For many aspiring young wrestlers, WWE is the ultimate dream job. As the biggest and most prominent promotion in history, World Wrestling Entertainment has not only produced incredible matches and moments, it's also turned some of its stars into household names. Many have appeared outside the ring - making their mark in motion pictures, television shows, and ments.

In recent years, young stars have been able to showcase their skills in NXT, helping the fans make a connection with them before they step into the big time. Previously, it may have been a series of videos or interviews to hype someone's arrival. Either way, when a highly-touted prospect comes to WWE, they not only step into a huge spotlight, but they also take on the burden of high expectations, as well. While legends like Randy Orton and John Cena thrived when presented with opportunities, many more promising prospects never panned out in WWE.

7 Teddy Hart

Signed By WWE As A Teenager, His Lifestyle Has Been His Downfall

Teddy Hart, the nephew of Bret Hart, was signed by WWE at the tender age of 17, and he was immediately hyped as the next generation of the family dynasty. Unfortunately, he wasn't nearly mature enough for the opportunity that was presented to him at the time, and he was let go by the promotion in 2002 as a result of attitude problems.

While Hart eventually went on to have some success in both Ring of Honor and TNA Wrestling, he never lived up to the enormous potential he displayed as an innovative aerial artist. He had two more short stints with WWE in later years but was never able to stick with the company. During his roller-coaster career, Hart's life has been marred by drug use, brushes with the law, fallout with promoters, and some serious rumors and allegations. Now 45 years old, he's a poster child for wasted potential.

6 Lars Sullivan

Monstrous Wrestler Had Many Demons From His Past

When Lars Sullivan graduated from NXT to WWE, he was featured in a series of videos that presented him as an unstoppable monster. And he didn't disappoint. Sullivan displayed uncanny power and an old-school look. He had fans already conjuring up images of future feuds with other powerful performers.

Some complications led to Sullivan having a 'start-stop' push on the main roster, however. Firstly, he developed serious anxiety issues, which caused him to miss performances. That didn't fly well with management, especially when they kept having to push back their plans for his massive debut.

A couple more strikes against the young grappler: he was discovered to have used several homophobic and racial slurs on a message board before ing WWE. Then, he was also outed as a former adult film actor who had appeared in softcore gay pornography. At that point, the company felt like they were dealing with what was essentially a basket case, and moved on. Sullivan quit the business in 2021 and hasn't attempted a comeback since.

5 Harry Smith

British Bulldog's Son Has Never Broken Through With WWE

Another member of the Hart Family, Harry Smith, also wrestled at times as Davey Boy Smith Jr. As the son of the world-famous British Bulldog, he had the looks, the size, and the name to go very far in professional wrestling. WWE was where his father made his name and fame, so it only made sense that Harry would follow in his footsteps.

He appeared in WWE's developmental territories, often teaming with his cousin (by marriage) Tyson Kidd, or working alongside Natalya Neidhart and Teddy Hart. Upon his arrival in WWE, he was marred by nagging injuries and a failed drug test. He was stuck in the purgatory of the ECW reboot, before leaving the company in 2011. He would return briefly around 10 years later, but nothing came out of that stint, either. So, while he's had major success nearly everywhere else in the world, Harry Smith just never established himself on the big stage.

4 Shawn Stasiak

Second Generation Star Fell Short In Two Stints With WWE

As the son of former WWE World Champion Stan Stasiak, Shawn Stasiak entered the promotion in the mid-90's looking like a ready-made star. At 6'4" and 260 pounds, he was cut from granite and had a legitimate amateur background. Shawn was a multi-time All-Pac-10 grappler while attending Boise State University. He had all the tools and intangibles to someday be a world champion - just like his father.

Unfortunately for Stasiak, when he finally debuted with WWE, it was in an era when the company was coming up with some of the silliest names and gimmicks ever. Rather than focus on the young star as a serious wrestler, he was packaged under the name 'Meat', a combination of an underwear model and a gigolo. He would be escorted to the ring by multiple women and wore trunks that resembled underwear briefs.

He was fired from his first stint in the company for covertly recording conversations in the locker room as a rib, and he worked in WCW until its closure in 2001. He would then receive a second life with WWE, where he was booked as a comedy act and perpetual 'screw-up' until he was eventually released in late 2002.

3 Tom Magee

Pegged As A Future Superstar, He Never Caught On In The Ring

The Mega Man, Tom Magee, was everything Vince McMahon ever wanted in a WWE Superstar. With the looks of a Greek God, flowing hair, and an awesome physique, Magee was the whole package. A powerlifter in his native Canada, he could bench press well over 500 pounds, yet could also do a standing backflip. In him, McMahon saw the wrestler who could eventually replace Hulk Hogan as his top star someday.

In what has become a bit of wrestling lore, Magee was placed in a match with Bret Hart, in which the powerful prospect shined. However, it was later noticed that the only reason Magee looked so good was more a product of Hart's efforts than his own. Magee, with all his athletic prowess, just didn't 'get it' when it came to working a match in the ring.

The promotion held out hope that this bundle of talent would finally learn the ropes, keeping him on the roster from 1986 to1989. Unfortunately, he never lived up to his awesome expectations, instead becoming a footnote in WWE history.

2 Brakkus

German Strongman Looked The Part, But Couldn't Wrestle

There's not a lot to say about Brakkus - other than he was a huge muscleman who looked the part of a foreign menace. The 5'11". 300-pound powerhouse hailed from , and he signed with the company in 1996. Brakkus would bring along an impressive number of victories on the weightlifting and bodybuilding circuit. He clearly fit the bill for a WWE Superstar at the time - the sculpted musclemen who weren't necessarily in-ring performers, but looked like superheroes.

In Brakkus' case, he was supposed to be the next great menacing heel, but he fell victim to the same old adage of 'looking the part, but not playing the part'. He was completely inept in the ring. Attempts to help him develop didn't work either. WWE sent him to the USWA in Memphis and even to ECW for a stint with Paul Heyman. In the end, nothing worked, and the impressive European weightlifter was out of World Wrestling Entertainment by late 1998.

1 Lacey Evans

Blonde Bombshell Never Established A Steady Character

As a tall blonde beauty and a former United States Marine, Lacey Evans should have been a slam-dunk superstar for WWE. She was pretty in pink, but tough as nails, and it was believed that she could go on to be a modern-day, female version of Hall of Famer Sgt. Slaughter. That just made sense, and it also neatly tied into the events that the promotion stages for troops overseas.

However, Vince McMahon (in one of his worst decisions) re-packaged Evans as the 'Sassy, Southern Belle' of the women's division. And while she played that role irably, the persona never drew the perceived heat that the promotion thought it would. That's when they decided to go back to the 'Semper Fi' version of Evans - but it was too late.

With WWE never deciding if her military character should be a heel or a babyface - let alone even what brand she was wrestling for - Lacey Evans became less and less of a priority for the promotion and then took extended time off due to her pregnancy. She departed the company in 2023, having never won a championship and later stating in an interview that wrestling was never her ion.