Inevitable main eventers, over-the-hill veterans, and the other wrestlers you were wrong about!
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00:00On paper, some of these talented souls look destined for greatness after certain company
00:04moves or character shifts, whereas others were consistently classed as over-the-hill,
00:09poor workers or just another disrespectful celeb trying to lazily make some money off
00:14the business at one point or another.
00:16For better or worse though, this bunch of wrestling figures all proved their doubters
00:19or supporters entirely wrong further down the road.
00:23Gareth here from WhatCultureWrestling and here are 10 wrestlers you were totally wrong
00:27about.
00:2810.
00:29Miro Rather than doubling down on the undoubted
00:31popularity Rusev experienced from 2017 to 2018, WWE largely kept the potential main
00:37event star away from the top of the card and eventually dumped him into a silly love triangle
00:41storyline instead.
00:43And that worked out perfectly.
00:44So when the performer eventually known as Miro ultimately made his way over to the land
00:47of all elite in September 2020 after being released by WWE earlier that year, those who
00:52cried out to see the big man get an opportunity to show what he was truly capable of were
00:56understandably salivating.
00:58But while his initial best man persona didn't exactly get him off to the best of AEW stats,
01:03his eventual stint as the dominant TNT Championship holding redeemer looked to be setting the
01:07bulldozer up for bigger things in the future.
01:10Said bigger things didn't actually come to pass however.
01:13Instead Miro has largely gone missing since losing his belt in September 2021, and with
01:17the absent star only wrestling four times in 2022, along with it recently being said
01:22that he turned down an idea that would have led to a full gear match last year, those
01:25who thought Miro was finally going to get a shot at main event superstardom as part
01:29of the All Elite roster are likely feeling a touch underwhelmed at this current moment.
01:339.
01:34Carlito
01:35A debuting Carlito swiftly bested John Cena for the United States Championship in 2004,
01:40with a little help from the face that runs the place's steel chain.
01:43In a case of perhaps peaking a little too soon though, those who justifiably assumed
01:47WWE would eventually throw everything behind the clearly charismatic apple-spitting villain
01:52were proven wrong as the cool figure never really topped that initial spell in the spotlight.
01:56Despite picking up the odd Intercontinental and World Tag Team Championship, Carlito never
02:01fully delivered on the main event potential he showed flickers of in his battles with
02:04Cena and interactions with the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin and rowdy Roddy Piper on
02:09the grander stage.
02:11Instead Carlito was often branded as lazy and too nonchalant by folks backstage, and
02:15a wrestler that could have been a top level star of tomorrow ultimately ended up leaving
02:18the company in 2010.
02:20Although his virtual crowd-popping Royal Rumble 2021 return did at least offer a glimpse
02:24of what could have been, had Carlito grown into the main event calibre presence he once
02:28threatened to be.
02:308.
02:31Nikki Cross
02:32For a time, the masked superhero persona actually managed to somehow catapult the star formerly
02:36known as Nikki Cross to a Money in the Bank and Raw Women's Championship win, with that
02:40admittedly surreal summer of 2021 sitting as the most successful period of the one-time
02:45NXT performer's main roster career by far.
02:48Before long though, the blue and yellow gimmick lost much of the super steam it had picked
02:52up early on, and Nikki A.S.H. soon became little more than another 24-7 title jobber
02:57depressingly sprinting around arenas.
02:59And it was at this point when some fans began trying to wield the more unhinged Nikki Cross
03:03persona that once made her a black and gold hit back into existence.
03:07Far from being the beginning of a long-awaited return to form for Cross however, that eventual
03:11reverting back to the character associated with all things sanity last year arguably
03:15made less of an impact than her previous super switch-up.
03:19Hopefully Nikki's return to her crazy ways lead to something more compelling than getting
03:23battered by the majority of the division and stalking Candice LeRae backstage.
03:277.
03:28Logan Paul
03:29It turns out that Logan Paul is far better at this pro wrestling stuff than anyone could
03:33have possibly imagined.
03:34On the back of countless annoying celebrity guests stopping by to lend their star power
03:38to the WWE machine, only to make a mockery of fan-favourite performers or the business
03:42in general, the sight of the easily detestable YouTuber strutting down the ramp back on the
03:46road to WrestleMania 37 led to many a justifiable eye-roll.
03:51Fast forward a year though, and not only had Paul raised the celeb bar recently set by
03:54the impressive Bad Bunny and Pat McAfee, but he'd actually more than proven that he could
03:58have a rather successful future as a consistent part of the main roster.
04:02Who'd have thunk it, eh?
04:03Those first two decent showings alongside on VS The Miz were already enough evidence
04:07to highlight just how wrong many were about Logan's commitment to the role of part-time
04:11attraction and ability to actually goo in between the ropes.
04:15His main event battle against Roman Reigns and subsequent jaw-dropping Royal Rumble display
04:19though, they have left a frankly absurd amount of egg on the impulsive ones many doubters
04:23astounded faces, myself included.
04:266.
04:27Samoa Joe
04:28When it became known that the absolute wrestling legend that is Samoa Joe was officially walking
04:32through Tony Khan's All Elite doors, it's safe to say some mixed feelings were present
04:36in those waiting for his incoming debut.
04:39While the Samoan submission machine undoubtedly sat as a talented soul who could offer a great
04:43deal behind the scenes, many felt that Joe's best days in the squared circle were definitely
04:47behind him.
04:48And those assumptions were seemingly proven right for a spell, with Joe noticeably not
04:52exactly hanging with much of the All Elite roster and feeling like a bit of an afterthought
04:56despite reigning as the Ring of Honor Television Champion.
04:59A rather dull pairing with Wardlow soon followed as the mid-card champs fought off Jay Lethal
05:03and his goons, and the sight of Joe eventually picking up the TNT strap felt like another
05:08step in the wrong direction for all involved.
05:10This unexpected shift soon set the stage for something of a revival for Joe, however, with
05:15the King of Television soon rediscovering his menacing edge in violent brawls with Dabby
05:19Allen.
05:20The guy absolutely murdered him, didn't he?
05:22His incoming rematch with Wardlow on the back of mercilessly chopping off the deeply personal
05:26locks of his one-time partner now feels like one of the hottest blow-offs of the year,
05:30and it wouldn't have been possible without a star many once classed as an All Elite signing
05:34misstep.
05:355.
05:36Ted DiBiase Jr
05:37At a glance, the decision to throw Ted DiBiase Jr and Cody Rhodes into a unit alongside WWE's
05:42resident legend killer Randy Orton seemed like a surefire way to groom two potential
05:47stars of tomorrow into a pair of main event sensations.
05:50And while Rhodes would ultimately go on to deliver the goods much further down the road,
05:54the son of the legendary Ted DiBiase never quite caught fire in the way many assumed
05:58he would do.
05:59He absolutely looked the part, could hold his own in between the ropes, and was definitely
06:03growing more confident as a character on the mic before the aforementioned group's eventual
06:07However, when DiBiase Jr was finally given some room to breathe as a solo act, WWE lazily
06:12attempted to simply make him the second coming of the Million Dollar Man, as expected, that
06:17failed miserably.
06:18And on the back of doing very little of note in the years that would follow, DiBiase Jr
06:21eventually decided enough was enough in 2013, turning down the chance to re-sign with the
06:26company after suffering from depression and anxiety.
06:29And just like that, a star many felt had all the makings of another second-generation top-level
06:33talent would never step in between the WWE ropes ever again.
06:374.
06:38John Cena Throughout much of his time sitting at the
06:40top of the WWE mountain, it wasn't exactly uncommon to hear the deafening sound of thousands
06:45of fans reminding John Cena that he most definitely could not wrestle.
06:49And while it's fair to say that the vast majority of standard Cena encounters weren't
06:52exactly overflowing with code reds and springboard stunners, to class the face that runs the
06:57place as a performer who couldn't work in between the ropes was about as far from the
07:00truth as you could get.
07:02But feeling the need to prove those very much audible doubters wrong, the second big match
07:06John reclaimed the United States Championship at WrestleMania 31, Cena decided to take
07:10things up a notch.
07:11And it was that weekly US title open challenge that soon set the stage for some of the greatest
07:16Raw encounters of the 2010s.
07:18Simultaneously, a defiant Cena managed to both make the US title belt one of the most
07:22prestigious in the company, and wave his hand at those infamous You Can't Wrestle chants.
07:273.
07:28Karrion Kross Remember when a solid section of the fandom
07:30lost their damn minds over the terrible treatment of then-undefeated NXT champion Karrion Kross?
07:35Upon making his rather underwhelming Monday Night Raw debut back in 2021, well if the
07:40star's second attempt at a main roster debut is anything to go by, all the spooky red lighting
07:44and fireballs in the world still wouldn't have saved the bringer of doomsday from the
07:48excruciating sound of apathy that first time around.
07:51Admittedly, the former black and gold monster's second stint in the big leagues likely hasn't
07:55been helped by the average fan taking one look at the floppy haired nutjob, and instantly
07:59remembering his disastrous run as the bondage Spartan on Monday night.
08:03But those feeling that life under Papa H's guidance would at least bring with it something
08:07resembling a dominant return to form for Triple H's one-time NXT overlord, have been left
08:11wondering why they bothered banging the drum for Big Bad Karrion in the first place.
08:15Now, there's still time for the game to actually transform the Kross-Scarlet duo into
08:19more than a pair of seriously mid-heels to be swatted away by whatever babyface needs
08:23a just-about-notable notch in the W column, yet at this current moment, Kross' lacklustre
08:28comeback can only be defined as forgettable at best.
08:312.
08:32The Acclaimed 2022 saw The Acclaimed and Daddy Azz become quite possibly the hottest group
08:37on the planet for a spell there.
08:38However, around two years earlier, as Tony Khan himself was quick to note in an exchange
08:42with a seemingly frustrated fan, pointing out how odd it was to see the Truss Busters
08:46pushed in the main event of Rampage, some fans weren't exactly doing backflips at
08:50the idea of the fresh young teen taking up a decent spot on Dynamite.
08:54Sticking with the loudmouth twosome over the next few years through injuries and rather
08:58foolish disraps, TK refused to give up on the idea of Caster and Bowens being a set
09:02of genuine all-elite stars of the future.
09:05An organic connection with an audience that simply had no choice but to love The Acclaimed
09:09eventually became so hard to ignore that the AEW president had no choice but to hand the
09:13tag title ball to the cheeky duo over an FTR enjoying a career-best 12 months.
09:19Tony clearly saw something special in the charismatic lads from day one, and he's
09:23now reaping the rewards for defying those who initially doubted the scissoring squad.
09:271.
09:28Kofi Kingston
09:29There was never any question over how talented and entertaining the New Day's Kofi Kingston
09:33unquestionably was and had been throughout his sports entertainment run.
09:37Yet as the years rolled by, many felt that Kingston's time as a potential world champion
09:41for the company had come and gone, with the valiant babyface and equally hysterical heel
09:45never quite making that step up to main event level solo star.
09:49That all changed in the lead-up to the 35th show of shows though, on the back of a substitute
09:54Elimination Chamber appearance that forced fans to unexpectedly believe, KofiMania soon
09:58spread across the land and made the concept of a Kofi main event battle with the despicable
10:02new Daniel Bryan too glorious to pass up on.
10:06Weeks of leaping and sometimes failing to overcome the obstacles sent his way finally
10:09led to Big E and Xavier Woods earning Kingston the Mania WWE title chance even his most passionate
10:15supporters assumed would never become a reality.
10:18But it did, and one of the most satisfying visuals in the event's history soon graced
10:22the grandest stage, as the long time bridesmaid finally lifted the big one under the brightest
10:26of lights.
10:27And that's our list!
10:28Know of any other wrestlers people were totally wrong about?
10:30Let us know all about them in the comments section right down below and do not forget
10:34to like, share and click on that subscribe button while you're at it.
10:37Also if you like this kind of thing then please head on over to WhatCulture.com and find some
10:40more fantastic articles just like the one this video you're watching right this second
10:44is based on.
10:45I've been Gareth from WhatCulture Wrestling, be kind to your good self today and hopefully
10:49I will see your faces very very soon.
10:51Bye Bye!