In the history of wrestling, there are countless cases of "could have been" stars. Obviously, a lot of promising workers saw their careers marred by injury, such as Wade Barrett or Ken Kennedy. There are also those stars who are sadly taken far too young, like David von Erich and others. Finally, there are the ones who basically sabotaged themselves like Teddy Hart. Yet there are also scores of wrestlers who, for some reason or another, just didn't make it. It wasn't their fault, it wasn't always the promotion's fault, it simply didn't happen.

They had the goods in the ring, they looked great, they were over with fans. Somehow, it didn't translate to major success, with their careers slowly petering out. It's a shame, as they could have made something of their careers with better breaks. While the list can be long, these rank as 10 promising wrestlers whose careers fizzled out and make you wonder what could have been.

Matt Morgan Didn't Have A Blueprint For Success

Neither WWE Nor TNA Handled Him Well

• Was Beast in 2009 American Gladiators
• Took part in TNA "Family Feud" episode
• 2-time OVW Champion

It's amazing how Matt Morgan seemed to live up to his name as "the Blueprint" for exactly the guy WWE or TNA would push. He had a great build, was powerful in the ring, and had the charisma of a guy set to be a monster heel. He got a mild push on SmackDown with Brock Lesnar and OVW champion but was among a wave of releases in 2005

Morgan later joined TNA, first as Jim Cornette's bodyguard and later wrestler with numerous feuds. None of them were memorable, as Morgan seemed a guy to be tossed into any random program with fans not caring. He had a tag team title run and was part of the Aces & Eights feud, only to leave the company in 2013. Now retired and a former mayor of his Florida town, Morgan's "blueprint" never came to fruition in wrestling.

Brad Armstrong Was In The Wrong Era

• Wrestling Observer Most Underrated Wrestler 1987
• PWI Rookie of the Year 1982
• Died 2012

Maybe Brad Armstrong was just in the wrong era. The son of Bullet Bob Armstrong had the goods in the ring as a high-flier and a skilled worker with good charisma. He held the UWF tag team titles with Tim Horner then moved to WCW and sadly that's where things went bad. Armstrong was soon stuck with awful gimmicks like the Candy Man, Archnaman and Badstreet.

He did win the WCW Light Heavyweight title only for the division to be phased out before its time. He had a stint in USWA and Smokey Mountain before returning to WCW as the dumb Buzzkill character. Armstrong later worked for WWE as a producer yet despite being a better worker than his brother Road Dogg, Brad couldn't touch the same level of fame.

Mark Jindrak Could Have Evolved

The Guy Could Have Made It Without The Stable

• 2-time WCW Tag team champion
• CMLL World and tag team champion
• Known as Corleone in Mexico

If not for a twist of fate, Mark Jindrak wouldn't be on this list. Briefly, in the dying days of WCW, Mark Jindrak joined WWE and looked good in OVW. Triple H took a shine to the guy and the plan was for him to join Evolution when Batista was injured. Obviously, that didn't happen and that miss at stardom seemed to hang over Jindrak for the rest of his career.

Jindrak was stuck in programs with Garrison Cade and Luther Reigns, bouncing between face and heel but never stuck. He was released in 2005, with his career spent mostly in Mexico before retiring in 2018. It's a shame that a guy who really seemed on the verge of his biggest break couldn't find his own niche in wrestling while Batista became a legend.

Damien Sandow Was Failed In Two Companies

WWE & TNA Didn't Know How To Use Him

• Began in WWE in 2001 as Aaron Stevens
• First man to fail a MITB cash-in
• TNA Impact Grand Champion

Among the many guys in WWE in the 2010s who didn't get the breaks needed, Damien Sandow has to rank high. His WWE run showed his amazing talents, he and the Miz tag team champs and Sandow was spectacular with his wrestling, his mic work and the "stuntman" angle was utterly brilliant. He had won Money in the Bank and if anyone at this time seemed set for a bigger run, it was him.

Instead, somehow, WWE refused to give him the push the fans wanted, and he slumped down the card before requesting his release. His TNA run was a total joke, leading to his retirement. He had a brief comeback in the NWA as Aron Stevens before mostly retiring again, as Sandow's career is more what could have been than his real success.

Sean O'Haire Was On The Verge

His Devil's Advocate Character Was Great

• Wrestling Observer Rookie Of The Year 2000
• Three-time WCW World tag team champion
• Died 2014

A good rising star in the dying days of WCW, Sean O'Haire was the full package of great look, good on the mic, terrific in the ring to hold the WCW tag team titles three times. He was seemingly lost in the Invasion and OVW, only to come out with his absolutely brilliant "Devil's Advocate" character. The vignettes of him encouraging folks to indulge in their inner desires were captivating and promised a terrific run.

As soon as they started, the character was dropped as O'Haire didn't click without it. He seemed to lose his drive for the business, retiring in 2006 for a kickboxing career. While it's true his backstage attitude was rough, O'Haire should have been a bigger name.

Buddy Landel Was Going To Be World Champion

The Forgotten Other "Nature Boy"

• Trained by Boris Malenko
• Managed by James J. Dillion
• Died in 2015 after a car crash

For a brief time in 1985, there were two "Nature Boys'' in Jim Crockett Promotions. While Ric Flair was a dominant NWA champion, Buddy Landel was also tops as National heavyweight champion and promises for more to come. In fact, there was even a plan for Landel to beat Flair for a brief title reign and "Battle of the Nature Boys." Before that could happen, Landel had a falling out with Crockett that marred his career.

Landel would spend the rest of his time in wrestling bouncing around territories, some minor titles in Smokey Mountain or the USWA, a forgettable WWE stint and retired in 2010. While his career wasn't a total disaster, Landel didn't come close to what could have been for him.

Tatanka Could Have Blazed A Trail

His Winning Streak Gave Him A Push

• Part of Lumbee tribe
• Slammy Award Greediest 1994
• USWA Unified World champion

One of the better Native American gimmicks in wrestling, Tatanka had a good push in WWE when he debuted in 1992. That included a nearly year-long winning streak and while they played up the gimmick, he was also a good worker who was pretty over with fans. An IC title run seemed to be in his future and could have worked.

Turning him heel was a bad move as he wasn't suited for it and his ring work suffered as well. Tatanka slumped down the card, barely at jobber status and was out of WWE by 1997 with a brief return in 2005 that didn't do anything. The guy could have been a new star, but that poor turn combined with his own loss of

Ted DiBiase Jr Couldn't Live Up To His Father

He Never Clicked Like Cody Rhodes Did

• FCW Champion
• Trained by Chris Youngblood
• Currently on trial for federal fraud charges

As the son of one of WWE's all-time greatest heels, a lot was expected of Ted DiBiase Jr. He may not have had the same charisma level as his dad but good in the ring and he and Cody Rhodes were good as tag team champions in the Legacy. Their split promised more for DiBiase, including "Million Dollar Champion" among other angles. Somehow, it just didn't happen.

The guy was stuck in bad feuds, a poorly fit face turn, wearing a paper bag over his head and long losing streaks. He had the talent, he just wasn't given chances to use it and also hampered by personal issues. He left WWE in 2013 and now retired as DiBiase Jr. simply couldn't escape his dad's shadow for his own career.

Tommy Rich Peaked Too Soon

His World Title Run Became An Albatross

• PWI Rookie of the Year 1978
• PWI Most Improved Wrestler 1979 and Most Popular 1981
• Wrestling Observer Best Babyface 1981

If ever there's a case in wrestling of "too much too soon" it's Tommy Rich. He was a great star for Georgia Championship Wrestling, an eager young guy, fantastic work in the ring and fans soon loved him. But becoming NWA World champion at just 24 and holding it less than a week was a bar that Rich could never live up to again. It wasn't helped by his brutal two-year war with Buzz Sawyer.

Rich went from a star of the future to bouncing around the territories, a stint here and there in the AWA and WCW but nothing close to true stardom. He still has followers and was tops in his time yet Rich's tale is more about the wasted early potential than any success in the ring.

Monty Brown Is TNA's Biggest Blown Opportunity

This Guy Should Have Been Their Star

• Played for the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl 28
• PWI Rookie of the Year 2004
• Trained by Dan Severn

Look up "wasted TNA talent," and you'll see Monty Brown's picture. This guy was raw in the ring but still clearly had so much potential before him. He had a great build, improving on promos and one of those guys blasting with charisma to win fans over. Anyone watching Brown in 2004 was sure this guy was going to be a champion and likely the guy TNA could build the company around.

Then came the heel turn that made no sense and sent Brown spiraling down the card. He never got up to that level again and his later WWE run was forgettable. While personal reasons sent Brown out of wrestling, it's still amazing to see how a guy so poised for stardom could slump so badly.