Reasons why certain guys never got a run in WWE/TNA?

[cool arrow]

Why didn't Steve Bradley make it big?  I remember him being touted as the next big thing, especially in the Apter mags, back in the late 90s.  He actually worked a dark match at the first wrestling show I ever went to (Raw in late 99) and he seemed like he had a ton of potential as he was decently sized and had a lot of speed and agility.  Then he kind of disappeared and died a couple years back.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he just get hired because he was an RVD clone?

[SovietShooter]

I remember that. They said that the disco dancer could be a good partner for Rockabilly.

I remember breaking this down on the old board, but essentially, Disco got fired for refusing to out over Ms. Jaqueline in a match. He then went around working the indys, but couldn't use the Disco name, so he worked as "the Boogie Man" doing the same schtick, sometimes even masked. During this point, he started talks with WWF about coming in as Honky Tonk's protege... but it never panned out and the gimmick was given to Billly Gunn instead. Disco went back to WCW, put over Jaqueline, and started getting a push from enhancement guy to more of a midcard heel/JTTS.

[JAxlMorrison]

The onset of the internet and increase of exposure for ECW made Sabu a bigger name in 99/00 than he was in 95. Also, there was more of a war in snatching guys up at that point and far less to be taken. Sabu was very much a "Best of the rest" at that point. I'll say that when I went to a nitro in 98, and they were doing the laugh to hype up chucky in a few weeks, the rumor was that it was for Taz.

 

I remember hearing it had something to do with Sandman, who had signed the previous month.

[Tromatagon]

"We couldn't get Taz, but I know someone his size!"

[colonial]

 

Why didn't Steve Bradley make it big?  I remember him being touted as the next big thing, especially in the Apter mags, back in the late 90s.  He actually worked a dark match at the first wrestling show I ever went to (Raw in late 99) and he seemed like he had a ton of potential as he was decently sized and had a lot of speed and agility.  Then he kind of disappeared and died a couple years back.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he just get hired because he was an RVD clone?

 

 

It was generally perceived that Bradley was signed by the WWF to be the company's version of RVD, then got rid of him once "the real deal" was signed.  He was in developmental seemingly forever -- I'm pretty sure he wrestled in Memphis, OVW and IWA Puerto Rico when all three were developmental territories, and had numerous dark matches before getting the boot (at one point, it seemed like Bradley, Bo Dupp and the Haas Brothers were the dark match "regulars" for a few months).

 

JD