4 main event level Superstars WWE dropped the ball with
While WWE has created a number of major stars over the years, there are also quite a few wrestlers who they have dropped the ball with.
It's not easy to build new talent, but there have been a number of occasions where the company has failed to see the potential in several individuals to take the next step.
For every John Cena, Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton that WWE has developed into major names, there are just as many missed opportunities where they failed to use certain wrestlers to their utmost potential.
On that note, here are four main event level Superstars that WWE dropped the ball with.
#4. Rusev showed time and time again that he could be a huge star
🔥🔥Miro is Here🔥🔥#AEWxNJPW https://t.co/YO1bmNAUlH
Whether it was as the Bulgarian Brute heel or the insanely popular Rusev Day act, Rusev was regularly one of the most entertaining talents on television during his time in WWE.
In his six years on the main roster, Rusev routinely proved that he could hang with just about anyone. His feud with John Cena over the US Championship showed he was ready to stand among the main event players and hold his own.
For some reason, WWE could just never quite commit to pushing him past the mid card, and he eventually left the company. He soon landed in AEW and his run as TNT Champion showed just how capable he is when given the opportunity to shine.
#3. Samoa Joe had all the tools to be a main event player
Samoa Joe has shown that he's capable of being one of the biggest stars in any promotion he's ever wrestled for.
Whether it was Ring of Honor, TNA or even NXT, the Samoan Submission Machine has always featured heavily in the main event scene and was more than capable of doing so on WWE's main roster.
His brief feud with Brock Lesnar was a testament to that, and Joe looked like he belonged when he faced off with The Beast over the Universal Championship. Unfortunately, Vince McMahon could never quite buy into him being a major star.
He was eventually released before being brought back to NXT and then quickly released again.
#2. Mr. Kennedy seemed destined to become a multiple time World Champion
Definitely too many to name but off the top of my head, will go with Mr. Kennedy
He had a couple short reigns as World Champion in #ImpactWrestling and had top line feuds there and in WWE, but really thought he would be one of the next big things in #WWE back in 2006
#wrestling https://t.co/3F3YldxRrz
While it may not be entirely WWE's fault that Mr. Kennedy didn't quite become the major star everyone expected him to be, the company does have to shoulder some of the blame.
Kennedy seemed like a generational talent once he burst onto the scene in the mid 2000s and the company pushed him hard out of the gate. He quickly defeated a number of former world champions, including The Undertaker, in the early stages of his career. But the run didn't last very long.
After a poorly timed injury following his Money in the Bank victory and a suspension after a failed drug test, his momentum evaporated. He could still have gone on to be a major star for the company, but after Randy Orton and John Cena complained about him, McMahon decided to let him go, squandering what could have been a huge star.
#1. Dean Ambrose may have been a WWE Champion, but he should have been the biggest face in the company
While yes, Dean Ambrose did become World Champion during his tenure with the company, it's undeniable that he should have been a much bigger star than he was ever treated as.
Ambrose was easily one of the most popular guys in the entire company during his run and had the potential to be the number one babyface for WWE. Instead, he was held down and very rarely treated like the star he could have been.
Fans were desperate to get behind him and see him succeed, but Vince McMahon seemed far more interested in making a star out of his former Shield teammate Roman Reigns, which led to Ambrose being held back.
Ambrose eventually grew tired of the poor treatment and left the company. Since then, he's made his home in AEW, where he's become the star he always had the potential to be.
In just three years with Tony Khan's promotion, Jon Moxley has regularly felt like one of the biggest names in the industry and the fans have treated him as such. It's clear that WWE dropped the ball in a big way by not promoting him more and creating what could have been a generational babyface.