Brothas can we talk?

[Golayitdown]

Great thread.

It's hard to pick just one. Pretty much any of the guys here has a case for the worst missed guy in history. Kofi and Shelton immediately come to mind (the former ALWAYS being over and the latter for being light years ahead of his most of his competition between the ropes). That Kofi shyt is almost unforgivable because he had the crowd on fire when they gave him that little Orton push.

MVP has everything you could ever want in a superstar. Dude had charisma out of this world and was passable in the ring (and was getting better). He could have been a main eventer and even a champ and I wouldn't have blinked an eye.

A guy like Truth makes me especially angry seeing that he was capable of much more than they did with him. That Newport segment and the subsequent turn could have gotten him a main heel spot.

Mark Henry could have ran with the HOP for much much longer. It was refreshing seeing a bad ass who did not give one single fukk about the crowd, cheers, catchphrases, getting over, or even talking.

Hell even a Booker T didn't get as much as he should have. He just made the most of every second of bullshyt they threw at him.

 

[KingBeez]

Lashley could've been black lesnar

MVP had/still has more charisma than most of the roster. He's currently the world champ of my hometown indie fed.

Shelton couldn't really talk, but dude can wrestle his ass off.

Hall of Pain/Swerve retirement Mark Henry could've won/kept the strap for a while as well

Kofi had a chance to get outta midcard hell with the Orton feud, but they fukked that up like we knew they would

Sadly all black wrestlers get used for are for spots in big matches or comedic dancing roles

 

[puppetmaster]

Like y'all said even at his advanced age they should've rode the Hall of Pain all the way. Mark Henry was as believable as Brock/Goldberg etc during that stretch


MVP had/has crossover appeal, a great redemption backstory that could've been included in his character later and can talk his ass off. Like he's the rockstar type you'd wanna get a beer with, he could've been world champion

 

[BlackDynamite310]

Man this is depressing. fukk the WWE smh

 

[Lucha Vandross]

Lashley
MVP
Shelton

This is why I like for other companies besides WWE to have TV deals. For all the faults TNA and ROH have, they are not scared of giving a black wrestler a push if he's got the skills.

We'll probably have a black LU champ before we get another black WWE champ.

Technically already had one in LU with Prince Puma/Ricochet

 

[Starboy52]

MVP. He was legit everything you could ask for as a Main Event Heel and more. But they cut the legs out from underneath him with that losing streak and Face Turn

 

[JerseyBoy23]

Technically already had one in LU with Prince Puma/Ricochet

Ricochet (Prince Puma) is half-black, they just have him pretending to be a mute Mexican under a mask

Word? For some reason I thought he was Italian. That's good to know, I wonder if the E will give him the push like Sasha.

 

[Ed MOTHERFUCKING G]

While this isn't a woe is me thread, what's real shytty:

At their peaks...

• Henry - fed to Cena
• Kofi - fed to Orton
• Benjamin - fed to HHH
• MVP - fed to HHH, but especially to Matt and Jeff hardy (they chose a junkie over mvp)
• Truth - fed to Cena
• Lashley - left before he crossed paths with Cena and rko, but let's be real they would've fed him to HHH

Monster of the month or JTTS was their ceiling..

 

[jadillac]

Missed opportunities? Definitely Bobby Lashley.

Vince loved Ahmed Johnson.....but he couldnt rock the mic like that.....Shelton ultimately suffered that same outcome. And I think Shelton was taken from the comfort of tag team too fast without them training him on finding a personality/mic work, etc.

Lashley, while not great on the mic, had that "look" Vince loves, and the crowd liked him too b/c he seemed "safe"

I still think Lashley could have a moderately decent run in WWE if he came back.

 

[jadillac]

MVP. He was legit everything you could ask for as a Main Event Heel and more. But they cut the legs out from underneath him with that losing streak and Face Turn

To be fair tho, MVP had a good run. He got alot of mic time, a long title run, a dope entrance....Vince clearly liked him for what he was.

I don't think he was a WWE world champ-type tho, especially not as a face. And they likely wouldnt let him win as a heel.

 

[patscorpio]

2 Cold Scorpio - the WWE got him while he was in his wrestling/physical prime and did nothing with him...that will never not make me angry

MVP for sure..dude could cut a promo and improved tremendously in the ring

 

[ADK]

Y'all gonna think I'm reaching here but even Cryme Tyme was a missed opportunity. Never even became tag champs.

 

[Hoss]

Agree with a lot of what's already been said, especially MVP who was pretty much the total package, but to me Mark Henry stands out above them all. I feel like his run as world champ barely scratched the surface with that dude.

Maybe his slow development as a wrestler and his tendency to get hurt too often worked against him as an investment, but man ... that dude, to me, had babyface crossover appeal just because of his unique look, his obvious charisma, surprisingly dope promo skills (all he needed was an opportunity to prove it) and a gimmick everyone can relate to (world's strongest man) that actually had arguable truth to it.

So yeah, tons of babyface crossover appeal in my opinion, and yet I actually preferred him as a heel. Absolute killer monster heel when pushed correctly. Could have had a long, dominant, legendary heel champ run.

But I'll always believe he legit could have and should have been world champ as both a heel and a face.

 

[Jmare007]

Well I'm latino so I guess my opinion isn't needed after reading the OP but whatever

Hall Of Pain Mark Henry showed they wasted like 5 year of his prime by giving him the "Kool Aid Man" gimmick prior to that outstanding heel turn and run with the belt.

Agree with a lot of what's already been said, especially MVP who was pretty much the total package, but to me Mark Henry stands out above them all. I feel like his run as world champ barely scratched the surface with that dude.

Maybe his slow development as a wrestler and his tendency to get hurt too often worked against him as an investment, but man ... that dude, to me, had babyface crossover appeal just because of his unique look, his obvious charisma, surprisingly dope promo skills (all he needed was an opportunity to prove it) and a gimmick everyone can relate to (world's strongest man) that actually had arguable truth to it.

So yeah, tons of babyface crossover appeal in my opinion, and yet I actually preferred him as a heel. Absolute killer monster heel when pushed correctly. Could have had a long, dominant, legendary heel champ run.

But I'll always believe he legit could have and should have been world champ as both a heel and a face.

You give Henry the Hall Of Pain run in 2007 or 2008 and by 2010 he could be a huge babyface facing any new heel threat.

 

[mrken12]

Missed opportunities? Definitely Bobby Lashley.

Vince loved Ahmed Johnson.....but he couldnt rock the mic like that.....Shelton ultimately suffered that same outcome. And I think Shelton was taken from the comfort of tag team too fast without them training him on finding a personality/mic work, etc.

Lashley, while not great on the mic, had that "look" Vince loves, and the crowd liked him too b/c he seemed "safe"

I still think Lashley could have a moderately decent run in WWE if he came back.

Ahmed Johnson would have gotten a mega push if he didn't have injury problems. Then again he was so his push wouldn't have lasted too long.