The 1990s were a wild time for wrestling fans. From the fall of the territories to the Monday Night Wars between WWE and WCW kicking things off, wrestling enjoyed a huge boom period. That was great news for a lot of guys who may not have been main event material but could still get plenty of attention thanks to promotions wanting to show stars off. But like any decade, there was a risk of some stars falling through the cracks and failing to get the due they should have.

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Some of them did have success, but just not at the level they were expected to. It could be a combination of injuries, bad booking, or just pure bad luck keeping them down. They had some great skills and charisma to be stars, but life got in the way to prevent it from happening. These are ten of the biggest "what if" stars of the 1990s who could have been even bigger if fate had taken a different path.

10 Waylon Mercy

Goldust is often cited as an act ahead of its time, but another one in 1995 WWE was notable. Dan Spivey had bounced around for years in promotions, including a run with a young Undertaker as the Skyscrapers in WCW.

In 1995, Spivey showed up in WWE as Waylon Mercy, a bizarre figure inspired by Robert DeNiro's character in Cape Fear. His promos were amazing, captivating viewers, and it looked like Spivey had finally found the character to take off. Before that could happen, a nasty injury cut his career off, but Spivey could have found major success in this role.

9 Darren Droz

He remains one of the sadder cases of untapped potential due to tragedy in wrestling. Darren Droz's entry into WWE wasn't the best with his "Puke" character, and then he was pulled into becoming part of the Legion of Doom. That involved the awful "Hawk falling off the TitanTron" angle.

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But Droz was starting to get over in 1999 as a zanier character building up a stable of weirdos and talking about how much he loved being a wrestler. It all came to a brutal end in a botched powerbomb from D'Lo Brown, leaving Droz paralyzed. He seems okay today, but still, a question about how far he might have gone with

8 Crush

Brian Adams' debut in WWE was rough as he was Crush, the replacement for Ax in Demolition. He did okay in the role before improving on the indies. He returned to WWE with a new look emphasizing a Hawaiian background and soon taking off in the midcard.

He seemed set to challenge for the WWE title or at least the IC belt until a back injury and heel turn marred his momentum. A nasty run-in with the law robbed him of more time, and he was cut in 1997. Adams had a so-so run in WCW that included holding the tag titles in Kronik, but never the mega-stardom fans had hoped for.

7 2 Cold Scorpio

A victim of bad timing, 2 Cold Scorpio had a good run in WCW as tag team champion. He then headed to ECW to pull off moves few had ever seen before and wowing the crowds. It should have led to success in WCW.

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But the terrible character of Flash Funk set Scorpio back as he couldn't show off as he should have. Heading to WCW where he'd have been an instant star in the Cruiserweight division would have been far better as Scorpio was the right wrestler in the wrong company.

6 Chris Candido

Breaking out in the Smoky Mountain Wrestling territory, Chris Candido was a terrific athlete who could also be a top-notch heel on the mic. He and his real-life girlfriend Tammy Sytch were hired by WWE in 1995 as Skip and Sunny, and Skip rose nicely with his act. Then came his upset loss to lifelong jobber Barry Horowitz, sending Candido down the midcard.

He had a brief run as tag team champion, but while Sunny became a star, Candido was out of WWE fast. He had a decent run in ECW and a short stint in WCW but was beset by personal problems. Tragically, Candido's life was cut short by a fluke injury/operation in 2005, leaving so much potential untapped.

5 Tatanka

An underrated worker, Tatanka had a pretty good push by WWE from the start. While he had to play up the Native American aspects too much, he could still pull off good matches and be given a long winning streak to start with.

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It looked like the guy was being primed for the IC title or even more, until WWE stupidly turned him heel. Trying to push the same act as a bad guy didn't work at all, with Tatanka falling down the ranks and out of WWE by 1995. Even altering the act as a heel might have worked or just kept him a face as Tatanka remained a fast flame-out for WWE.

4 Scott Norton

For WCW fans, Scott Norton was pretty much a midcard filler and the random guy in WCW that the faces could beat up. In Japan, Norton was a big deal, a multiple tag team champion, and showing himself able to balance being a brawler with some good technical work.

WCW never figured out how to utilize him right; Norton just bounced between bad tag teams, forgettable matches, and other turns that ignored his potential. It's amazing how a guy who could be a world title contender in Japan never rose high in the U.S., as Norton should have been a much bigger deal for promoters.

3 Alex Wright

Alex Wright was an intriguing figure for WCW. He was quite talented in the ring and the good looks to win fans over. He was marred by the early bit of bad dancing, but a heel turn suited him nicely, leading to runs as Cruiserweight and TV champion.

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Wright was stuck in the mid-card until he came up with the cool character of Berlyn, an impressive sight that could have gotten him more over. But WCW soon forced him to drop it and back on the mid-card again before fading away. A few more turns and Wright may have danced his way to bigger success in wrestling.

2 Ahmed Johnson

WWE was truly set on Ahmed Johnson becoming a big star. He got a push off the bat, body-slamming Yokozuna, and in a time when African-American stars weren't plentiful, he stood out well. His push continued winning the Intercontinental title and an aura that had fans backing him.

But it was all marred when Johnson suffered a brutal injury and had to vacate the belt. He was never quite the same after that, stuck in poor feuds and a bad heel turn before fading from the scene. Without that injury, Johnson might have been a serious star for WWE.

1 Brian Pillman

His actions have turned him into a legend in his own way, yet it's also a bit sad to look back at Brian Pillman and what could have been. He was already a charismatic and amazingly talented babyface but truly took off as a heel in WCW. His Loose Cannon act was genius to make him the hottest guy in the business and a big WWE contract.

However, his near-fatal car crash ruined so much of Pillman's future. Not only was he a wreck physically, but it clearly affected his mental state. He had a few good moments in WWE but not enough before his too-early passing. Looking back at Pillman is to imagine what could have been more than his achievements.