5 WWE Superstars who suffered because of high expectations
Every superstar that has signed with WWE knew the pressure that comes with the job. As a WWE Superstar, you're at the highest level of the sports entertainment/pro wrestling industry, with the biggest opportunity for superstardom.
However, there have been many superstars who could have reached a higher level but suffered from the high expectations set for them. It could have been expectations from WWE management, the fans, or even a mix of both.
Luckily, there have been a few exceptions who eventually came around, but most of the WWE Superstars on this list have been negatively impacted by high expectations:
#5. Bray Wyatt - Set up to fail in WWE from day 1?
Bray Wyatt can't be labeled as underrated, but he is arguably the biggest missed opportunity for WWE this past decade. Coming from a wrestling background, he had the tools to become one of the biggest stars of his generation.
While the Husky Harris experiment was forgettable, the Bray Wyatt character isn't. The Eater Of Worlds character seemed to be an instant hit with WWE fans and appeared to be on course for a big push in the future.
He made a splash back onto the WWE roster in 2013 along with the late great Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. Due to the surreal/supernatural nature of his character, he had an instant cloud hanging over his head. He was compared to The Undertaker, even though their character wasn't the same at all.
The Phenom was a supernatural-like character, while Bray Wyatt represented more of a cult figure. Wyatt isn't the most proficient in-ring technician, but as we've seen throughout the course of WWE history, that doesn't always matter.
WWE and wrestling fans, in general, are always more enamored by a strong character over a strong in-ring worker. More than anything, Bray Wyatt had what most of the WWE roster lacked and still lacks - an old-school, throwback kind of character.
All he truly needed was good and consistent backing, but WWE never gave that to him. His loss to John Cena at WrestleMania 30 would go on to define his career for the next seven years - he always lost the biggest matches.
There are too many such examples. He lost to Randy Orton at WrestleMania 33 when it should have been his star-making performance, he should have defeated Goldberg in 2020, but he didn't. This has made some fans label him a "jobber to the stars".
Even his career redemption as The Fiend lost momentum quickly and by 2021, fans began to find him stale again. In Bray Wyatt's case, two major factors made him suffer the most - first and foremost, it was WWE's inconsistent booking.
Secondly, it was the high expectations kept for him from the beginning. Comparing him to The Undertaker did no favors and the expectations set for him led to a negative outcome.