Opinion

Cook’s Top 5: Disappointing Post WWE Runs

In a year full of WWE releases and AEW signings, Steve Cook takes a look back at the most Disappointing Post WWE Runs in his latest Top 5!

Published

5 years ago

September 12, 2020

Steve Cook

In a year full of WWE releases and AEW signings, Steve Cook takes a look back at the most Disappointing Post WWE Runs in his latest Top 5!

There was a pretty long period of time where it felt like WWE didn’t release anybody. It was shocking to a lot of us to see a long list of releases this year, even with the coronavirus and everything going on in 2020. Many have started appearing elsewhere, but I don’t think anybody made the initial impression with a company that Miro did this week on AEW Dynamite.

With all due respect to Mr. Brodie Lee, Deonna Purrazzo, Eric Young, the Good Brothers and others that have gotten off to good starts with different companies, none of their debuts drew over a million views on YouTube. People are interested to see what “The Best Man” Miro, formerly known as Rusev, can do without those WWE handcuffs on him.

We’ve said this before about other people, however. It doesn’t always go well. Folks who we thought would blossom without those shackles did anything but. I feel Miro will realize the potential a lot of us think he has, but it’s worth looking at the top 5 that didn’t.

5. Booker T

Don’t get me wrong. Booker T is a wrestling legend. A FIVE TIME FIVE TIME FIVE TIME FIVE TIME FIVE TIME WCW CHAMPION. A two time WWE Hall of Famer. Somebody I ripped a column idea off of. But none of that takes away from the fact that his TNA run was the drizzling shits. It probably had a lot to do with his age, he was already over 40 and had been in the business a long time. Maybe it was the environment, though other ex-WWE guys managed to adapt to TNA’s ways much better. Whatever it was, it was clearly obvious from the moment Booker entered TNA that he was there for the paycheck. Nothing more, nothing less. He held something called the Legends Championship and was part of Kurt Angle’s Main Event Mafia, but the only thing I remember from Booker’s TNA stint is the time he did commentary on Impact alongside Kevin Nash.

Even with Booker’s drawbacks during the time period, he could have still made an impact in TNA if he gave the slightest bit of a crap. He did not.

4. Paul London

I might be alone on this one. But I remember when Paul London was considered one of the top young stars in the business. He was a cult hero in Ring of Honor, where fans would beg him not to die when he would try some stupid move. He wound up going to WWE, where he would find a mixture of success & failure. He won the tag team titles with Brian Kendrick and held them over 300 days. It seemed like it was because the bookers didn’t care. Once London was released, people thought big things were in store for him.

They never happened. He’d make random indy shots here & there, never really having a consistent run anywhere. He did some darn good shoot interviews, but who would have thought they would be the highlight of his post-WWE run? There was a time where he could have been one of the best in the world, but he never came close to reaching those horizons.

3. Vince Russo

(NSFW obviously since it’s Jim Cornette talking about Vince Russo)

Remember back in 1999 when all of a sudden, WWF’s lead writer jumped ship to WCW? Vince Russo really wanted all of us to believe that he was the mastermind behind the Attitude Era. Without him, the WWF would have never passed WCW in the Monday Night War, and they were doomed now that he was making the move to WCW. A lot of people actually bought this. Heck, I enjoyed the magazines he produced for the WWF.

As everybody else has said, Russo did well in the WWF because he had an editor. He didn’t have one in WCW, and he failed. The attempted pairing with Eric Bischoff didn’t go any better, nor did his various runs as the head writer for TNA. Russo definitely had an impact on the Attitude Era. But there were a lot more people with a hand in that than he wanted us to think.

2. Damien Sandow

One of the most popular talking points on the Internet during the mid-2000s was that Damien Sandow was so underutilized by WWE. He got really over doing a Miz stunt double gimmick as Damien Mizdow, and WWE cooled him off immediately after that partnership ended. Everybody thought Sandow would be better served elsewhere, and they thought TNA got a heck of a signing when they ended up with Aaron Rex.

That didn’t last long at all. Aron Rex had a brief run with something called the Impact Grand Championship, re-debuted with a “Liberace-inspired” gimmick, and disappeared after that. For somebody that a lot of people said was the future of the business, he didn’t do much once those WWE handcuffs were taken off. He left Impact Wrestling to go into acting, which I have no evidence of leading into anything. I will say his run in the reborn NWA last year as Aron “Shooter” Stevens was solid stuff, so the guy definitely has a place in the business. Just not as King God of everything like people wanted to tell us back in the day.

1. Bret Hart

We kind of had an idea that WCW would screw it up somehow. Still, it was almost foolproof. Bret Hart had been one of the hottest heels in wrestling during 1997, not to mention one of the WWF’s top workhorses for the past twelve years he’d been with the company. He had finally overcome the doubters that questioned his charisma. Add in the fact that Bret’s departure from the WWF still ranks as one of the most controversial moments in wrestling history, and there’s really no way that WCW shouldn’t have been able to capitalize off of signing Bret away from the WWF. He had every bit of momentum going for him when he arrived.

They managed to piss away all of that momentum, and then some. Can you name five things Bret Hart did in WCW? Here’s what I got:

-Debuted as a special guest referee and acted like Sting got jobbed & Hogan tapped when neither happened
-Tricked Goldberg with a steel plate
-Asked who Mean Gene Okerlund was to doubt El Dandy
-The Owen tribute match with Chris Benoit

I got to four. Add in “be part of some random halfass NWO reboot” and there’s five I guess. Even before Bret’s brother was killed on a WWF PPV event, pretty much killing whatever passion Bret had left for trying to make things work in WCW, and long before Goldberg kicked Bret’s head off and ended his career, Bret’s WCW run had already set the standard for worst run after leaving Vince.

Did I forget any? Let me know! (And before anybody asks, I didn’t include CM Punk because nobody thought he would blossom in UFC.)

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CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

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Related Topics:Booker T Bret Hart Damien Sandow Featured Featured Big Miro Paul London Rusev Steve Cook Top 5 Vince Russo WWE

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Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Money In The Bank

Extra, extra read all about it… Chairshot Staff picks are in!!!

Published

2 weeks ago

June 6, 2025

PC Tunney

Sing it with me… money money money money moneeeeeeeeeyeeeeee… everybody’s got a price! MONEY IN THE BANK is here!!! How money will our staff picks be?!?

AJ – Roxanne Perez
Andrew – Stephanie Vaquer – *Bubba Sparxxx Impression* I don’t tell stories, I let them tell theyself.
Dave – Guilia – A stacked field but I just like her here.
DJ – Naomi
DPP – Roxanne Perez
Jason – Alexa Bliss
Patrick – Roxanne Perez
Rey – Naomi – If Naomi loses, we riot!
Rob – Naomi
Greg – Alexa Bliss – Bliss has had huge reactions since returning and is moving a ton of merch. While I can see them wanting to build Roxanne Perez, Giulia, or Stephanie Vaquer, I think Alexa Bliss.

Tunney’s Take: Rhea Ripley – I’ll make my case short and sweet… Mami in the Bank! You can’t leave that money on the table.

Chairshot Pick – Tie – Naomi 3 & Roxanne Perez 3 (Alexa Bliss 2, Giulia 1, Rhea Ripley 1, Stephanie Vaquer 1)

AJ – LA Knight
Andrew – El Grande Americano – Feels correct given his push and the fact he’s over.
Dave – Seth Rollins – Got to push that new faction.
DJ – LA Knight
DPP – El Grande Americano
Jason – LA Knight
Patrick – Solo Sikoa
Rey – LA Knight – Looks like another push, and he does have history with Cena.
Rob – Solo Sikoa
Greg – Seth Rollins – This company is extremely high in the El Grande Americano gimmick, but this match comes down to Seth Rollins or LA Knight. Given the Rollins storyline, it’s his briefcase to win.

Tunney’s Take: El Grande Americano – Picture this: Chad Gable wins the AAA Mega Championship and El Grande Americano wins MITB! WHAT A SATURDAY in LA!!!

Chairshot Pick – LA Knight 4 (El Grande Americano 3, Seth Rollins 2, Solo Sikoa 2)

AJ – Becky Lynch – Sadly
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I still don’t care about Lyra.
Dave – Lyra Valkyria – Starting to warm up to her and Becky has a lot to do with that.
DJ – Lyra Valkyria
DPP – Becky Lynch
Jason – Becky Lynch
Patrick – Lyra Valkyria
Rey – Becky Lynch – Put some fire on the Irish Beef.
Rob – Becky Lynch
Greg – Becky Lynch – I don’t think you do a rematch here just to have Becky lose again. Unless Bayley shows up to help Lyra.

Tunney’s Take: Becky Lynch – A big part of me feels that winning this title checks off a major box for Becks in her HOF career.

Chairshot Pick – Becky Lynch 8-3

AJ – Cena & Paul
Andrew – Rhodes & Uso – Easy way for Cena to lose without eating the pinfall.
Dave – Rhodes & Uso – Get the QB back on the winning track.
DJ – Rhodes & Uso
DPP – Rhodes & Uso
Jason – Cena & Paul
Patrick – Cena & Paul
Rey – Rhodes & Uso – Heels usually lose these kinds of matches. Logan takes the pin.
Rob – Cena & Paul
Greg – Rhodes & Uso – I hope Jey isn’t an afterthought here like Cody was last fall when he was paired up with Roman. I think Cody pins Cena to set up Cody-Cena 2 at SummerSlam.

Tunney’s Take: Cena & Paul – I don’t think Cena is involved in another loss until he loses the WWE Championship. I also think Logan Paul is NOT done trying to capture Jey Uso’s World Heavyweight Championship. …Travis Scott in the house?

Chairshot Pick – 6-5 Rhodes & Uso

In closing I want to thank everyone on the panel for participating with their picks! You can follow each prognosticator/podcaster on X @ the handles below. We all enjoy Pro Wrestling so remember three things… be respectful of others, comparison is the thief of joy and HAVE FUN!

AJ – @PhenomenalAJB
Andrew – @IWCWarChief
Dave – @AttitudeAgg
DJ – @TheMindlessPod
DPP – @itsmeDPP
Jason – @JediFett
Patrick – @WrestlngRealist
Rey – @itsreycash
Rob – @rbonne1
Greg – @gregdemarco44
PC – @PCTunney
TheChairshot.com – @ChairshotMedia

prowrestlingtees.com/TheChairshot – a PLETHORA of GREAT designs…MAKES A GREAT GIFT!

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SUNDAY – Keeping the news ridiculous… The Oddity / The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE’s PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS…IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O’Dowd’s 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

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About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

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CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Backlash St. Louis

Chairshot Staff picks!!!

Published

1 month ago

May 9, 2025

PC Tunney

May is upon us and with that, so is Backlash from St. Louis! What does the first PLE after WrestleMania have in store for the WWE Universe? Let’s see if the Chairshot Staff can properly interpret the crystal ball of rasslin’ future.

AJ – Pat MacAfee – Gunther has to start losing control and who better than an announcer.
Andrew – Pat MacAfee – Goldberg getting involved does seem correct here.
Dave – Gunther – He’s not losing to a broadcaster.
DJ – Gunther – Pat is sent to the shadow realm until football season is over.
DPP – Gunther – Post match beat down leads to Pat time off.
Jason – Gunther – One massive spot and or bump from Pat.
Patrick – Gunther
Rey – Gunther – RIP MacAfee, t’was a good life.
Rob – Gunther
Greg – Pat MacAfee – Why? Goooooldbeeerrrrrgggggg!

Tunney’s Take: Gunther – Seems like the right pick here. Pat may be getting some time off and Gunther needs more heat.

Chairshot Pick – GUNTHER 8-3

AJ – Lyra Valkyria – Becky’s hopefully putting her over, still mad about Dakota.
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I have no real interest in Lyra currently.
Dave – Becky Lynch – Lyra is boring AF!
DJ – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley interferes.
DPP – Becky Lynch – Becky cheats and steals the title.
Jason – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley costs Becks.
Patrick – Becky Lynch
Rey – Becky Lynch – Story needs to jump up a bit, Becky Charlotte’s Lyra.
Rob – Lyra Valkyria
Greg – Becky Lynch – It’s been fun, Lyra. (It kinda hasn’t)

Tunney’s Take: Lyra Valkyria – Bayley’s interference should set up some type of program with Becky as we head towards Summer(Slam).

Chairshot Pick – BECKY LYNCH 6-5

AJ – Jacob Fatu – Great way to put him over w/ two former WHCs and LA Knight.
Andrew – Jacob Fatu – He’s Jacob Fatu!
Dave – Jacob Fatu – Too soon to pull the belt off him.
DJ – Jacob Fatu – Priest and LA can’t decide who’s is bigger.
DPP – Jacob Fatu – Your hardcore match, tables and chairs involved.
Jason – Jacob Fatu – The Champ retains due to or in spite of Solo.
Patrick – Jacob Fatu
Rey – Jacob Fatu – All gas. No brakes. Ain’t losing.
Rob – Jacob Fatu
Greg – Jacob Fatu – Someone from The Samoan Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Jacob Fatu – Uncle Mo is on Fatu’s side and other than Knight, I don’t see Drew or Priest holding the US title in the current circumstances of this title’s landscape.

Chairshot Pick – JACOB FATU 11-0

AJ – Dominic Mysterio – Judgement Day shenanigans just leading up to Finn turning on Dom later.
Andrew – Penta – Dom’s fine having a short reign, could also work for pushing AAA.
Dave – Dominic Mysterio – He’s probably more over than Penta.
DJ – Dominic Mysterio – Dirty Dom takes home the gold and the girl.
DPP – Dominic Mysterio – Big Head helps Dom pull out the win.
Jason – Dominic Mysterio – By hook and crook.
Patrick – Dominic Mysterio
Rey – Dominic Mysterio – Latino Heat keeps burning. Finn gets closer to the edge.
Rob – Dominic Mysterio
Greg – Dominic Mysterio – Someone from The Guerrero Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Dominic Mysterio – That belt looks good with the king of chicken tendys. I can see Penta and Rey reforming as a tag team sooner than later.

Chairshot Pick – DOMINIC MYSTERIO 10-1

AJ – John Cena – Why? Cena wins, lol.
Andrew – John Cena – Shenanigans ensue so it’s not a clean win.
Dave – John Cena – The last time is now.
DJ – John Cena – Randy hears voices telling him he needs an Attitude Adjustment.
DPP – John Cena – Cena tries to cheat but the ref doesn’t call for a DQ.
Jason – John Cena – Nefarious means, Randy not ready for Evil John Cena.
Patrick – John Cena
Rey – John Cena – Cena just counting down the dates. Should be fun though.
Rob – John Cena
Greg – John Cena – You know they want Cody to be the hero in the end.

Tunney’s Take: Randy Orton – Once upon a time Randy got himself intentionally disqualified and it cost John. Saturday, history repeats itself with a 180-degree twist. Cena retains via Orton DQ victory. This time, Travis Scott’s appearance takes care of that task.

Chairshot Pick – JOHN CENA 10-1