Wrestlers you were wrong about

[wweboo]

Let's share some humility. What are some wrestlers you just were completely wrong about. Either you saw them and thought "Oh this one is gonna be the next face of the company" only for them to go nowhere, or your first impression of a star of wrestling was just "Eh, don't think he'll last long."

As a kid with little knowledge of wrestling, I though The Boogeyman would certainly be at least ECW Champion. I mean he's creepy and makes people eat worms! That's gotta count for something, right?

 

[RKO-Cutter]

I'm just going to give a big blanket statement of "people who would 100% be megastars by now/imminently had they not [insert Speaking Out/other scandal]" by now


Off the top of my head, Baron Corbin from 2014-2017 was on such an upward trajectory I was positive he'd be a top talent on the roster...then not only did he stagnate, he regressed

What made it even worse was when he actually had a great run in KOTR, only to realize he was getting over, and that's when it really came out that he's boring on purpose

 

[AWSMan]

I never thought he should be the face of the company or anything, but during Jinder's first run I did post that he could and should have been a bigger deal. I'll admit it: His world title reign showed that no, he couldn't and shouldn't have.

 

[staple_gun]

Sheamus

His early overpush made me sour on him. As time went on, I realized he's great and the kind of guy a brand should be built around.

 

[RKO-Cutter]

I ride high on being on bandwagons early, Hangman, Wardlow, we'll see what else

But when Ciampa first appeared in ROH as a member of The Embassy, I didn't get it. He didn't seem like anything worth getting excited over, and I wrote him off the same way I write off...honestly the best comparison I could come up with is Taven.

When he got to NXT? Man he was great, and in my watches of promotions like PROGRESS, PWG, and AAW I know he became great before then.

 

[Serpent.222]

During the mid-card glory years on Smackdown, I overvalued a number of people. I was very irked that Carlito, Masters, and Kennedy didn't get at least Ziggler style world title wins. In retrospect, that was very much for the best. Though i maintain that MVP and Finlay did not hit the highs they should have.

In the Miz/Morrison years, i was certain that Miz would be the Janetty and Morrison would be a megastar.

When WWE picked up El Generic...erm, when Sami Zayn debuted in NXT, i thought it was a terrible idea and he would fizzle out really fast.


But fuck all of you, i was always 100% right about Jeff Hardy.

 

[rocknrollsisyphus]

A few off the top of my head:

Kenny Omega - I saw the love of wrestling and the athleticism, but I had trouble seeing him as anything more than a talented goofball who was right at home in DDT and PWG. A high-end, rich man's Chuck Taylor, if I'm being completely honest. And now, at his best, he's among the best in the world.

Eddie Kingston - I'm sure many of you know this, but my wrestling consumption is heavily tilted to only watching matches. As such, going in blind to Kingston matches left me wanting a heck of a lot more. But seeing him in AEW from the beginning of a feud through the match(es) that come with it, I totally get it now. When I try to convince myself to watch wrestling in its entirety, he's Exhibit A as to how integral it really can be.

Rush - my introduction to him was in some bangers with LA Park. I'll stand by those being great. Everything else, though? I don't know that I'd say it's bad, but it's clear that Rush's effort level is mostly low. He looks good, so he can get away with it, but he coasts more than anyone else in recent memory. He makes Shinsuke look like he's max-effort at all times.

 

[RKO-Cutter]

There's also a few monsters that I thought could be world champions, and good ones, so long as they stayed in their pocket.

Ryback, Strowman, even The Fiend, I wasn't expecting 5 star matches from them, but the things they could do well they did really fucking well. And then...

Ryback seemed to regress, when he just went out there and 'did movez' it was fun and cathartic, but he just lost the magic. Strowman's knees very blatantly became shot during his rise and he just couldn't do anything anymore, not like he did in 2016-17. And The Fiend...they botched a lot of it but the fact is even if they didn't that never had a long shelf life

On top of that, Bray in general, eventually he just stopped seeming creepy and foreboding and it just became "welp, it's RAW, time for Bray to come out and talk bollocks for 10 minutes"

 

[mitamaking]

I thought No Way Jose and Adam Rose were going to do fine in WWE, not great, but not what happened to them.

I was not high on Punishment Martinez in ROH at all so his work as Damien Priest has shocked me.

 

[TrailBlazerDude]

Cody Rhodes. I disliked him for a very long time and thought he was one of the most overrated guys out there, but dude is one of my favorites to watch now.

 

[lildeew]

Mr. Kennedy: In an era where there were very few superstars who had that "it" factor, I honestly thought this goof was the next big star in WWE. Him being billed from Green Bay also gave me hope. While he was entertaining in TNA early on, he just never had the talent or durability overall to be a steady main eventer.

D'Angelo Dinero: A Preaching pimp with hella catchphrases? yeah I thought he was gonna be something special. Same as Kennedy he just wasn't that great overall.

Matt Morgan: A Big Man that can talk and wrestle. TNA botched his push big time. He fell off shortly after losing the momentum.

John Morrison: I thought he could had been the new HBK in WWE but they kept him face and he didn't get to show much character until years later in Lucha Underground. I haven't cared about his work since then.



Also Kenny Omega, Ciampa, Sheamus and Ryback for reasons already stated.

 

[staple_gun]

Teddy DiBiase - Cody seemed super bland leading up to the formation of Priceless and Teddy felt like he had a ton of charisma, good mic skills and potential in the ring.

Then they joined and while not great, Cody started overshadowing him in almost every way.

 

[lildeew]

oh yeah, Jack Swagger. He looked promising in WWECW and being an Angle/Lesnar mark I was hoping he would fill that void....boy was I wrong.
If I could travel back in time, I'd smack tf outta my 20 yr old self.

 

[TrailBlazerDude]

Forgot about Tajiri! I used to think he wasn’t good enough to be on weekly television, but he’d definitely fit right in with the 24/7 title gimmick running around with the other jobbers.

 

[wweboo]

oh yeah, Jack Swagger. He looked promising in WWECW and being an Angle/Lesnar mark I was hoping he would fill that void....boy was I wrong.
If I could travel back in time, I'd smack tf outta my 20 yr old self.

Man maybe WWECW was better at something that we think, cause it had me believing a bunch of the guys on that show could be big names, and since then...Kofi did well? Punk was already well known before hand.

 

[HaasGotSkill]

I had/have a habit of clinging to random lower card guys that seem cool to me and thinking they could become a bigger deal if they got a little push; not main event tier but at least serious midcard, IC title regular level. Guys like Rob Conway and Curt Hawkins. Now I'm just a guy who remembers some semi-obscure jobbers and short-lived midcarders, sporting an IGN username that'll never let me live down my weird taste in wrestlers.

Also, seconding Cody Rhodes because I thought his one redeeming quality was liking Zelda and that was about all I considered interesting about the guy. I thought he was boring, then he did stuff like the undashing gimmick. I thought he'd never be a big deal, then he went and became one. I dismissed him as being both full of himself and full of shit when he made the bet that essentially led to AEW.

At this point, I feel like if I claimed Cody could never develop superpowers, he'd return at the next WWE show just to knock Seth Rollins out of the ring with an energy blast and reveal he's only been blond for so long because he unlocked his Super Cody form ages ago.

 

[mitamaking]

Oh, another one, W. Morrisey killed it in Impact which was shocking to me because I thought he had nothing left after WWE let him go. The fact that he is not signed right now anywhere is absolutely baffling to me.

I thought EVIL could be a great main eventer in New Japan and was excited when he turned heel... whoops

 

[rocknrollsisyphus]

I have a few more!

Monty Brown
I believed then, and I believe now, that he could have been a huge deal. Hell, he was super over in TNA and WWE due to his look, that incredible Pounce, and his overwhelming charisma ... but he never did much of anything and quietly retired when he was in his mid-30s. TNA not strapping him up when he was at his peak might've done him in. Maybe he gets more of an incomplete?

Buddy Murphy
He felt like the definition of filler for his first four or so years with WWE/NXT. Maybe not enhancement talent, but little more than a lower card guy. It wasn't that I thought he was bad necessarily ... I just didn't think much of anything about him. And then he moved to 205 Live and it was clear that he was so much more. He might not be main event material, but he fits most everywhere else. I guess that's why I get for being dismissive of a guy when he's still in his 20s.

Dustin Rhodes
This is kind of a weird one. I've never really been down on Rhodes - but I've also consistently failed to give him his due. When I was younger, I saw him as a boring, white meat dude in WCW. Then he moved onto WWF and became that weirdo Goldust, who I thoroughly enjoyed, but perceived as more of a gimmick than an actual talent. And so until my early 20s or so, I thought of him as a guy that was nothing without weirdness. As I got older, though, and started watching older matches with a critical eye, I realized just how fucking good he was. The size and strength and athleticism were obvious; but the smoothness with which he did everything from day one was truly astounding. And so I went from thinking of him as "guy with fun gimmick" to "wasted opportunity for a should-have-been world champ."

And then I counted him out as he hit his late 30s and 40s, putzed around in TNA, got out of shape, etc, and lamented that missed opportunity. But then he came back and did great work with Cody. And then he had fun with R-Truth. He didn't look the same, but I was glad he could still work. And he when his AEW match with Cody was announced, I kind of had a "good for them" reaction.

And then he churned out a five-star match.

Since then, I stopped worrying about Rhodes being done, and just kept on appreciating how great of a bookend to his career this has been. Nothing's lived up to his match against Cody, but he has had damn good tag matches and some damn good singles matches with Brodie Lee, Danielson, CM Punk, and, I'm assuming, Claudio.

As I said, this was a weird one. So the short version of it is this: it took me way too long to appreciate what Rhodes was, and then too long to grasp what he still is.

 

[AliRock]

Tama Tonga
Always thought he was very average, but the guy is mad over as a good guy and actually quite entertaining too

Yoshitatsu
Thought he was OK in wwe, then very bad in nooj so had written him off, but aooj? His tag team with Kento was actually great and they had several must see matches

Hangman Page
Thought he was alright, but didn't expect him to get as good as he's become. Still don't think he's elite, but hey, who knows?

Kazuyuki Fujita
This is less me being wrong and rather me just accepting popular opinion, but I was initially under the impression that guys like Fujita (in pro wrestling at least) were rubbish and a waste product the needed to go with the Inokiism era of nooj. However, after actually seeing the guy wrestle, the guy's actually pretty awesome, both in old matches and new ones. Sure, there are probably some stinkers in there (that I haven't seen), but I have enjoyed pretty much every Fujita match I've seen.

 

[ALayton90]

Ones I was bullish on and grew into:

MJF

Made the mistake as Im sure many had of just writing him off at first as some mid-card snotty gimmick/wannabe Miz etc. But over time in AEW, and especially as of late, with the stuff he did with Punk, I realize he really is a total package and wish whatever is going on gets done with so he can be back on tv. He is gold.

Briscoe Brothers
Maybe its because I didnt watch enough ROH back in the day or wasnt getting what their whole shtick was about, but I didnt get what the hype truly was about the Briscoes until a few years back. Now I am thinking where the heck have I been, the dudes are hilarious and cut the best promos. they are both great workers. and really wish they could be showcased on AEW. they really are one of the best tag teams in the modern era and im ashamed it took me so long to open my eyes to that.


Ones I was high on that I was wrong about:

Matt Sydal/Evan Bourne

I remember being familiar with him on Wrestling Society X and the indies, and then when I saw him end up in WWE, I was ecstatic. I didnt think he was going to be like World Champ or anything. But you had Cena and guys endorsing him. Then you look back and realize, his gimmick stunk (and still not a fan of his shtick now). Nexus embarrassed him. Ya he won the tag belt I believe and had some highlight reel moments. But I thought he had IC potential and he flamed out. And dont get me started on him since. I honestly briefly thought "Oh man, hes in AEW? He should be a solid mid card guy!" Pfttttttt.

Adam Rose, but as Leo Kruger.

I dug that like bounty hunter/Kraven kinda gimmick they had going for him. But he was underutilized and I was like "Man, come on, give the guy a break". and was a fan of his from the ESPN special they had done on NXT. Then Adam Rose happened. Wasnt a fan of the gimmick, but I was like hey at least hes getting more time and oh man now hes on the main ros....ugh.

 

[staple_gun]

I have a few more!

Monty Brown
I believed then, and I believe now, that he could have been a huge deal. Hell, he was super over in TNA and WWE due to his look, that incredible Pounce, and his overwhelming charisma ... but he never did much of anything and quietly retired when he was in his mid-30s. TNA not strapping him up when he was at his peak might've done him in. Maybe he gets more of an incomplete?

I still believe Monty was the biggest victim of TNA becoming somewhat successful and thus, a viable option for guys like Christian, The Dudleys, and Angle. Before them, any older wrestler they brought in besides Sting was far past their prime so they couldn't be the main guy.

Without those other guys taking the spotlight, Monty would have been a much bigger name imo.

 

[Sawyerson]

I have never been wrong.

 

[AWSMan]

I still believe Monty was the biggest victim of TNA becoming somewhat successful and thus, a viable option for guys like Christian, The Dudleys, and Angle. Before them, any older wrestler they brought in besides Sting was far past their prime so they couldn't be the main guy.

Without those other guys taking the spotlight, Monty would have been a much bigger name imo.

Also, he was in WWECW and getting a pretty decent push when he stepped away from the business to, IIRC, raise his sister's kids after she died. So had that not happened, who knows how well he could've done on the main roster.

 

[That90sguy]

I really don’t feel like I’m wrong or way off base about guys often, but the most notable exception that comes to mind is…

Drew Mcintyre - I hated the chosen one, and I remember not understanding why the company was getting behind this bland lanky Scotsman over Morrison, whom I was convinced at the time was primed for greatness. After Drew’s initial push died down I continued to dismiss him out of habit. Even when he left WWE I ignored his work because of that. When he came back though, his Star power was undeniable, and his ring work had improved to match. And now he’s one of my favorites working today while Morrison isn’t even on my radar.

 

[Bigbyrd39]

I still believe Monty was the biggest victim of TNA becoming somewhat successful and thus, a viable option for guys like Christian, The Dudleys, and Angle. Before them, any older wrestler they brought in besides Sting was far past their prime so they couldn't be the main guy.

Without those other guys taking the spotlight, Monty would have been a much bigger name imo.

Monty was really starting to get hot in mid-2005....then they turned him heel and made him nothing more than Jarrett's henchman. Then when he started picking up steam again....in comes Sting. In comes Christian, Dudleys, Angle, Steiner, Joe, etc. Just bad timing.

As far as wrestlers I was wrong about, I echo what's already been said about Drew McIntyre and Cody. I thought both were tremendously average until the past few years.

The first time I heard Tyler Black cut a promo, I thought the dude was doomed and would never elevate beyond "athletic, fun guy to watch in an opening match scramble" kind of guy. He's evolved to be one of the better mic guys in the entire WWE.

 

[The_Sigh]

Sheamus

His early overpush made me sour on him. As time went on, I realized he's great and the kind of guy a brand should be built around.

i believed from the beginning

 

[AWSMan]

i believed from the beginning

I always liked Sheamus too, I quickly started getting excited when he was going to wrestle on WWECW cause he had some damn entertaining squashes.

 

[RKO-Cutter]

I always liked Sheamus too, I quickly started getting excited when he was going to wrestle on WWECW cause he had some damn entertaining squashes.

Remember when the Brogue Kick was a sig and the Irish Curse was the finish?

That was fucking weird

 

[lildeew]

I guess I can toss Hirooki Goto's name in here. About 10 years ago I thought he was at the same level as Ishii in the ring. While he's has his moments of greatness, nah...not even close. lol

 

[Generation.Now]

I guess I can toss Hirooki Goto's name in here. About 10 years ago I thought he was at the same level as Ishii in the ring. While he's has his moments of greatness, nah...not even close. lol

goto is obviously not very motivated. there's no fire in his eyes anymore, and hasnt been in a long time.

i think hed have been a star in a place like ajpw. after the okada title match he should have gone to ajpw to be top dog and eventually miyahara's career rival

 

[AWSMan]

Yeah, about the time Goto joined CHAOS was when he seemed to accept he’d never be a top guy there, and you could tell he lost something in the ring. I used to look forward to his G1 matches as much as anyone else in the tournament, but most of his matches these days he seems to just be going through the motions. You get glimpses of the old Goto, but it’s never consistent.

 

[rocknrollsisyphus]

All this talk about Goto - which is 100% accurate - makes his G1 match against Tanahashi have a tragic sort of tint to it.

That match has already been somewhat forgotten. I'd hazard that it's somewhat justifiable, given that it didn't have any impact on the finals (or even the semi-finals). And, for what it's worth, it wasn't the match of the tournament. All that said, though, Goto was fucking incredible in that match. That's the guy that I thought could've had at least a brief run with NJPW's top belt. Or, alternatively, helped the intercontinental (pre-unification) or NEVER strap maintain/regain some level of prestige.

Unfortunately, that hasn't and won't happen. And, while part of me wants to blame it on NJPW for shoving him into Chaos post-New Beginning, it's definitely on Goto to a sizable degree. He's been kind of consistently inconsistent for the last half-dozen years, with his effort level varying from match-to-match regardless of opponent. He's good enough that he doesn't really churn out stinkers - but seeing him and Tanahashi tear the house down reminds me that Goto's still capable of so much more.

 

[RKO-Cutter]

After all these years, I'm finally ready to admit that there is (well...was at the time) a place in wrestling for Grado

 

[TrailBlazerDude]

@zr-tts it’s your time to shine.

 

[makoncrayley]

After all these years, I'm finally ready to admit that there is (well...was at the time) a place in wrestling for Grado

Are you trying to turn your feud with Jack from a kayfabe one into a real one?

 

[TheVert]

Omega is better than the very low bar I set for him.

 

[Charlemagne2012]

After all these years, I'm finally ready to admit that there is (well...was at the time) a place in wrestling for Grado

 

[RKO-Cutter]

View attachment 798150

life is a mystery


everyone must stand alone....

 

[Charlemagne2012]

life is a mystery


everyone must stand alone....

 

[makoncrayley]

View attachment 798174

You're pouncing on him for this harder than your favorite wrestler Monty Brown.

 

[Charlemagne2012]

You're pouncing on him for this harder than your favorite wrestler Monty Brown.

 

[Generation.Now]

placeholder post for when punk vs hangman 2 doesn't happen.

 

[bpapa2016]

Recent ones that I can recall are Kalisto and Tegan Nox. Thinking the latter still has a chance though?

Going back many years… I’ll exclude anybody I got behind foolishly as a child, but one that stands out as an adult would be Brian Christopher. I remember in predicting in AOL Chat in 1997 that WrestleMania 23 would be headlined by Christopher vs. “not even the Rock yet” Maivia, lol.

One I feel like I was very right about because I took note during the BFF days was Sasha.

 

[RKO-Cutter]

And there's really nothing appealing about the tag title match

 

[staple_gun]

I'm really happy so many of us were wrong about Danielson and Zayn. Not that anyone thought they couldn't wrestle but tons of people thought their mic skills would hold them back which is laughable at this point.

 

[lildeew]

El Desperado

lo siento.

 

[bpapa2016]

I'm really happy so many of us were wrong about Danielson and Zayn. Not that anyone thought they couldn't wrestle but tons of people thought their mic skills would hold them back which is laughable at this point.

I always thought D-Bry would make it in the big league, along with Punk, Joe, Low Ki, and Homicide. To me they just woulda been the natural progression from guys like Jericho, Benoit, and Eddie. Plus Bryan had the pedigree of the HBK connection.

2 outta 5 ain’t bad I guess. Well, eventually 3 outta 5, but 10 years after it should have happened.

I was definitely wrong about Zayn and Owens though. When they were left behind after Punk, Bryan, and Joe left, to me they just looked like indie guys that would never make it. Glad I was wrong there.

 

[Generation.Now]

placeholder post for when punk vs hangman 2 doesn't happen.

i was SUPER wrong about this one. definitely not a work.

damn.

 

[RKO-Cutter]

Okay so, some caveats

• This isn't technically a wrestler
• It's still not THAT good comparatively
• When it happened it was so shit

but

I now recognize that NXT 2.0 had to happen. NXT in its form in 2021 just could not continue, it was dying and/or dead, just about everything NXT offered 2014-2018 was now being duplicated and done better elsewhere, there really weren't any indie wrestlers left to fill their roster.

So much of NXT 2.0 was horrid, NXT nowadays isn't nearly as bad but it's still not amazing, but the bottom line is that NXT needed to have everything torn down to build it up again

 

[RKO-Cutter]

When The Acclaimed won the tag titles, I said "cool so they got the sentimental win, they earned it, but let's get them off those guys and back on a 'good' team"

I'm not saying they're a top tier wrestling talent, but The Acclaimed have worked hard and made themselves genuinely one of the best tag title reigns in AEW history, possibly the best depending on your tastes. They're succeeding at having the run that Jurassic Express kinda fell flat trying.