Cole, and... well, that was about it. Given how different Kharma was from all the other women wrestlers in WWE at the time—remember, this was still during the era of models being called "divas"—it's truly a shame that she never got an extended role in the company, because she could have provided a truly unique aspect to the division that we haven't really seen since then. Plus, imagine the sorts of battles that she and the likes of Nia Jax could have.

3. Ryback- "Wait, Ryback is on this list?? I thought the Internet hated Ryback!"

You may be surprised to recall that, just a few years ago, there was a time when Ryback was actually quite possibly the most over superstar in the entire company. Just watch this clip (complete with commentary from Good Ol' JR!). During his brief feud with CM Punk in late 2012, the Big Guy was absolutely red-hot, winning over a ton of casual fans with his high-energy, exciting offense and incredible power. While, yes, CM Punk's reign was awesome and WWE probably made the right decision to keep the title on him, just imagine what it could've been like if Ryback had actually won the title. Much like the clip above, frankly, the atmosphere would've been absolutely electric. Unfortunately, after being screwed out of the title by the Shield, Ryback never quite regained his initial momentum, despite a few more good showings against the Hounds of Justice. While some seemingly valid concerns have been raised about his wrestling ability and in-ring safety, there's no denying that, had he been booked better, Ryback could've been one of the top stars in the company for years to come, the muscle-bound monster a hero to casual fans and children alike.

2. Damien Sandow- When you are the only man in history to ever win the Money in a Bank briefcase, cash it in, and lose, that's a pretty solid hint that things just aren't going your way. Despite proving how good he was numerous times by repeatedly adapting his character to fit whatever Creative threw at him, for some reason, Damien Sandow was never quite given the push that he so
richly deserved. Now, let's get one thing straight: in this writer's humble opinion, Sandow was never going to be a consistent main-eventer. Given the limits of his initial gimmick, as well as his relative talent, we all understood that he'd never be a John Cena-type of guy who's at the top of the card for years upon years. However, that doesn't mean that he had to be saddled with ridiculous gimmick after ridiculous gimmick, as well as made to be the only man in history to lose when cashing in his MITB briefcase. The logic behind that decision is just absolutely ridiculous. While I understand why the WWE might want to make it seem like the MITB briefcase isn't always a 100 percent guarantee, proving that using Sandow, a relatively young up-and-comer in desperate need of some momentum, is just stupid. Then, after Sandow somehow recovered from that defeat to get over once again as the Miz's stunt double, an extremely entertaining role, WWE yet again failed to capitalize on the momentum he created after inevitably splitting from the Miz. Instead, Mizdow was then partnered with Curtis Axel in the Meta Powers, making him to look like a joke in the eyes of fans for the umpteenth time. While he undoubtedly did provide a littany of memorable moments during his time in the WWE, from his role as the Intellectual Savior of the Masses to Team Rhodes Scholars to Damien Mizdow, ultimately, WWE failed to cash in (pun intended) on the popularity of the former Idol Stevens to the extent they should have. Now, speaking of Team Rhodes Scholars...

1. Cody Rhodes- Seriously, does Vince have some kind of fetish that involves embarrassing the Rhodes family in as many ways as he can come up with? Despite the polka-dotted greatness of his father and the remarkable success his brother has had with one of the most bizarre gimmicks in the company's history, Cody Rhodes seemed destined to accomplish even greater things in the wrestling industry than his Hall of Fame father or his veteran brother. He had it all: the look, the charisma, the ability to pull off a huge variety of gimmicks (from a dashing narcissist to a tortured, mask-wearing freak to a cosmic superhero...wow. Wrestling, everybody), the wrestling ability, and a pedigree that few could match in the entire industry. When you take all of Rhodes' considerable aforementioned talents' and add on the fact that, before the age of 25, he had already worked with the likes of John Cena, Batista, Randy Orton, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and many more future Hall of Famers, you seemingly have the recipe for one of the greatest careers in the history of the business, perhaps even one that surpasses that of his father, one of the greatest of all time. However, for whatever reason, that was not the case. Despite succeeding with whatever ridiculous gimmick WWE threw at him, Rhodes was repeatedly passed over when it came to main-event storylines, instead claiming the midcard area, particularly the IC title, as his own. Now, there's nothing inherently wrong with this, as Cody was still relatively young at that point, and he still had time to flourish. However, it's after this period, as well as after his phenomenal match with his brother against the Shield at Battleground in 2013, that things truly started to go downhill. Following a storyline in which Cody and his brother would continually lose tag team matches, Rhodes eventually told Goldust that he needed to find a new partner, and Cody knew just the thing for him. Unfortunately, that new partner would turn out to be Stardust, which, far from the excellent storyline it could've actually been, carried on for far too long with far too little payoff, eventually resulting in Rhodes asking to leave the company this past summer. Rather than eventually staging a storyline where Cody realized how insane the whole "Stardust" character was, slowly turning back into his old self, which would have gotten him incredibly over and could've been extremely exciting, Creative basically didn't do anything with the character, forcing Cody to go out every night and further lower his credibility in the eyes of fans. Ultimately, Cody Rhodes is a superstar who very well could have been utilized as a building block for the New Era, a guy who was still relatively young, but had enormous amounts of experience, and most certainly could—and probably should—have been a world champion by now. Ultimately, Cody Rhodes is undoubtedly the most egregious example of WWE wasting a talent in the past 10 years. Frankly, his debut in TNA and the way they treated him like an actual star was what inspired this list in the first place.

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