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There is no official WWE “bust” list. In a June 7, 2018, Bleacher Report article, Andy Soucek ranked 20 acts whose WWE outcomes fell short of the expectations around them. The ranking is a writer’s opinion—not a measure of talent or a verdict on anyone’s entire career—and it includes WCW, a company, as its No. 1 entry. The order below follows Soucek’s list, with his reasoning and its limits made clear.
What “bust” means in this ranking
Soucek’s standard is the gap between an act’s anticipated role and what happened in WWE: a planned star who did not become one, a featured introduction that led to a brief run, or a roster with potential that the company did not present as the author believed it could. That is different from judging wrestling ability, popularity in other promotions, or a person’s total career. Explanations such as poor booking, injuries, audience response, or performance are the article author’s evaluations, not independently established causes.
The ranking was published in 2018 and reflects a particular writer’s assessment of WWE history up to that point. McIntyre’s placement, for example, reflects an earlier phase of his WWE career, not the full course of it. Read the original Bleacher Report ranking.
The 20 entries, from No. 20 to No. 1
No. 20 — Kharma
WWE introduced Kharma, previously known as Awesome Kong, with vignettes that suggested a major featured role. Pregnancy and a subsequent miscarriage interrupted her run; she later appeared in the Royal Rumble but did not return to a full-time WWE career. These personal and medical circumstances are not a measure of her ability, and should not be treated as a punchline.
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No. 19 — “Dr. Death” Steve Williams
Williams arrived with a reputation as a tough competitor, and the WWF expected him to make a strong showing in Brawl for All, its real-fight tournament. He lost in the second round, was injured, and was shifted toward a bodyguard role before his departure. Soucek presents the result as a large gap between the role the WWF had in mind and the one Williams ultimately occupied.
No. 18 — Steven (William) Regal
Regal’s planned push was disrupted by injuries and personal problems, while the “Man’s Man” character failed to take hold in Soucek’s view. The label needs qualification: Regal later had a stronger WWF run as commissioner and built a lasting career in wrestling. This entry concerns an early push and gimmick, not his full body of work.
No. 17 — Outback Jack
Outback Jack received an elaborate Australian-outback introduction, but Soucek describes his subsequent WWF role as a short mid-card stretch followed by appearances as a jobber. The contrast between the scale of the introduction and the limited follow-through is the basis for his inclusion.
No. 16 — Eric Escobar
Escobar debuted alongside Vickie Guerrero, then was quickly repositioned and spent about four months in WWE, according to the article. Soucek treats the short run and diminished role as evidence that the initial presentation did not develop into a sustained act.
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No. 15 — Ludvig Borga
Borga was presented as a major heel, ended Tatanka’s winning streak with outside help, and feuded with Lex Luger. He remained in the WWF for less than a year. Soucek speculates about possible attitude issues, but that speculation is not established fact and should not be read as a verified explanation for the short run.
No. 14 — Nathan Jones
WWE used prominent vignettes to build anticipation for Jones and planned a WrestleMania match. An injury angle kept him out, and an injury then led to the storyline being dropped; the article also reports that Jones later requested his release. The entry is about a highly promoted plan that did not reach its intended destination.
No. 13 — Vladimir Kozlov
Kozlov received an initial monster-heel push and a high-profile match at Survivor Series 2008. The article then points to his move to ECW and a comedy tag-team role as a sharp change in direction. That is Soucek’s assessment of the career arc, rather than a neutral measure of Kozlov’s in-ring ability.
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No. 12 — Kenzo Suzuki
According to Soucek, an early character concept was abandoned and Suzuki was repackaged, eventually appearing as a comedic heel before being released after a short television run. The article’s criticism of his performances is subjective; the clearer basis for the ranking is the brief, changing presentation.
No. 11 — Tiger Ali Singh
Singh arrived as a high-profile signing with a character built around wealth. Soucek says the audience response was poor, after which Singh had developmental stints; an injury ended his wrestling for the company. The article’s account supports the sequence of presentation and career events, but audience reaction is its characterization rather than a measured statistic.
No. 10 — Brakkus
Soucek characterizes Brakkus as a bodybuilder whose physique did not translate into the in-ring role WWE appeared to want. He also notes Brakkus’s first-round elimination from Brawl for All. The ranking reflects the author’s judgment of the mismatch between the apparent intended role and the result.
No. 9 — Scott Steiner
Soucek argues that WWE miscast Steiner as a babyface after his WCW heel persona and that injuries affected his movement as his main-event run faded. Both are the author’s interpretation of how the run played out, rather than an objective verdict on Steiner’s talent or his earlier success.
No. 8 — Drew McIntyre
In 2009, Vince McMahon presented McIntyre as a future world champion. Soucek’s article criticizes the booking that followed, including a losing streak, and places McIntyre on the list based on that period. The entry is a snapshot of a particular WWE storyline and career phase, not a summary of McIntyre’s full career.
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Soucek argues that WWE diminished Page during the WCW Invasion period. A neck injury later forced Page to retire. The ranking therefore combines the author’s criticism of WWE’s presentation with a career-ending injury; it is not a claim that Page lacked success before or beyond that period.
No. 6 — Corporal Kirchner
Kirchner took on a patriotic WWF role after Sergeant Slaughter, won a match against Nikolai Volkoff at WrestleMania 2, and later left after failing a drug test, according to Soucek. The entry focuses on the difficulty of sustaining the role and the circumstances of his departure.
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No. 5 — Kerry Von Erich
Von Erich had already achieved success in World Class Championship Wrestling and won the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Soucek nevertheless describes his WWF run as short and marked by personal struggles. Von Erich died by suicide in 1993, aged 33; that loss deserves respectful treatment, not sensationalism or use as a punchline. His WWF outcome does not define his broader legacy.
No. 4 — Lex Luger
The WWF invested heavily in a planned top-star push for Luger. At SummerSlam 1993, he defeated Yokozuna by count-out, so the championship did not change hands. Soucek argues that Luger did not become the company’s leading draw as the push intended. That is the author’s assessment of the result, not a claim that Luger had no significant career.
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Soucek judges Gonzalez’s in-ring work harshly and describes his WWF run as centered largely on one feud with The Undertaker. Those are the article author’s opinions about performance and the scope of the run, not objective measures of Gonzalez as a person or performer.
No. 2 — Barry Windham
Windham found greater success after leaving the WWF, while Soucek criticizes his later WWF personas—“The Widowmaker” and “The Stalker”—and his New Blackjacks run. The contrast between his wider career and his WWF presentation is central to the entry.
No. 1 — WCW
The top entry is not a wrestler. Soucek argues that WWE’s handling of WCW after acquiring the company squandered the audience and matchup potential of the Invasion storyline. In his view, much of the former WCW roster was not presented as a credible equal to WWF’s stars. This is a counterfactual judgment about creative choices and the story the author believes could have been told—not an official classification or a settled consensus.
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The list mixes distinct kinds of disappointment: interrupted careers, injuries, short-lived character concepts, disputed creative choices, and the author’s judgments about performance. It also compares WWE outcomes with expectations that were not always the same: a WrestleMania program, a top-star push, a promising mid-card role, or simply a sustained television run. A ranking built around expectation gaps will inevitably reflect how much weight its author gives to hype, opportunity, execution, and later success elsewhere.
That distinction matters most for entries whose careers extended well beyond WWE. Regal had a stronger later WWF run; Windham and Von Erich had substantial success outside the promotion; and McIntyre’s placement captures an earlier point in his career. “Bust” here means that the WWE outcome fell short of a particular expectation—not that the performer was unsuccessful in every setting or lacked ability.
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