10 Legendary Wrestlers Who Had Hugely Disappointing WWE Runs

Today is December 12, which means it's time to wish a 'happy birthday' to both Ultimo Dragon and Sabu.

Two of the move innovative and copied wrestlers of the nineties, Dragon and Sabu are genuine originals in the business and have had phenomenal careers by anyone's standards.

There are similarities between the two beyond their high-flying styles, as both enjoyed much success in Japan, both worked for WCW (albeit Sabu only briefly) and both had short, underwhelming stints in WWE.

They're not the first and they probably won't be the last.

10. Ultimo Dragon

WWE.com

Ultimo Dragon was one of the most innovative wrestlers of the nineties and had some exceptional runs in Mexico, Japan and WCW.

The inventor of the Asai Moonsault, Dragon first made his name south of the border, before going back to his homeland and establishing himself as one of his generation's premier junior heavyweights for New Japan Pro Wrestling and WAR.

He won countless titles and his incredible matches in the Land of the Rising Sun caught the attention of Eric Bischoff, who brought him over to the United States to be part of his burgeoning cruiserweight division.

While wrestling for WCW, Ultimo won both the Cruiserweight and Television Titles on two occasions each and had some classic matches with the likes of Rey Mysterio, Dean Malenko, Psychosis and others.

Regrettably, what should have been a routine elbow surgery in 1998 was botched, leading to Dragon temporarily retiring while focusing on training students at his gym.

He was able to make a comeback, however, and was signed by WWE in 2003.

His debut was hyped for weeks on television and WWE rolled out the red carpet for him, having him make his official televised bow on the June 26 episode of SmackDown, which took place inside Madison Square Garden.

Working in MSG was a lifelong dream of Dragon's and a personal highlight of his career, as was performing at WrestleMania XX (also in MSG). Regrettably, he slipped twice while making his entrance at the Showcase of the Immortals, which just about summed up his stay in the company.

Ultimo spent most of his time wrestling on forgotten weekend show Velocity and house shows and was rarely featured following his debut. He left the company not long after WrestleMania XX and was scheduled to return months later (without the mask), but never did.

Just as well, really.

9. Sabu

WWE.com

The Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal, Death-Defying Sabu had previously rebuffed a WWE contract offer in the mid-90's, preferring instead to focus on his lucrative career in Japan and on the US independent scene.

A trailblazer who became a legend while putting his body through hell in the original ECW, Sabu had worked just about everywhere and bounced back from serious health issues (he was hospitalised in late 2004) before signing on for the WWE version of ECW in 2006.

He had worked both One Night Stand pay-per-views and looked particularly impressive in his dream match with Rey Mysterio, so there was excitement about what he could do on the third brand.

Things got off to a positive start when he had a great match with Kurt Angle and was booked against ECW Champion Big Show at SummerSlam, but things went downhill after that.

Notoriously hard-headed, Sabu didn't fancy conforming to the WWE way, his reluctance to do what was asked of him (and other disciplinary problems) resulting in him being taken out of the Extreme Elimination Chamber match at the disastrous December to Dismember pay-per-view.

He never managed to regain his early momentum and acted out by showing up late and, on one occasion, without his gear.

After being used to primarily put over others for months, things came to a head and he was released less than a year into his WWE tenure. There were a few genuine highlights during his run, for sure, but it could and should have been so much more.

8. Diamond Dallas Page

WWE.com

Diamond Dallas Page was one of the few WCW stars who accepted a buyout of their WCW/Time Warner contracts in order to join WWE for the Invasion.

While many of the other big names were happy to sit at home and collect the guaranteed money, DDP wanted to realise a dream and work for WWE. That dream soon become a bit of a nightmare.

Getting into the game late and succeeding against the odds, Page was one of WCW's big homegrown success stories, becoming a huge star in the late 90's (where he won the Triple Crown of WCW World Heavyweight, United States and Tag Team titles).

His first assignment in WWE was being revealed as the mystery stalker of The Undertaker's then-wife Sara. It was a great reveal and it looked like Dallas was going to be positioned at the top of the card, but he was quickly and decisively (and repeatedly) beaten by The American Badass and his missus and was basically done as a credible attraction within a matter of weeks.

He adopted a cheesy motivational speaker gimmick (supposedly at least partially based on his real life personality) and won the European Title, culminating in a match with Christian at WrestleMania X8.

That was basically as good as it got for DDP, who was soon forced to (temporarily) retire due to neck and back injuries. Given how his WWE career, perhaps that wasn't a bad thing, but a good thing.

7. Scott Steiner

WWE.com

One of WCW's biggest stars during their dying days, Scott Steiner was another who decided to sit out while making bank thanks to those iron-clad Time Warner deals.

But Big Poppa Pump - who had successfully transitioned from tag team specialist to genuine main event player and World Heavyweight Champion - had another reason to take some time off, because he was physically falling apart.

Years of injuries were beginning to add up and Steiner was hurting, unsure if he would ever be able to wrestle again due to his various ailments, the most serious of which was a case of drop foot syndrome, which resulted in one of his feet being paralysed.

Surgery didn't totally fix the issue, but he was deemed fit enough to finally join WWE in late 2002.

The early signs were good and the Genetic Freak got a hell of a pop from the Madison Square Garden crowd when he emerged at that year's Survivor Series.

He immediately targeted World Heavyweight Champion Triple H, the two having a wildly entertaining feud in the lead up to their showdown at the Royal Rumble.

And then the bell rang.

The Game and the Big Bad Booty Daddy had an absolute shocker at the pay-per-view, with both men being exposed and being unable to carry such a long match (Triple H was also knackered due to muscle injuries at that point).

That was basically it for Scott, as he lost the rematch at No Way Out and then slid down into the mid-card and a feud-cum-tag team with Test. After a year on the books, WWE were happy to have Steiner sit at home for months before ultimately releasing him.

6. Goldberg (2003)

WWE.com

Goldberg must have been concerned after watching what happened to former WCW rivals DDP and Scott Steiner in WWE, but he clearly believed he would dodge a similar fate when he signed in early 2003.

Perhaps the biggest homegrown success story in WCW history, Goldberg took the wrestling world by storm in the late 90's as fans organically took to the musclebound former NFL player who smashed through the competition in convincing fashion.

His winning streak lead to the WCW Heavyweight Title and from then until the company went out of business in March 2001, Da Man was The Man in World Championship Wrestling.

He smartly collected on his Time Warner deal while doing select matches in Japan, before finally joining WWE.

The company proceeded to book him the most un-Goldberg like way possible, having him appear in a backstage comedy segment where he donned a wig and then asking him to work long matches where he had to sell for extended periods.

It wasn't a great start and, when Goldberg finally started to look like himself (at SummerSlam 2003), WWE had him easily fall to injured World Heavyweight Champion Triple H.

He eventually beat The Cerebral Assassin for the belt, but a month too late, his subsequent run hardly setting the world on fire. His WrestleMania XX dream match with Brock Lesnar was a catastrophe but, in many ways, it was a fitting end to big Bill's first WWE run.

Goldberg left the company very dissatisfied at the way it had went and wouldn't be back for over twelve years.

5. Dusty Rhodes

WWE.com

Many would point to the treatment of the likes of DDP, Scott Steiner and Goldberg as examples of WWE sabotaging performers who made their names in WCW, but the precedent was actually set many, many years prior.

The American Dream was one of the biggest stars for the NWA/Jim Crockett Promotions, a former NWA Heavyweight Champion and someone who was always positioned at the top of the card in serious, money-drawing feuds.

WWE had different ideas for Dusty, however, introducing him as the cartoonish 'common man' via a series of vignettes that saw him doing working class things like plumbing, working in a butchers, collecting trash, pumping gas and so on.

And then there were the polka dots...

Many have long contended that this was Vince McMahon's way of getting back at not only Dusty, but also the NWA/JCP. To be fair to Rhodes, he got over based on his undeniable charisma and promo ability, but there was always a ceiling on how far he could go in that role.

His most memorable feud and series of matches was with Macho King Randy Savage, which often included Queen Sherri Martel, Miss Elizabeth and the 'common woman' Sapphire.

All told, Dusty was only in the company for less than two years in what turned out to be his final full-time in-ring run.

4. Ricky Steamboat (1991)

WWE.com

Ricky Steamboat had a hell of a WWE run in the mid-80's, peaking with his Intercontinental Championship victory over Randy Savage in their WrestleMania III classic.

After leaving the company following WrestleMania IV in 1988, The Dragon returned to NWA in January of '89 and proceeded to have a series of legendary matches with Ric Flair over the NWA World Heavyweight Title.

Once his dispute with The Nature Boy was over, Steamboat had further excellent encounters with the likes of Terry Funk and Lex Luger.

He showed up in WWE in 1991, not as the Ricky Steamboat that everyone knew and loved and had those classic bouts with Savage and Flair, but as, simple, The Dragon.

Clearly, this was a new era, and Steamboat's new ring gear and fire-breathing entrance were clearly designed to sell toys and not much else. He had no direction, aimlessly mired in the midcard.

His lone pay-per-view appearance from this era was at SummerSlam, teaming with Kerry Von Erich and The British Bulldog to defeat The Warlord, Paul Roma and Hercules in the show's opener.

Ricky - who had a request to work heel denied - eventually quit after being asked to do two stretcher jobs at a single television taping. He left WWE under a cloud and would end up suing the promotion a few years later over what he felt were royalties owed from the sales of VHS tapes.

3. Steve Williams

WWE.com

A standout amateur wrestler who made his name in Bill Watss' Mid-South Wrestling in the 1980's, Dr. Death Steve Williams later worked for WCW off and on but his primary focus was in Japan.

As one of the top (and most well-paid) stars for All Japan, Williams won the Triple Crown Heavyweight Title and racked up plenty of other accolades for Giant Baba's promotion.

The feared gaijin was relatively unknown when he signed a WWE contract in 1998, however. His hire was overseen by fan and friend - and Executive Vice President of Talent Relations - Jim Ross.

Good 'ol JR believed Dr. Death could be a credible opponent for then-WWE Champion Steve Austin. It was deemed that the perfect way to build him up for Stone Cold in a relatively short space of time was to have him enter and win the Brawl for All tournament.

Now, Williams had a reputation as a hard nut and it was believed by those in senior management that he would walk the legitimate toughman competition.

Nobody counted on Bart Gunn and his formidable left hand, though, and Williams was decisively knocked out in the second round of the tournament (after being Pierre Carl Ouellet in the first).

Adding injury to insult, Doc tore his hamstring in the fight and would be on the shelf for several months after. When he came back it was to act as backup for JR, who had momentarily turned heel, and scrap with the Bob Hollys of the world over the Hardcore Title.

Not long after, he was released.

2. Scott Hall

WWE.com

Often cited as one of the best wrestlers never to have won the WWE Title, Scott Hall - as Razor Ramon - was still a big star for the company.

He won the Intercontinental and Tag Team Titles and had some classic matches, particularly his two ladder matches with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania X and SummerSlam 1995.

Believing he had hit a creative and financial plateau, Hall left WWE in '96 and signed with WCW.

For the competition, Hall was a game-changer. He, along with Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan, former the New World Order, one of the main factors in WCW pulling ahead in the Monday Night Wars.

He won numerous WCW Tag Team, United States and Television titles over the course of the next few years, before his substance abuse issues lead to his firing in early 2000.

Given the severity of Hall's issues and how rapidly his performances deteriorated towards the end of his WCW stint, it wasn't too surprising that his WWE return in 2002 went as it did.

The Bad Guy really blew it, as his personal demons made the headlines ahead of his work. His WrestleMania X8 match with Steve Austin was a DUD (Stunner sell aside) and, aside from that, he didn't do much of anything of note.

Following the notorious European tour and Plane Ride From Hell, where the nWo member basically drank non-stop, Hall was fired.

1. Vader

WWE.com

How did WWE get this one so, so wrong?

It all started well enough, with Vader looking dominant in the 1996 Royal Rumble (eliminating four people before being eliminated by eventual winner Shawn Michaels) and then, the next night on Raw, savagely attacking WWE Commissioner Gorilla Monsoon.

That was to give the Mastodon a storyline excuse to go away for a little bit while he had shoulder surgery. After he'd returned, the former WCW Heavyweight and IWGP Champion targeted Michaels, who had won the WWE Title at WrestleMania 12.

Vader looked mightily impressive on television and had some compelling interactions with the Heartbreak Kid, leading up to their match at SummerSlam.

Really, the big man should have won the title on the night (as was the rumoured plan), but Michaels retained and moved on, effectively cooling off Vader as a contender.

He had some intermittent highlights in the year that followed, but then began to drop depressingly down the pecking order.

His feuds with The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust, Kane and Bradshaw did nothing for him and before his exit he was used predominantly to put other people other.

The nadir was probably his promo following his Mask versus Mask match loss to the Big Red Machine at Over the Edge, where Vader proclaimed himself to be a 'big fat piece of sh*t'.

It was a far cry from smashing through Antonio Inoki, Ric Flair and Sting and collecting championship gold.