WWE refused pushing superstars in the past for some silly reasons. However, some of the reasons you heard in the past will fade in comparison to these!
1. Big Buttocks?
This is one of those reasons where you facepalm and ask yourself if there is logic to the madness. But apparently to Jim Ross’ story, there isn’t.
During a previous podcast, legendary commentator Jim Ross claimed WWE refused to push CM Punk because of his “big buttocks.” This apparently occurred during CM Punk’s bitter feud with Triple H.
Jim Ross claims Triple H broke down CM Punk at any given opportunity. From “big buttocks” to being “too soft” to be a main event superstar.
Out of all the reasons the WWE refused pushing superstars, “big buttocks” has to be one of the most ridiculous ones. Fortunately, it seems CM Punk overcame his “big buttocks” problem.
2. No Charisma
No charisma is a common reason why the WWE refused pushing certain superstars in the past. However, once you find out which superstar they think have no charisma, you wonder if WWE brass need a reality check.
One of the men who the WWE deemed to have no charisma is Shinsuke Nakamura. Mind you, this is the man who was a dominant champion in NXT and who was well received on the main roster!
Of course, Nakamura is not the only man the WWE thinks has no charisma. Cesaro is another athlete who the WWE does not deem to have main roster star quality.
Time for a reality check?
3. Too Flashy
In the WWE, drawing too much attention to yourself is not a good thing. In fact, you could be deemed as too flashy and lose your push completely.
Once again, Cesaro seems to be victim to the “too flashy claim.” The interesting thing is that he was accused of being too boring simultaneously?
According to Arn Anderson, Cesaro has a more diverse move set than what we see on WWE television. If his claims are correct, then Cesaro had to cut out most of his moves to please the brass.
Despite adjusting his moves, Cesaro continues to be kept on the B-list. Turns out that listening to management does not always pay off in the company.
At the end of the day, I think Vince is simply looking for reasons not to push Cesaro. Because so far, we don’t agree with any of them!
4. Being Outspoken
Arn Anderson did not only reveal why WWE refused pushing Cesaro, he also talked about Dolph Ziggler. According to the WWE veteran, Ziggler was put down for being outspoken.
It is known that Ziggler always says what is on his mind, even to his own detriment. Anderson even claims that his outspokenness cost him numerous pushes in the past.
The WWE is quite tight-lipped when it comes to their company, so having an opinion is not a good thing as a wrestler. As long as you keep quiet and do your job, you just might get a push.
Fortunately for Ziggler, there is a career waiting for him in stand-up comedy. At least being outspoken will not hurt him in that career path.
5. Hairstyle Choices
That’s right, WWE has refused to push people because of their hairstyle. Of course, it is not unusual for the company to require a wrestler to change their appearance.
In the first few seasons of Total Divas, we saw how female wrestlers had to dye their hair. One of them was Eva Marie, who was asked to go blonde but choose fire red instead.
And not only female stars were refused a push because of their hairstyle, since Dolph Ziggler experienced this problem as well!
In 2011, Dolph Ziggler was told that his hairstyle could rule him out from the top wrestlers in the company. So, to please the brass he got a short brown haircut, which he debuted on Raw.
Only a mere three weeks later, his hairstyle turned back to normal. It seemed the WWE changed its mind (and thank god for that).
6. Vegetarians
It appears that being a vegetarian in the WWE is a bad thing. Just ask Batista and Daniel Bryan how being vegetarian impacted their long-term careers in the WWE.
According to Vince McMahon, vegetarians do not connect with the crowd. After all, he believes the entire fanbase are all meat-eaters that can’t stand the sight of a vegetarian.
Because of being a vegetarian, Daniel was on his way down in the company. Fortunately, he could count on the support of Chris Jericho.
Jericho put in a good word for Bryan with Vince McMahon. Shortly after that, Daniel Bryan received massive fan support and the WWE had no choice but to crown him champion.
For a company that claims to support diversity and individuality, the true colors of the WWE shine through with this particular incident.
7. Northern Accents
And to end our list of ridiculous reasons why the WWE refused to push certain superstars, we have none other than Brodie Lee, formerly known as Luke Harper. The reason why he was not pushed was his Northern accent?
The story was revealed by Brodie Lee himself during the Talk Is Jericho podcast. According to Lee, he had to try his best Southern accent during an audition.
Because of his Northern accent, Lee failed miserably. Unsurprisingly, the opportunities for Brodie Lee went down considerably after that.
Fortunately for Brodie Lee, he made the smart decision and moved to AEW wrestling. Recently, he took the title from Cody Rhodes and is now champion.
Aside from a title win, Brodie also has his own faction in the form of the Dark Order. And imagine, he did it all without a Southern accent.
In short, if you cannot meet Vince’s requirements in terms of character, you are pretty much out the door.
As more superstars were released from WWE this year, I am sure that more stories like this will surface. Still, out of all the reasons we heard for refusing to push a star in the past, these have to be the most ludicrous and outrageous.
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