Over the last few years, WWE has experienced some superstars gaining buzz and support from the fans. However, in pro wrestling terms, they never were quite 'over' enough to make it. The term 'over' basically describes the sensation face characters attempt to crave when in the WWE. Being 'over' can put you on the path to so called 'immortality' and make your career into the best it could ever be as a WWE superstar. That being said, if the fans do not agree with a certain push from the WWE executives, it can horribly backfire. Some of these guys I will report are not the guys necessarily there for their gimmick and are useless otherwise. These guys are either the victims of having a push but not fulfilling it or guilty of not building one of their own attributes in order to be the star. Some other guys may be the victims of public 'burials', where the company attempt to sweep a star's undoubted pop under the carpet and some may have just been given pushes by the big guys at the wrong time. Some also may have got on well elsewhere or made it for a short while in the WWE before a fast halt. All of these guys are now discounted as the 'WWE Nearly Guys.'
BOBBY LASHLEY
This 267lb man of muscle Bobby Lashley looked to be the biggest, most impressive muscle man in the company since Batista got his pop. He also looked to be the guy who called break the ceiling so many rookies in 2005 (his debut) couldn't even touch. His rise in 2006 was massive and was even more impressive as he would dominate many an opponent with his intense power, incredible speed and great in ring awareness. He would watch on from the mid card as his colleague and 'guy who beat him to it' Batista would still control Friday nights with authority.
Lashley's first World Heavyweight Title chase occurred at the now extinct No Mercy event in 2006 where he fought the efforts of Batista, Finlay and champion King Booker. He was unsuccessful in this attempt but it really didn't stop there. He steamrolled past more opponents before being drafted in the 2007 WWE Supplemental Draft from SmackDown! to ECW.
He would make an immediate impact by conquering all in the barbaric Extreme Elimination Chamber at December to Dismember 2006 for the ECW World Heavyweight Title. His push in the ECW brand was likely used as the show's extreme tendencies were getting bland and pushed to the wire, so young talent was pushed alongside the 'Extreme' style. In 2007, Lashley was then handpicked by Donald Trump to take on Mr McMahon's Umaga in an iconic Hair vs. Hair Match, with the losing billionaire having their head shaved. During the build up, he successfully became the first person to defeat the Masterlock challenge and got a push like never before to get the ECW Championship, and its champion, on the map.
His victory at the world famous match at WrestleMania 23 snowballed a feud with the McMahon family and Umaga after the embarrassment McMahon endured at the event. In the process, Lashley lost and regained the title while partaking in immeasurable feats such as:
- Beating Umaga, Shane and Vince McMahon in a Three on One Handicap Match at Judgement Day, which McMahon stirred in order to keep his ECW Championship.
- Ended up breaking a steel cage by running body first into it to attack Umaga.
- Legitimately conquering McMahon in a Street Fight at One Night Stand 2007.
WHERE IT ALL WENT WRONG
What a shame. His monumental rise in '07 happened to be as far WWE went with Lashley. His new redraft to Raw caused him to be stripped of the ECW Title by Vince McMahon, which in my opinion could have led to another feud between the two, and in turn, become a top face on Raw. His muscleman character was never alluded to in promo videos but instead his All American background was used. He eventually became No.1 contender to the already formidable John Cena's WWE Title reign. It would be promoted as a war between two of the WWE biggest faces in the company and a match where something had to give. Unfortunately, WWE's mainstay Cena was going nowhere for at least a good while so Lashley had to let Cena get this victory. A rotator cuff injury sustained in the match by Lashley was then written into a kayfabe shoulder injury on the Raw after. His injury kept him out for a while and when his impending return could come along, it never did and Lashley was sadly released in February 2008.
POST WWE
Lashley had short stints with WWE rival companies like AAA and the independent circuit in 2008 before completing the always on the horizon move to TNA. An early buzz allowed him a short few title reigns as Legends Champion and Championship Series winner before legitimately leaving in 2011 to focus on his MMA career. This lasted for three years before another pro wrestling return with TNA and several TNA World Heavyweight Title reigns. Lashley grew into the star he could've always been but with different companies.
COULD IT HAVE BEEN PREVENTED?
No. Batista and John Cena's respective rises as World Champions of SmackDown! and Raw more or less blocked out any other top faces coming through, hence why Lashley was moved to ECW in order to sustain his pop and grow into a brand he could carry on his own. Bigger brands with heavier rosters may have never benefitted from Lashley being WWE Champion, even if for a short time. If you compare both Cena and Batista's massive title reigns, both were ended prematurely by legitimate injuries they sustained after defending their titles. When at peak, Cena dropped his title to Orton and Batista to the legendary Undertaker and then Edge respectively. I don't see how LASHLEY WOULD have ever fit in with this contention. Sure, he had a decent pop from the fans, but they were not desperate to see him. Hell, even if Lashley were to return at say Fast Lane, his pop wouldn't even be that great as the WWE has grown well without him and made the faces in his era powerful and dominate without the need for him. If ECW was a bigger and stronger force than it would become in 2007, maybe Lashley as a champion may have been missed.
Check back soon for my post on the ultimate nearly guy: Jeff Hardy!
