Wrestlers you never thought would become main eventers

[steve rayson]

All of the current main eventers in WWE.

Never thought someone with a corny rapper gimmick will get far, especially when he got Buchanan as a tag partner.

[tattooedgooner]

Really hard as when you first see someone and they don't have much personality then you kinda dismiss them but I think the biggest ones are the ones that have been around for a few years and you still don't think they could in any way.

 

For me the Miz and Bradshaw are the 2 biggest but if it was on first impressions it would be a very very long list.

[Richie Freebird]

Dallas Page mate. Shit manager with a terrible look.

[Loki]

Edge. And you know, maybe it's because I never really watched when he WAS champion, but I STILL don't really buy him as a main eventer. He just seemed to be there by default, having decent but unmemorable main events, before retiring fairly quietly without leaving much of a gap.

 

That's probably unfair, but that's how it feels to me.

[King Jon]

Kane. Who knew he would still be there or thereabouts 13 years on? Jack Swagger.

[Vamp]

Edge. And you know, maybe it's because I never really watched when he WAS champion, but I STILL don't really buy him as a main eventer. He just seemed to be there by default, having decent but unmemorable main events, before retiring fairly quietly without leaving much of a gap.

 

That's probably unfair, but that's how it feels to me.

 

I'd agree with this 100%. I never really saw much in Edge and certainly never felt he was the amazing main eventer that most people seemed too. I enjoyed his face singles run more than his main event heel run if I'm entirely honest.

[Halitosis Romantic]

Definitely Sheamus - I always thought he was dire in the UK, but he's come on leaps and bounds.

[King Pitcos]

Edge. And you know, maybe it's because I never really watched when he WAS champion, but I STILL don't really buy him as a main eventer. He just seemed to be there by default, having decent but unmemorable main events, before retiring fairly quietly without leaving much of a gap.

 

That's probably unfair, but that's how it feels to me.

I remember it seeming like everyone (well, WWF publications and Powerslam) tipping Edge as a future main eventer right from the off. Jeff Hardy, from early 2000, was always being called "the next Shawn Michaels" as well.

[BritFan]

I remember telling a friend when Batista first came about that he was going to be WWE Champion one day.

 

The only two people who have really shocked me (for two separate reasons) winning the "big one" have been Sheamus and Jack Swagger.

 

I had high hopes for Sheamus. I just didn't think he would win the WWE Championship that early.

 

As for Swagger, never been a fan and don't find him interesting in the slightest.

[Richie Freebird]

As for Swagger, never been a fan and don't find him interesting in the slightest.

 

I actually predicted Swagger would one day be champ when I fist saw him wrestle. His wrestling was just that good.

[Dirty Eddie]

I actually predicted Swagger would one day be champ when I fist saw him wrestle. His wrestling was just that good.

 

I thought Swagger was great when he debuted.

 

He looked like a taller, leaner, slimmer Lesnar, what with the light-blond, cropped hair and amateur wrestler stuff. He was also very tasty in the ring in his first few matches; sweet amateur style takedowns, awesome launching suplexes and a nice gut-wrench powerbomb as a finish.

 

It was the years since that debut that he's turned into (for me anyway) a monotone bore on the mic who has average matches.

[Richie Freebird]

I thought Swagger was great when he debuted.

 

He looked like a taller, leaner, slimmer Lesnar, what with the light-blond, cropped hair and amateur wrestler stuff. He was also very tasty in the ring in his first few matches; sweet amateur style takedowns, awesome launching suplexes and a nice gut-wrench powerbomb as a finish.

 

It was the years since that debut that he's turned into (for me anyway) a monotone bore on the mic who has average matches.

 

Exactly, the first impressions I got were that I was seeing a man of greatness. I

[Magnum]

The Miz is probably the biggest one. When JBL was burying the shit out of him in 2006, I thought, "this guy might last a year or so, tops." Then he got drafted to ECW and teamed with Morrison, and everything improved ten-fold. When he got drafted to Raw, I thought the midcard was a perfect spot for him, then he began to call out Cena, and was very entertaining in doing so, hence my sig and avatar. I still think he's getting a bigger push than he deserves, even though I like him a lot. He works hard and is a good company face, but he looks so out of place in the main event scene. There's no shame in being at a Tito Santana or Attitude-era Val Venis level, which I think he's better suited to.

 

Pretty good summary of how I feel about The Miz. He improved a hell of a lot over the last 2-3 years, to the point where, before he won MITB last year, I was hoping they'd actually give him a shot with the world title because his slow, consistent push was far preferable to the out of the blue title runs they gave to people like Sheamus and Swagger. As you say though, once he did get to the main event scene, he didn't half look out of place. He's no more than mediocre in the ring and, whether it's his size, his facial features, or the fact he came from a reality show, it still seems absurd to take him seriously as a physical threat to someone like Cena, Orton or, God forbid, Triple H or Undertaker.

 

I suspect in years to come people will look back on this year's Wrestlemania and scarcely believe that The Miz shared a ring with The Rock and John Cena in a Wrestlemania main event (and won, no less).

[Dirty Eddie]

Exactly, the first impressions I got were that I was seeing a man of greatness. I

[Barrington]

Edge was the biggest shocker for me. I remember when I first saw him, he was the guy doing the entrance through the crowd, he'd come in, win then leave. He was quiet, mysterious and very popular IIRC. Then when Christian came in, it gave him something different to go with and I liked them as a team. Then I thought they'd get nowhere as a tema and be gone soon. They eventually got title shots but were never really billed as tag team competition for any champions. When they finally won the belts at wrestlemania I was genuinely shocked as I had the Dudleys or Hardys to win it. And then Edge got a nice build up, winning the IC belt, KOTR, and kind of staying there at that level for ages. Then all of a sudden hes Mr. Money in the bank and boom, wins the belt and practically stayed in the main event.

 

Jeff Hardy. I remember him challenging Orton for the belt and thinking, thats as far as he'll get, but then proved me wrong and won the big one.

 

Y2J. I always liked Jericho, he was loud, obnoxious and great in his matches. I just neevr figured he'd go on to win the title. Then he did and I loved it.

 

JBL. Thought his days were done when Faarooq left, but then went on to become the most entertaining heel ever and great champion.