Wrestlers that never really got over

[Mitch Buchannon]

Who do you feel were wrestlers who never got over as much as their companies made it seem?

For me, one of them was Bobby Lashley. The guy had shitty mic skills, in his very few good matches it was usually the other guy carrying him, and it didn't matter if he was feuding with Mr. McMahon or Booker T, the crowd just didn't care about him. I'm not saying they hated him, they just hardly ever popped when he came out. Most times the audio guys had to add the fake cheer sounds in to make it seem like they were cheering. It was usually only late into his matches that some of the fans starting cheering for him.

Another obvious one is Jeff Jarrett. Like said on the Rise and Fall of WCW doc, it didn't matter how many guitars he has smashed he has hardly been over. The only real time I think I've seen the crowd cheer for him was his face turn in TNA a couple of years ago.

Three guys I'm going to put together because they had the same thing happen to them. Ahmed Johnson, Rikishi, and The Godfather. All of them were so fucking over with the fans and then WWE wrongly turned them heel. When they realized their mistakes and turned them back to face, it never was the same for them especially Johnson and Godfather. I could add Val Venis to the list, but he did eventually gain back his overness over time.

Discuss guys, add some more. Or even add guys who were over but their companies dropped the ball.

 

[Swamps]

Ahmed Johnson could have been the WWF champion if used properly. Like mentioned in the op, his heel turn (along with a few other issues) killed his momentum. I think one of his biggest downfalls was he was so injury prone (which Farooq said was because he was green). Also think he ended up leaving the WWE because of family issues. His short lived wcw run with Harlem Heat was just horrid! He had gained a few pounds and wasn't that great of a worker. The gans definitely did not care he was there.

RTRUTH, is a guy who could have really broke out if WWE didn't kill his momentum by turning him face. Did you guys see his early TNA work!? My God, this guy was amazing! Then I blame, Mr. I own the promotion so I'm going to be champion, Jeff Jarrett's politics to sort of side track Truth. Yes, I'm saying that Jeff Jarrett trying to put himself over as champion and the top heel was bad for TNA. For Christ sakes! You couldn't even give wcw tickets or pay per views away when he head lined, so why would anyone think it would work with a young company!? It didn't...

 

[Mitch Buchannon]

For R-Truth, he's still over as a face. But I agree turning him face when he was so amazing as a heel was very foolish but he's still gonna keep his job. The heel turn really helped his career, as there was much speculation that he would be released sooner or later.

Another guy who was speculated to be released and then silenced his critics is Cody Rhodes. His Dashing gimmick didn't get over until later and then the Undashing gimmick gave him huge job insurance. His wrestling and mic skills improved thanks to some great matches with Rey Mysterio.