Over the years, there have been a handful of wrestlers that for some reason or another, never got the attention or push they deserved.
Here’s our list of those guys that should have been in the spotlight a little bit longer or should have gotten the chance to at least step into it.
10: Teddy Hart: With an arsenal of high-flying moves and the legacy and ability of the Hart family instilled within him, the guy is an amazing talent. However, a lack of discipline behind the scenes has kept him out of the WWE and on the bad side of many smaller promotions in the country.
9: Bryan Clark: This guy was a beast who was ruined by horrible gimmicks. With two excellent finishing moves in “The Death Penalty,†a cobra clutch slam and “The Meltdown,†a pumphandle slam, this guy could have been a great upper-tier star. With a lack of mic ability, he lacked the full polish to be a heavyweight champ, but he probably could have been a more than decent United States champion if given an opportunity.
8: Reno: Simply put, with a cool look, a great finisher in his spinning neck dragon screw, “The Roll of the Dice,†this guy could have taken WCW by storm. The company’s insistence to use older stars prohibited that from taking place though.
7: Frank Kazarian: Sure, he’s getting his shot now as a member of “Fortune,†but he’s far from an overnight success. Always a great competitor, it took TNA more than a half decade, a few releases and horrible gimmick changes to understand what they have in him.
6: Blitzkreig: Born Jay Ross, this cruiserweight had some of the best matches in WCW in 1999, but after about a month, he disappeared, wrestling occasional matches in the independent promotions. His finisher, a corkscrew 450 splash was simply mesmerizing to watch.
5: Dean Malenko: Sure, guy won his fair share of titles in WCW, was a member of the Horsemen and was even signed by the WWE and eventually won their light heavyweight title, but if given a decent push, the last five or so years of his career could have been something special. A great worker, Malenko could make anyone look great in the ring.
4: 2 Cold Scorpio: This guy could have a great match with anyone, thanks to a variety of excellent suplexes and top-notch aerial maneuvers. Bad gimmicks held him back in the WWF, but he always got respect in ECW.
3: Low-Ki/Senshi: Just the fact that he was forced to wrestle on NXT first instead of the WWE shows how much respect they have for his ability. A master of a plethora of submission moves, suplexes and possessing a great aerial finisher in “The Warrior’s Way,†this kid has it all. Hopefully, one day he’ll get the shot he deserves.
2: Chris Kanyon: “The Innovator of Offense,†Kanyon’s lack of charisma and problems getting along with with his co-workers, along with politics in WCW stopped him from realizing his true potential in the squared circle. A man of many finishing moves, all of them used later by other wrestlers, the guy was a pioneer in match pacing and helped redefine the art of the setup move.
1: Alex Shelley: One of the best tag team wrestlers of this generation, this guy has never gotten the chance in singles competition he deserves. Great on the stick and able to drive a storyline, this guy has a ton of star potential and much like his tag team partner Chris Sabin, is more than capable of being successful all by himself.
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