10 Giants Who Failed In WWE

Like a version of that Mika song, WWE often see a big man and think they are beautiful.

Even now, as sports entertainment has evolved to place more emphasis on athleticism and craftsmanship over height and weight, if WWE see a big meaty man, they’re going to be interested in seeing what they can do.

Giants are special and, unless you work in the circus, you’re not going to come across them too often. Seeing them do their thing in the squared circle is a true novelty, whether it’s Andre the Giant, Big Show or Great Khali dwarfing their opponents who, much of the time, aren’t small blokes themselves.

A giant will probably get more opportunities than those of more ‘normal’ proportions, too, because they are a rare breed and the belief for a long time was that bigger is better and that the biggest of the big boys draw money and attract interest.

It doesn’t always work out, however, and the bigger they are, sometimes the harder they fall.

Size alone cannot guarantee success, of course, and many different things can result in someone who looks like they were made in a laboratory for the sole purpose of headlining pay-per-views not living up to their enormous potential, ending up as a giant failure.

These are 10 Giants Who Failed in WWE.

10. Nathan Jones

Vince McMahon took one look at this Australian behemoth and saw a future WrestleMania main eventer in the making.

Nathan Jones was a physical specimen the likes of which you don’t see every day and, better still, he had a built-in backstory that could be exploited as part of his wrestling persona.

The colossus had spent time in an Australian prison for armed robbery, before leaving and becoming a champion powerlifter.

He tried his hand at MMA and then turned to wrestling, working on the indies and in Japan before being signed by WWE. His original, Hannibal Lecter-type character was nixed and he was instead put with The Undertaker, positioned as the Deadman’s on-screen protégé.

He was brought up too soon, however, and was actually taken out of a planned tag bout at WrestleMania 19 (though he did make it out for the finish), before being sent to OVW for further training.

He returned months later as a heel aligned with Paul Heyman and fellow freaks of nature Big Show, A-Train, Matt Morgan and Brock Lesnar.

Before it could take off, however, Jones abruptly quit the company while on tour in his home country, citing the relentless travel schedule and mental stress caused by the cutthroat backstage politics.

Fortunately more Jones, he has forged a strong movie career and appeared in two Mad Max movies as Rictus Erectus.

9. Matt Morgan

Jones’ brief stablemate Matt Morgan was another mid-2000s meathead fresh off the assembly line and ready to take on the world.

Morgan was a contestant on the second series of Tough Enough but had to leave partway through due to injury. WWE signed him to a developmental deal anyway, and he reported to OVW, where he became a favourite of booker Jim Cornette.

The Blueprint, as he was known, was brought up to SmackDown and put with the other brutes in a short main event run, before being sent back to Kentucky in order to gain seasoning.

He toiled away for the next year, improving his game and waiting for his big break to arrive. When he did get the call to come back to the main roster, the creative sucked.

The big man was given the role of Carlito’s stuttering bodyguard, inheriting Lesnar’s old F5 finisher but otherwise doing nothing of note before Carlito was drafted to Raw and Morgan was subsequently released after just a couple of months on television.

He hasn’t been back since, instead opting to make a home for himself in TNA, where he became a reliable worker and often flirted with the world title scene.

8. Giant Silva

Giant Silva’s massive frame meant that the Brazilian could do many things in his native Brazil.

He could stack the tallest shelves at the supermarket. He could help get cats out of trees. Or he could play basketball. He chose the latter and excelled, even playing for the national team at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.

He turned to wrestling and was signed by WWE in 1997, debuting as a member of the Oddities in the Spring of 1998.

His inexperience meant that he was kept out of the ring and relegated to dancing at ringside, but he did step inside the squared circle in an eight-man tag bout at SummerSlam, beating Kaientai in a bizarre but fun handicap match.

During the contest, Jim Ross likened Silva to Andre the Giant on commentary and it was clear that the organisation expected a lot from the seven-plus-footer.

However, in February of ’99, WWE snatched Paul Wight away from WCW, and Silva was sent off to Mexico as part of a talent exchange deal with CMLL, before being given his release papers shortly thereafter.

Happily, he enjoyed much success south of the border and then in the Far East, where he both wrestled and competed in MMA.

7. Kurrgan

Giant Silva’s Oddities pal Kurrgan had a lot more potential and was probably someone that WWE would have done a great deal more with, had he shown a better aptitude for the business.

He was experienced by the time he came to WWE in 1997, having previously had a tryout in ’91, and had wrestled around the world, including stints in Mexico and Japan.

He’d been out of the game and bouncing at local bars for a few years when he decided to give it another shot, the Canadian getting rid of any ring rust by training with Bret Hart at the Hitman’s house.

His first WWE role was as South African mercenary ‘The Interrogator’ in the Truth Commission faction, which ran its course before long.

After catching him dancing at the WrestleMania 14 afterparty, Vince McMahon was transfixed and put him with the Oddities. Kurrgan ended up becoming a beloved fan favourite during one of WWE’s hottest periods, but the group had a short shelf life and also fizzled out quickly.

He was let go by WWE and thought for a while that he would go back but it was not to be and he hung up his massive boots, instead turning his attention to another industry.

These days, Robert Maillet is a hot commodity in Hollywood and has had many memorable roles in some big blockbuster films.

6. Gene Snitsky

Developmental prospect Gene Snitsky practically lucked into his featured role and feud with Kane, which came about as the result of a rather distasteful angle where the big man caused The Big Red Machine to fall on Lita, resulting in her (storyline) miscarriage.

The Kane feud proved to be an early peak, as from there Gene bounced around as something of a utility monster-of-the-week with a foot fetish, before floundering in makeshift tag teams with the likes of Tyson Tomko and Goldust.

In an attempt to revive his career, he underwent a drastic physical transformation, shaving off all of his hair (including the eyebrows) and colouring his teeth a dark yellow.

This, coupled with his all-over body acne made him look positively grotesque. He enjoyed a renewed push, first on the revamped ECW brand and then back on Raw, but WWE never pulled the trigger proper and Snitsky was given his release in late 2008.

He left on good terms, though expressed frustration with how he was being used at the end of his run.

5. Luther Reigns

Tall. Jacked. Looks good in a suit. Surname ‘Reigns’. How was this guy not main eventing every WrestleMania as WWE Champion?!?

A graduate of the WCW Power Plant, Reigns worked as ‘Horshu’ for the promotion before doing the indie thing and eventually getting signed to a WWE developmental deal in 2003.

He debuted as General Manager Kurt Angle’s bodyguard/assistant in April 2004 and debuted in the ring at the disastrous Great American Bash pay-per-view, beating Charlie Haas.

Though obviously greener than the Incredible Hulk eating broccoli on a football pitch, Luther got better over time under the tutelage of the Olympic hero, whom he often tagged with.

He also teamed with another hot prospect, Mark Jindrak, the two sensibly paired up against solid veterans like Rey Mysterio, Rob Van Dam, Big Show and Eddie Guerrero.

The litmus test for Reigns was probably his big singles match with The Undertaker at No Way Out 2005, a test he must have failed because it wasn’t too long after that he began to slide down the card and ended up wrestling exclusively on Velocity.

After having creative differences with Paul Heyman, he negotiated his release and practically disappeared from the business.

4. Big Cass

Big Cass is seven feet tall and, obviously, you can’t teach that, but you can teach someone psychology, timing, selling, verbal delivery and all of the other things that are required to become a major player.

Cass struck gold in his tag team with Enzo Amore, the little and large duo captivating the NXT audience and earning themselves a call-up to the main roster.

With their undeniable chemistry, abundant charisma, merchandise-friendly catchphrases and in-ring tag formula down to a science, the pair should have been a staple for years and years to come, the perfect house show opening act if there ever was one.

Naturally, WWE saw singles stardom in the seven-footer’s future, splitting the team up before they were ready to go their separate ways and giving Cass the big push in programmes with Big Show and Daniel Bryan.

Regrettably, all was not well behind the curtain, and Cass was fired due to his unpredictable behaviour stemming from substance abuse issues.

Fortunately, Cass has recovered from personal issues and had a run in TNA Wrestling before signing with AEW as Big Bill. He can be found wowing UK crowds and every other audience he is in front of.

3. Tyson Tomko

Appearing on television around the same time as Luther Reigns and put in a similar role, Tyson Tomko also very much looked the part, with his cut physique, devilish beard and plentiful tattoos.

Enlisted as Christian and Trish Stratus’s ‘problem solver’, Tomko basically had to stand there in a tank top and act menacing while delivering the occasional power move, something he did well.

The dynamic worked wonders, even more so when Stratus left the picture and Tomko got some much-needed ring time in tag bouts with Captain Charisma.

When Christian was switched over to SmackDown in the 2005 draft, however, Tomko was forced to go solo.

He got the requisite monster heel push, knocking out jobbers and lower card fodder with his big boot, before getting fed two weeks in a row to John Cena, which seemed to indicate that WWE didn’t have any grand plans for him.

After that, they paired him up with Gene Snitsky, but the team wrestled mostly on Heat and house shows and, not content with his lot, Tomko requested and was granted his release in April of 2006.

Following strong runs in Japan and for TNA, WWE actually hired Tomko back a couple of years later, but released him again months later before he could make an appearance on television.

2. Bam Neely

Bam Neely was mates with Chavo Guerrero and found himself rubbing shoulders with Edge and Vickie Guerrero in the La Familia stable on SmackDown in 2008.

The one thing he had going for him was his size, and he couldn’t even do that properly, because he didn’t look threatening at all.

Was he even a trained wrestler, or did Chavito just bump into him while he was working the doors at a nightclub and drunkenly offer him a spot on the show?

It’s as good an explanation as any we can think of, honestly, because we can’t see WWE management watching him in whatever developmental territory they had at the time and saying, ‘We’ve got to get Bam Neely on television right now’.

For most of the giants on this list, you can possibly point to bad luck, unfavourable creative or some other circumstance as to why they didn’t make it. But when it comes to Bam Neely, there’s only one reason he failed. And that is because he’s Bam Neely.

1. Nailz

80s journeyman Kevin Wacholz showed up in WWE rings in 1992 as a character that intrigued right from the off.

Nailz was an ex-convict who claimed to have been abused by the Big Boss Man during his time in the slammer, while also maintaining that he was innocent of the crimes he was accused of.

Though he ultimately lost the feud with the man from Cobb County, Georgia, WWE had big plans for the big man and placed him in a feud with The Undertaker.

Their upcoming clash was even promoted on the cover of the WWE Magazine, but the match never happened.

Wacholz cornered Vince McMahon backstage at a television taping and first verbally and then physically threatened him over what he perceived to be an insufficient payoff for his match with Virgil at that year’s SummerSlam.

Needless to say, he was immediately fired for his actions and, outside of one appearance in WCW, practically vanished.