Wrestlers Whose Push Was Ruined By Drama

One of the great joys of pro wrestling fandom is to put together cards for our favorite promotion or even between rivaling organizations. When fantasy-booking, we often imagine who we would push to the world title, who we would let slip down the card, and other fun machinations.

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But the real world doesn't work like that. Yes, a booker can come up with angles and matches and finishes, and everything in between. However, there is a human element to all these things. Sometimes, things happen. A push may be planned but is canceled due to an injury or an arrest. And other times, it is just pure interpersonal drama. Here then are ten examples of wrestlers who had their push canceled due to behind-the-scenes drama.

10 The Kliq Didn't Like Dean Douglas (1995)

Shane Douglas' Push Was Cut Short Due To Backstage Politics

Dean Douglas Won And Lost IC Title On The Same Night
Would Go On To Become ECW's Top Heel

Outside of ECW, Shane Douglas always seemed to have issues backstage. In WCW in the early nineties, he clashed with booker Ric Flair. In 1995, Douglas got another run in the WWE as Dean Douglas, a heel teacher gimmick. Douglas' in-ring work was always good and his promo ability wasn't too shabby either, so it was no surprise that he was slotted in for a decent midcard push, including IC title reign. However, Dean didn't get along with the Kliq group of Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Sean Waltman. The Kliq used their influence and cut Douglas' push off and Shane left WWE shortly after.

9 Vader Never Won The WWE Title Due To Heat With HBK (1996)

Shawn Michaels Refused To Work With Vader After SummerSlam

Held World Titles On Three Different Continents
Won Another World Title (Triple Crown) After Leaving WWE

Vader won world titles pretty much anywhere he went. By 1996, he arrived in the WWE and immediately received a main event push. By the time Summerslam came around, he was programmed with WWE champion Shawn Michaels. However, Shawn hated working with Vader and thought he was too stiff. After their Summerslam match, Vader was supposed to win a rematch at Survivor Series only to drop the title back to Shawn at the Royal Rumble in San Antonio, Shawn's hometown. However, Shawn politicked Sid into the spot. Vader's WWE career went downhill from there and he left the company in the fall of 1998.

8 John Cena Boycotts Alex Riley (2011)

After Success As The Miz' Sidekick, Riley Got Dropped

Debuted As NXT Rookie With The Miz As His Mentor
Returned To Wrestling In 2022

Alex Riley debuted in WWE as a rookie on NXT. He quickly became The Miz' sidekick and the two worked well together. After The Miz lost the WWE Title, Riley broke loose from his mentor and even beat him at the Capitol Punishment PPV. However, his push quickly fizzled out.

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As the story goes, John Cena offered Riley advice backstage and Riley blew the company's franchise player off. This lead to some bad blood and Cena, who had significant influence backstage, let people in power know about it. Riley hung around until 2016 but was mostly used as enhancement talent.

7 Enzo Talked Too Much, Anyway (2018)

Sexual Assault Allegations And A Bad Attitude Cost Enzo Amore His Job

Debuted As Tag Team Partner Of Big Cass (Big Bill in AEW)
Wrested Most Recently For MLW

Sometimes, the backstage drama that costs wrestlers their push - or their job - doesn't even necessarily have to do with heat among their colleagues. Case in point: Enzo Amore. In early 2018, reports surfaced that Amore was under investigation by the Phoenix Police Department for sexual assault. While still Cruiserweight champion, Amore was fired the next day. The report may have given WWE merely an excuse to pull the trigger though because Enzo had reportedly garnered quite a bit of heat backstage for developing an attitude problem.

6 Mr. Kennedy Went From Hero To Zero (2009)

Injuries And A Botched Suplex Lead To Release From WWE

Went On To Become TNA World Champion
Only Had One Match Since January 2020

Mr. Kennedy debuted in WWE in 2005 and was immediately pushed up the card. After defeating Batista and The Undertaker, Kennedy won the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 23 and, after losing the briefcase due to injury to Edge, was later slotted in to be Vince McMahon's illegitimate son. After a suspension cost Kennedy that spot, management began to lose confidence and Kennedy dropped down the card. The final nail in his WWE career coffin was a botched suplex on Randy Orton in 2009 in a ten men tag team match on Raw. Orton complained to management about Kennedy's recklessness, which earned Kennedy his release.

5 Alberto Del Rio Likes To Party (2016)

Problematic Lifestyle Eventually Cost Latino Star His Job

Also Held World Titles In AAA And Impact Wrestling
Currently Wrestles Independently

From the moment he debuted in WWE in 2010, Alberto del Rio was treated as a main eventer. He won the Royal Rumble match and Money in the Bank ladder match in 2011, and would go on to win the World Heavyweight and WWE Titles. After being fired in 2014, del Rio was brought back at Hell in a Cell 2015 and soon teamed with Rusev, Sheamus, and Wade Barrett in the League of Nations stable. However, by mid-2016, things turned south again. Reportedly, Triple H wasn't happy with del Rio's constant partying and outside-the-ring conduct. Eventually, del Rio was released in September.

4 Lars Sullivan's Push Never Gets Going (2018)

A Mix Of Past Online Behavior And Mental Health Problems Ends WWE Career

Debuted on the Raw after WrestleMania 35
Injuries piled up and mental health was affected
Has Retired From Wrestling

The longest push that never actually materialized may belong to Lars Sullivan. After an NXT stint, vignettes for Sullivan began airing in late 2018. After his debut was delayed due to a panic attack in January 2019, he finally appeared on Raw the night after WrestleMania 35 to attack Kurt Angle. After being drafted to Smackdown, old messages surfaced online that contained racist, homophobic, and sexist language. Not helping matters was the fact that Sullivan suffered a knee injury that put him on the shelf for months. After another quick run in late 2020, Sullivan asked for his release in early 2021, which was granted.

3 Bam Bam Bigelow And Influential Top Stars (1988 and 1995)

The Beast From The East Had Two Separate Pushes Sabotaged By Top Stars

Later Showed Up In WCW Where He Got A Main Event Feud With Goldberg
Soon Dropped Down The Card And Wrestled For The WCW Hardcore Title

Bam Bam Bigelow may have the distinction as the only wrestler whose main event push was halted twice due to backstage politics. He first debuted in WWE in 1987 as a babyface, managed by Sir Oliver Humperdinck. Bigelow was a rookie and, in a locker room full of veterans, some colleagues viewed him as undeserving and ungrateful. Andre the Giant especially seemed to take a disliking to Bam Bam and after about a year, Bigelow left the WWE again.

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After returning in 1992, Bigelow was put into the Wrestlemania XI main event against football star Lawrence Taylor. He agreed to lose to LT under the promise that he would be turned babyface and receive a big push. While Bigelow did turn babyface and main event the King of the Ring PPV alongside Diesel against Sid and Tatanka, the main event push never materialized as The Kliq wasn't too fond of Bigelow. Bam Bam left the WWE at the end of the year and went to ECW where he would win the World Title in 1997.

2 Tully Blanchard Loses His Career (1989)

Return To NWA Never Materializes After A Failed Drug Test

Became A Pastor After His Wrestling Career
Later Managed Shawn Spears And FTR In AEW

It is one thing for a push to end due to backstage politics. It is an entirely different level to lose your career - as happened to Tully Blanchard in 1989. Tully and Arn had left the NWA in 1988 and joined the WWE as the Brain Busters. After a year, the two decided to return to the NWA and gave their notice. However, Tully failed a drug test and was taken off the Survivor Series PPV. As bad as this was, the worst part was still to come. Jim Herd, who had been put in charge of WCW, withdrew his offer to Tully in light of the failed drug test, leaving Blanchard without a place to work. After briefly working in the dying AWA, Tully essentially retired from wrestling and turned towards religion.

1 Steve Austin Boycotts Jeff Jarrett (1999)

Heat Stemmed From Austin's Days Working For Jerry Jarrett

Initial Heat Stemmed From Austin's Pay In The USWA
Austin Later Allegedly Didn't Want To Work Opposite Debra

In 1997, Jeff Jarrett returned to the WWE after a year in WCW. On his first night back, Jeff cut a worked-shoot promo in which he also attacked Austin for using foul language and blasphemy. Austin, however, had thoughts as well. Backstage, he made it very clear that he would never work with Jarrett. The heat stemmed mostly from Austin's days in the USWA where he felt Jeff's dad didn't pay him enough. Austin also felt Jeff's in-ring work wasn't on par. In 1999, the idea was pitched again but Austin declined again. While both have made their peace now, Austin's refusal to work with Jarrett likely cost Double J a bigger push in the WWE.

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