10: Eva Marie

When Eva Marie debuted on WWE TV in 2013, WWE still had a habit of pushing female talent that weren’t the best in the ring. In WWE’s defence, Marie had some major heat from the fans, yet when she wrestled, she completely fell apart.

Marie was far too green for the main roster, and she was exposed when the bell rang. Marie even spent some time in NXT, and this did little to offer any kind of significant improvement.

Marie was even brought back for a second run during the COVID-19 Era, and this was a baffling move as Marie offered zero signs of improvement, which meant that the second run was ultimately a complete waste of everyone’s time.

9: The Great Khali

Arriving in WWE in 2006, The Great Khali was positioned as the new arch-rival for The Undertaker. Khali looked incredible, as he stood over 7 feet tall, and WWE offered a great presentation for Khali that made him look like a mega-star.

The issue was that Khali simply couldn’t wrestle. Khali was put in the WWE ring with elite names such as The Undertaker, Rey Mysterio and Batista, yet these legendary talents couldn’t get a passable match out of Khali. Khali had a ton of limitations as a performer, yet this didn’t stop WWE from persisting with the Khali push, and in 2007, Khali would become World Champion. This was a World Title reign that not a single fan was pushing for, and this reign greatly exposed Khali, and was a sign that Vince McMahon was greatly out of touch in terms of what the overall fan-base wanted.

It took some time, but WWE eventually moved Khali down the card, and he would spend the rest of his WWE career in more comedic roles. Whilst his in-ring ability was always a problem, he did manage to get somewhat over as a babyface in the later stages of his career, and his popularity and influence on the Indian market for WWE can never be denied.

8: Giant Gonzalez

Unfortunately, WWE have time and time again brought in lousy wrestlers to work with The Undertaker, and in the 1990s, they brought in a wrestler known as Giant Gonzalez.

Despite having a ton of size, Gonzalez was one of the worst performers The Undertaker has ever shared a ring with, and their matches in 1993 were truly atrocious, despite The Deadman doing his best to try and deliver a passable match.

Speaking to Sam Roberts, The Undertaker spoke honestly about Gonzalez as an in-ring performer, and The Deadman stated that the program with him took YEARS off his career:

"That whole thing took years off my career. I would be in much better shape now if I could've skipped that one program. As physically demanding as it was, it was twice as much the mental strain because you have Bret, Yokozuna going out and having these great matches. Obviously, you want to be mentioned in the same breath as those guys and it was just not possible…”

7: The Boogeyman

The Boogeyman was thrown onto the main roster with very little training, and he was given a major push almost immediately. The Boogeyman character was unique and it was over with the audience; however, like all supernatural characters, the character had to eventually wrestle, and this was where the mystique was shattered.

The Boogeyman wasn’t at the level WWE or the fans wanted, and his matches with the likes of Booker T and JBL were laughable at best.

The Boogeyman character was eventually moved dramatically down the card, and for good reason, as it was impossible for WWE to book him in high-profile feuds if they knew that the end matchup wasn’t going to deliver.

Having a riveting and engaging gimmick is vastly important in wrestling, yet the in-ring work has to be up to par. Names such as The Undertaker, Mick Foley, and Bray Wyatt were a testament to this. Their characters and gimmicks were legendary, yet these men had the ability to deliver a classic in-ring product with anyone on their respective roster. 

6: Nathan Jones

It’s often been the case in WWE that they see a wrestler and believe they will be the biggest star on the planet. This opinion is usually formed thanks to their appearance, and nothing more, and this was often the case during the old era of WWE, where Vince McMahon preferred his top guys to look a certain way.

In 2003, although wrestlers such as Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, Rob Van Dam and Booker T were all amongst the most pushed wrestlers in the company, this mind-set still firmly existed, as WWE debuted Nathan Jones. Jones had an intimidating look, and although he was insanely green, WWE debuted him in a program with The Undertaker, and this was going to lead to the two teaming together at WrestleMania 19.

Shortly before WrestleMania 19, WWE realised that Jones wasn’t ready for such a prestigious position, and his WrestleMania plans were dropped.

Jones would re-debut in the company in late 2003, this time as a menacing heel. This new heel run led to more ring time, and although he was wrestling names such as Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit, Jones was simply not cut out for the big leagues.

5: King Mabel

In an attempt to create a new star, WWE decided to push Mabel in 1995. Mabel would win the illustrious King of the Ring, and would go on to challenge Diesel at that year’s SummerSlam event. King Mabel was sub-par in the ring, and when he wrestled Diesel at the SummerSlam event, it highlighted all of his flaws, and his in-ring performance was so bad and reckless that Vince McMahon almost fired him on the spot.

Mabel would have numerous runs in the company, including runs as Viscera and Big Daddy V, yet he was often criticised during these runs as his in-ring output was consistently failing to hit the mark.

4: Heidenreich

Heidenreich was another larger-than-life superstar that WWE paired with The Undertaker, and just like other names on this list, Heidenreich’s in-ring work was terrible. The Heidenreich character was an interesting one, as he would often come to the ring wearing a straight-jacket, and his alliance with Paul Heyman should have been a recipe for success.

Unfortunately, when the bell rang, he often looked nervous, and he failed to have good matches. He had somewhat more success as a babyface as part of the new version of the Legion of Doom, yet even still, fans still called out his in-ring work, which showed little to no improvement.

3: Vladimir Kozlov

Following WrestleMania 24, WWE debuted Vladimir Kozlov, and from his first match, it was evident that WWE saw dollar signs. Before fans knew it, Kozlov was pushed into the main event scene, and this saw Kozlov enter into a feud with Triple H and Jeff Hardy.

This push was completely unwarranted, as the fans weren’t reacting with excitement when Kozlov’s music hit, and most of his matches were lifeless squash matches. With Kozlov entering into a feud with two top names, this meant that he was now wrestling longer matches, and this was a massive detriment to Kozlov, and he looked completely out of place.

Negative reactions to his in-ring work aside, WWE continued with his push, and he would even defeat The Undertaker clean on SmackDown. Over time, Vince McMahon realised that Kozlov wasn’t going to be the menacing top-star he wanted, and he eventually admitted defeat, and decided instead to place Kozlov in a comedic tag-team with Santino Marella.

2: Ahmed Johnson

WWE had every reason to push Ahmed Johnson, as his WWE arrival came at a time where new stars were badly needed, and the more WWE pushed Johnson, the bigger the reactions towards him seemed to get.

Sadly, Johnson’s in-ring work was at a questionable level, and he was known for being incredibly reckless in the ring. It’s often said that it’s vital that wrestlers trust each other in the ring, yet numerous wrestlers had issues with how stiff and brutal Johnson could be within the squared circle.

WWE Legend, Ted DiBiase summed up the issue with Johnson on his podcast by stating:

“Big guy. Great appearance, obviously, Vince [McMahon] was going to push him because he was the size he was. It looked like he did. But, you know, he wasn’t a great worker. In other words, he had to have somebody on the other side of the ring who could lead him...”

Johnson eventually exited the company in 1998, and there were numerous reasons as to why the departure happened, yet ultimately Johnson found himself in WCW, where he unfortunately fell into a pit of obscurity.

1: The Ultimate Warrior

It always leads to a ton of discourse whenever a wrestling fan claims that The Ultimate Warrior couldn’t wrestle. On the surface, Warrior couldn’t wrestle, he was extremely limited as a performer, and numerous wrestlers have called Warrior out for his limitations.

However, limitations aside, Warrior still had the ability to tell an excellent, captivating story with his matches. Matches against the likes of Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage were tremendous, and yes, this was in-part thanks to the abilities and aura of the two aforementioned names, yet Warrior still did his part in the respective matchups.

Current WWE star, Gunther summed up Warrior’s abilities the best when appearing on The Bump:

“He’s a showman. He’s not an athlete. Not a professional wrestler, he’s a showman…”

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