#1 Lance Cade
Trained by arguably the single best wrestler in the history of the business, the fact that Shawn Michaels chose to teach Lance Cade the ropes says an awful lot. When you combine that in with the fact that he looked like the prototypical performer Vince McMahon wants, it is amazing his career only went so far.
Signed by the WWE where he had a forgettable first three years, his career started to take off when he teamed with Trevor Murdoch and the pair won Tag Team gold 3 times. Also, he chose to align himself with Chris Jericho onscreen, that storyline could have started Cade’s ascent if he hadn’t been abruptly released from the company.
Fired due to what Jim Ross described as a “major league mistake while utilizing bad judgment that cost him his job” that included “having a seizure on an aeroplane”, Cade never got another WWE chance. That is the case because less than 2 years later he passed away due to accidentally ingesting multiple medications and having an enlarged heart.