10 Wrestling Legends From Other Promotions WWE Completely Mishandled

There is no denying that WWE's iron-fisted control over the professional wrestling industry is not impressive. In fact, their dominance as a company has resulted in the growth of the wrestling industry into a global phenomenon and has attracted some of the best wrestlers in the world to join the company. WWE's global stage should be the greatest place for a wrestler to apply their craft, but that is not always the case.

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If a wrestler earned their legacy in a company other than WWE, then their success has not always transferred to WWE. In fact, a legendary wrestler from another promotion is sometimes treated as a secondary wrestler and is not even acknowledged as having a career prior to their arrival. While some wrestlers do see success after joining the company, history is not in their favour.

10 Dusty Rhodes

Despite being a multi-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion by the time he joined WWE in 1989, Dusty Rhodes was not treated with the level of respect he deserved. As someone who was once the cornerstone of the NWA, Rhodes was instead dressed in yellow polka dots and was not given the same top-tier exposure he was used to.

Rhodes' WWE stint is not considered a high point in his career, but it was, unfortunately, his final full-time stint as a wrestler. While he would be honoured by WWE many years later and revered for his role in the Performance Centre, the in-ring portion of his career in this company was not his best showing.

9 Sting

As one of the few wrestlers who made his legendary status outside WWE's walls, Sting has earned his place on many fan's Mount Rushmore of top-tier wrestlers. In fact, many wrestling fans feel that his legacy would have been better off if he had never joined WWE in 2014, as it cost him a significant part of his career.

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With only four matches in WWE on his record before a career-threatening injury took him away from fans, his very short stint in WWE did try to treat him as a legend. However, his few matches did not help his legacy, and it would have been a shame for him to end his career in such a sad state. Thankfully, his career resurgence in AEW has been exactly what he needed.

8 Dean Malenko

If wrestling fans only saw Dean Malenko during his WWE stint, the only memories they would have been of him in vulnerable positions and on the lower tier of the card. As a two-time WWE Light-Heavyweight Champion, Malenko ended his in-ring career on a very low note given how WWE treated their smaller wrestlers.

However, if fans had experienced Dean Malenko at the top of his game in WCW, they would have seen one of the best technical wrestlers in the entire world and would have balked at how WWE treated him. Malenko was once ranked the top wrestler in the world by Pro Wrestling Illustrated, and it was certainly not during his WWE run.

7 Mae Young

Mae Young is considered a pioneer for women's wrestling and is among one of the most revered early professional wrestlers. Her accomplishments as a wrestler were considered trail-blazing for future females in the wrestling business and had it not been for her triumphs and sacrifices, the wrestling world would look very different today.

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Despite her accomplishments and legendary status, modern wrestling fans knew her more for her antics during the Attitude Era than for anything she accomplished beforehand. Mae Young did not actually wrestle a match in WWE before 1999, so none of her accomplishments were recognized by the company for a very long time.

6 Low-Ki

When a wrestler named Kaval joined the early days of NXT in 2008, many wrestling fans were unaware of who he was because WWE did not recognize his legacy. Kaval was actually previously known by both of the names Low Ki and Tenshi in Ring of Honor and TNA, and was among one of the best wrestlers in the world.

Under his previous personas, Low Ki was a founding member of Ring of Honor and a former World Champion and was also one of the pioneers of TNA's X-Division. Had WWE recognized his previous accomplishments, he could have had a very successful career there. Unfortunately, he only lasted a year on television and quickly fizzled out.

5 Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle's rookie year in WWE is among one of the best the wrestling business has ever seen. Having accomplished so much in his career in WWE during his first stint, he earned his status as one of the greats. When he left WWE in 2006, he furthered his career during a great stint in Impact Wrestling and helped build the company through his success.

Had he chosen to end his career in TNA, it would have been seen as an end of a spectacular career. However, he rejoined WWE in 2016, and things quickly soured. Angle's career ended in a very disappointing way by losing to Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35, and many fans felt it was disrespectful to his legacy. Angle has not wrestled a match since, and fans continue to experience a bad taste about how things ended.

4 Shinsuke Nakamura

Shinsuke Nakamura's introduction to WWE in 2016 was befitting of his previous legacy in New Japan Pro Wrestling, as he was brought in as a very big deal, and had a spectacular run in NXT. Had Nakamura's career in WWE continued on this trajectory, he would have amassed one of the greatest careers in wrestling.

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Unfortunately, the good things about Nakamura's WWE run end following his arrival to the main roster in 2017. He lost his lustre very quickly, and instead of being treated as a legendary star from Japan, he was treated just like another wrestler on the roster. Unfortunately, many wrestling fans see his WWE run as very disappointing and would have rather him to move on to greener pastures.

3 Raven

As one of the founding members of Extreme Championship Wrestling, Raven was a multi-time ECW World Champion and considered one of the best wrestlers from the promotion. After successful stints in the land of the extreme as well as WCW, Raven had proven himself as a wrestler who could help carry a promotion.

Unfortunately, when he joined WWE in 2000, he was treated exactly like most other ECW alumni and was relegated to the Hardcore division. Despite becoming one of the most decorated champions in WWE with twenty-seven Hardcore Championship reigns, he was not given his due as a performer considering his ECW legacy.

2 Ultimo Dragon

Ultimo Dragon is one of the most decorated professional wrestlers in history, and one of the most prolific cruiserweight wrestlers to ever burst onto the United States scene. With an impressive resume from Japan and WCW junior heavyweight divisions, Dragon has earned his place as one of the best wrestlers in the world.

Unfortunately, if fans had only experienced him during his very short WWE tenure, they would never have thought so. Ultimo Dragon was not treated as a wrestler with a spectacular legacy in WWE, particularly due to how the Cruiserweight division was treated by the company. Perhaps Dragon sensed just how damaging the company was to his legacy, as he left WWE after less than a year.

1 Terry Funk

WWE has a tendency of ignoring the legacy of some wrestlers if they did not earn that legacy in their company. Unfortunately, Terry Funk fell victim to this when he joined WWE for a short stint in 1997. Instead of acknowledging his solid legacy in the NWA, WCW and ECW as Terry Funk, he was renamed Chainsaw Charlie and treated as an unknown wrestler.

Had WWE not felt the need to repackage Funk as a chainsaw-wielding maniac, it is possible that they could have attracted new fans. However, this short stint is a weird blip on the former NWA World Champion's legacy, and one that he would likely prefer to forget.