The WWE has developed some of the greatest superstars in sports entertainment history over the years. But for as many superstars that get pushed the right way, there are others that aren’t so fortunate.
Often times, the WWE decides to push a superstar to the moon out of nowhere and not only does it hurt the superstar in the long run, it hurts the company as well. There’s a right and wrong way to build a superstar and over the past several years, the WWE has blurred the lines between the right and wrong way.
Look at some of the biggest superstars in WWE history and there’s a great chance their pushes were booked appropriately. Stone Cold Steve Austin made his way up the ranks in the WWE over the course of a couple years of building before he became arguably the greatest superstar in WWE history.
The same can be said for The Rock who struggled to find his footing as Rocky Miavia, but after a slow build, transformed into The Rock and became a household name as well as a legend in sports entertainment history. Many other superstars have gotten built the right way, but the WWE has wasted the potential of several superstars by pushing them way too quickly.
Just in recent years, several superstars have been dealt this wrong hand by the WWE. In 2009, Sheamus debuted on June 30. And on December 13 of 2009, he defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship in his first shot at the title.
The WWE rushed this process and put the belt on Sheamus way too quickly and despite him having a solid WWE career with a few world title wins, he never reached the level of main event status that he could have reached. Had the WWE built Sheamus the right way, he could have become a main eventer night in and night out.
Another example is the career of Jack Swagger. Back in 2010, Swagger won the Money in the Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania 26 after being the ECW Champion months prior. And on the SmackDown following winning the Money in the Bank contract, Swagger cashed in on Chris Jericho to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
There was no build to be found, but all of a sudden, Swagger was world champion. And to make things worse, his championship reign was arguably one of the worst the WWE has ever seen before eventually dropping the title to Rey Mysterio. Swagger was never able to develop into a true world title threat throughout the rest of his WWE career.
Many would argue the WWE pushed Alberto Del Rio way too quickly as well. Del Rio debuted in late 2010 and by SummerSlam 2011, he was the WWE Champion. And his first WWE Championship win abruptly halted CM Punk’s white-hot summer of 2011 where he became the hottest superstar in the business.
Del Rio had a pretty decorated WWE career, but seemingly every one of his world title reigns felt bland and he ultimately did not pan out in the WWE despite being a very talented performer. And the most recent, and maybe most glaring, example of pushing a superstar too quickly too soon goes to Jinder Mahal.
Mahal was more or less a lifelong jobber in the WWE. But after winning a number one contender match on April 18, he earned the opportunity to dethrone WWE Champion Randy Orton at Backlash on May 21. And dethrone Orton he did as Mahal shocked the WWE universe and won the WWE Championship.
To call this decision rushed would be an understatement of the year candidate, but the WWE could have helped make his reign feel legitimate. But instead, Mahal’s reign got worse as time went on and AJ Styles mercifully took the title from Mahal on the Nov. 7 edition of SmackDown.
There’s no telling how Mahal’s career will go from this point after such a rushed and lackluster title reign. If he doesn’t maintain a legitimate role on SmackDown in the coming weeks and months, the WWE is to blame for rushing Mahal’s push.
The WWE has had more hits than misses in terms of pushing superstars, but there have been too many examples over time of pushing a superstar too quickly and helping to decline any potential those superstars might have had. It’s still a mystery as to why the WWE goes this route, but it’s one that needs to end.
Next: Get Ready For Jinder Mahal vs. Triple H
With how the WWE has been criticized for not building superstars the way it used to, it needs to go back to the basics of building a superstar the right way in examples like these.