Friday, March 29, 2024
NewsFormer WWE Superstars Who Should NOT Return After Brand Extension

Former WWE Superstars Who Should NOT Return After Brand Extension

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Continuing on with this current series of examining people who could be coming back to WWE to help fill up the roster with the new brand split, the next logical step after talking about the top names that should is to do the flipside: the people who should not be given the same opportunity.

For one reason or another (or in some cases, maybe a dozen reasons), these are the names that I’m personally hoping don’t find themselves on the Raw or SmackDown rosters, or even NXT, as I just don’t see much of a reason to waste a paycheck on them.

As mentioned in the previous entry, some of these people may not even be eligible due to contractual obligations or just not wanting to come back, but this is speculating on them as if that’s all out the window and they’re up for grabs.

Without further ado, let’s dig in…

Rey Mysterio

We’re going to start off with a big one that is probably going to be very controversial and result in a bunch of hateful comments, but it needs to be said: Rey Mysterio is no longer who he was 10 or 15 years ago.

At one point in time, Rey was a consistently entertaining fan favorite who could be trusted to go out there, wow the audience for a few minutes and sell a bunch of merchandise. He’s a legend and a WWE Hall of Famer, for sure. He’s also a shell of his former self and someone who will demand way too much money for what he’ll be able to produce for the company.

For years, WWE kept paying him to do nothing but sit at home, injured. How can anyone think the same thing won’t just happen now? In the time span since he left WWE, there hasn’t been any miracle cure for banged up legs, has there? At best, he’s had a while to relax and rehab himself, but that would soon go away after just a few weeks or months of getting in the ring. Then, he’d go back to his former self, if he isn’t already in a position where he’s worse than he used to be, due to a few more years being tacked onto his age.

Rey Mysterio should come back to WWE at some point, but as someone under a Legends contract deal, and this brand extension isn’t looking for more ambassadors. If you can’t get in there and do what Goldust, R-Truth, Big Show, Kane and the other older guys are doing, you shouldn’t be added to the roster come July 19th.

The Hardy Boyz

Need I say more than “Slammiversary promo”?

Okay, I’ll elaborate some more.

If WWE welcomes back Jeff and Matt Hardy, the company is also welcoming back a multitude of problems. Since leaving, these two have been arrested numerous times, regressed when it comes to in-ring performance, developed incredibly wacky and ridiculous characters that definitely wouldn’t be capitalized on in any way, and worst of all, developed a bigger sense of entitlement that just will not fly in WWE.

Is it worth all the trouble just to have two guys who used to be more popular than they currently are come back to pop the Attitude Era portion of the crowd?

Mr. Kennedy

I was a big fan of Mr. Kennedy during his WWE run, and I was hoping he would become a world champion one of these days. Over the years, I’ve soured on him quite a bit. That’s not to say that he’s terrible or anything of the sort, because he isn’t. Rather, it’s more of an admission that he might not have ever been as good as I thought that he had the potential for.

Mr. Kennedy coming back wouldn’t be anything different from what we’ve already seen before, and we’ve already seen everything he has to offer, in my opinion. Would I get a smile on my face when he introduces himself? Sure. Would I want to see him take a portion of the spotlight away from a younger guy like Apollo Crews or Neville? Nope.

Plus, if WWE couldn’t trust giving him a main event spot years upon years ago, why would they now?

Leftover ECW Originals

One of the most frequently talked about names with these rumors of talents coming back is Stevie Richards. I’ve always been rather indifferent to Richards, thinking that he was nowhere near as good as some people made him out to be, but definitely not as bad as others would chastise him for being. I can’t imagine there being much of an upside to signing him to another contract, but even if they do, I don’t want to see this start a trend of bringing too many of these ECW Originals back.

Tommy Dreamer is past his prime. Even years ago, he had gone past his usefulness. One random appearance here and there is fine, but he shouldn’t be a regular roster member. Don’t even get me started on someone like Sandman, who didn’t really have anything to offer to begin with.

Rhino is about the only person I can see an argument for, and I wouldn’t even be upset if he wasn’t in the mix. He did fine with his NXT run and that was good enough for me.

Speaking of NXT…

NXT Rejects

Some people come into the company, can’t figure out how to get themselves over, and once they leave for a bit, they can come back with a renewed vigor. Some people, though, leave and drop off the face of the earth. When it comes to a number of the wrestlers who took part in the competition days of the NXT brand, they should stay relics of a less adequate era rather than be brought back in for another run.

Eli Cottonwood doesn’t need to come back. I highly doubt Lucky Cannon is on the list of people to re-sign. We’ve seen all that we ever could get from Aksana, so why bother giving her another chance? Michael Tarver…please. Lest we not forget someone like Jacob Novak, too, while we’re at it.

These people had their chances and failed miserably, only to continue to not succeed elsewhere. If they truly had the passion to improve and earn a spot back onto the roster, we would have heard from them in this time frame. If you even have the slightest clue what any of them are up to, pat yourself on the back—you know something most wrestling fans don’t.

Goldberg

Let’s end this list off with another bang, shall we?

There are plenty of upsides to Goldberg coming back, but every one of those is dependent upon other factors. For instance, what kind of shape is he in? How much money is he going to ask for? Is he going to be willing to put people over, or does he think he deserves another world title reign and that he should be protected like Brock Lesnar?

Assuming he would be a valuable asset to help build the future of the company up, I’d be okay with him signing, but I have a feeling he’s too far out of the game, has too many gripes, and just isn’t the star he used to be. Too many things would have to go in the direct opposite direction from what I think they probably are. Otherwise, this will turn into a situation where an older, washed-up version of Goldberg takes a good chunk of money away from WWE that could have gone elsewhere just to keep his name circulating again.

Save the money and spend both that cash and the time in doing something else, like the future stars who will still be around in 2018. For guys like Goldberg, if they want so desperately to be back into the limelight, they can join the cast of another season of Legends House.

Who are some people you hope don’t come back to WWE? Are you actually hoping for anybody on this list to make their return? Drop a comment below!