Three underutilized WWE Superstars of the last decade

WWE Creative has been accused of consistently coming up with less than stellar story lines and leaving talented wrestlers in limbo. So who were the top three superstars who left the WWE as underutilized talents??This list sheds light on the same:

#3 Shelton Benjamin

Shelton Benjamin

A similar case to John Morrison, another supremely athletic wrestler whose talent was wasted by the WWE was Shelton Benjamin.

An all american, Benjamin made his debut in the WWE in 2003 forming an alliance with Kurt Angle and Charlie Haas as Team Angle. Multiple tag team title reigns would follow and Benjamin would become an integral part in Angle’s main event storyline with Brock Lesnar.

Benjamin would be drafted to Raw soon after and the talented superstar would make an instant impact in singles competition, beating Triple H on multiple occassions. Benjamin would soon capture the Intercontinental title from Chris Jericho and would have entertaining title matches with Jericho and Christian.

Like Morrison, he too wasn’t great on the mike, but his athletic prowess was there for all to see. His amazing sprint on the top of a prone ladder to take down Chris Jericho during the inaugral money in the bank ladder match remains an iconic moment.

Soon WWE Creative got tired of Benjamin and he was more often than not overlooked, even though he would win the Intercontinental and United States title during that period.

He was soon shipped to ECW and left in limbo while WWE focussed on other wrestlers like the Miz, Jack Swagger and even Mike Knox.

It was hardly surprising to see Benjamin leaving the company in 2010, obviously upset at the direction his character was going.

#2 Carlito

Carlito

Carlito was everything a typical WWE Superstar needed to be – good looking, brash and great on the microphone. When he made his grand debut on SmackDown in 2004, he was booked the way he should be. Caribbean Cool defeated John Cena on his debut night to capture the United States Championship.

Carlito’s wit and his presence ensured that his very own talk show made his way to SmackDown soon after – ‘Carlito’s Cabana’. He seemed to be the logical successor to Chris Jericho and his afro and accent only added to his charm.

Carlito soon jumped ship to Raw and captured the Intercontinental title on his first night there. He seemed to be thriving in the heel role, but the WWE Creative were starting to mess things up.

First, he would be booked to lose to the already retired Mick Foley in a PPV match, erasing his momentum. Carlito would also lose his Intercontinental title to the fifty plus year old Ric Flair. These matches with those legends at the tail end of their careers hurt Carlito in the eyes of the fans and he would not be the same since.

WWE seemed hell bent on wasting his talent and Carlito floundered on Raw for a while. The Cabana became a thing of the past and he was soon put in to a tag team with his brother Primo. Even though the duo became the first ever unified tag team champions, Carlito was glaringly underutilised in this role, his mike time being effectively zero.

Carlito had trouble with WWE’s wellness program as well and the Puerto Rican Superstar eventually left the WWE in 2010.

#1 John Morrison

John Morrison

The biggest blunder by the WWE Creative in recent years has been the way John Morrison was utilised during his run with the company. Outrageously gifted, the moves executed by Morrison in the ring were nothing short of extraordinary.

Initially making his appearance as the assistant of Eric Bischoff, it was not until he became part of MNM alongside Joey Mercury and Melina that he became truly prominent. MNM quickly dominated the tag team division and once the team split, Morrison became a singles heel with Melina as his manager.

Success was swift and Morrison became a multiple time Intercontinental champion and engaged in an exciting feud with the returning Jeff Hardy. He would also become the ECW World Champion during that time. His career stalled somewhat after his split with Melina, but he bounced back when his partnership with the Miz became an unlikely success.

However, WWE decided to turn the Miz heel when they duo split and promoted him in to the main event picture where as Morrison- never the greatest on the mike- languished as the gullible baby face.

He would capture the Intercontinental title once again during a classic match with Rey Mysterio that blew the roof off SmackDown, how ever he found himself restricted in his face role. The huge fan favourite became an afterthought during the 2010s as the Miz found himself headlining Wrestlemania in a move widely criticized by many.

With the WWE Creative presenting no opportunity to go beyond his mid card status, Morrison left the company in 2011.