While the 2000s decade is widely considered to be one of WWE's biggest boom periods of business due to its mainstream popularity, long-time wrestling fans know that it is still plenty wrong with this time in wrestling. While this decade featured landmark moments like the closure of WCW and the rise of John Cena, there were just as many - if not more - lackluster and forgettable wrestlers to be featured on television.
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Whether it was done to fill up television time or an attempt to get new faces on television, not every wrestler that made an appearance with WWE in the 2000s was destined for superstardom. Thankfully, WWE management learned this quickly and pulled the plug on many characters quickly, which means that only hardcore wrestling fans recognize some of the most obscure characters to ever step on television during wrestling's hottest time.
10 Hervina
WWE's Attitude Era took place so far away from the women's revolution that the entire division was treated like an absolute joke. Instead of women's wrestling being considered an afterthought like it would in later years, it seemed that WWE management was actively trying to embarrass female wrestlers at the time.
One of the most significant pieces of evidence of this was WWE having long-time manager Harvey Wippleman dressed up in drag as Hervina and become WWE Women's Champion in 2000. Considering Hervina's run only lasted for two days, it is very easy for fans to forget about this stain on the history of women's wrestling, especially if they were not fans at the time.
9 Just Joe
In 2000, a man named Just Joe began appearing in backstage segments on WWE programming, intending to stir the pot with other wrestlers. By spreading rumors and passing along secrets to others, Joe used his position to sneak around and try to start drama within the roster.
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While Just Joe's premise is interesting, things never took off, and he lasted only a couple of months on the WWE roster. With no televised matches outside of Jakked and Sunday Night Heat, Joe fell flat as an in-ring performer and his storyline was left unsolved and only the most hardcore fans remember him.
8 Rodney Mack
WWE's initial brand split in the early 2000s created an opportunity for fresh faces to join either RAW or SmackDown and make a name for themselves. While many new stars emerged, there were plenty who tried but failed to catch on and are only distant memories for wrestling fans.
Despite having prior experience in ECW when he joined the WWE full-time in 2003, Rodney Mack struggled to find his footing even with a sizable push out of the gate. Due to his limitations and slowness inside the ring, Mack fell flat very quickly and was quickly relegated to smaller shows before being released in 2004.
7 Mascarita Sagrada & The Junior Division
While RAW has maintained its position as WWE's flagship show since SmackDown debuted, the blue brand has always tried to differentiate itself and stand out in other ways. While the in-ring action on SmackDown has often surpassed RAW over the years, not all the creative decisions can be considered outstanding.
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In 2006, SmackDown began promoting a junior division featuring little-person wrestlers, mainly luchadors on the brand. While this move was undoubtedly different from anything else featured in WWE, the division struggled to catch on with fans and was critically panned and considered offensive. After a few short weeks, the entire division vanished and has never been brought up again.
6 Shaniqua
WWE's Tough Enough competition may have developed some strong stars like The Miz and John Morrison over the years, but not all of their competitors are considered equal, particularly when it comes to the winners. In fact, few Tough Enough winners have produced solid in-ring careers and are seldom remembered by fans.
Linda Miles was a co-winner of the second season of Tough Enough and was packaged as Shaniqua to manage The Basham Brothers on the SmackDown brand in 2003. Despite her impressive size and physique, Shaniqua only wrestled a handful of matches before disappearing completely from WWE and the wrestling business altogether.
5 Paul Burchill
At the height of the popularity of the Pirates of the Caribbean, WWE capitalized by creating their own swashbuckler character in 2006. Despite already being a sizable wrestler with strong in-ring skills, Paul Burchill was saddled with a pirate gimmick to try and push him further.
Despite his full commitment and growing popularity in the role, the pirate character was axed after only a couple of months and forgotten about completely. Burchill then returned to a generic wrestler gimmick for the rest of his WWE run, which did not garner him nearly enough popularity, and he was quietly let go to little fanfare.
4 Eric Escobar
Eric Escobar was the blink-and-you-miss-it type of wrestler that had the briefest of appearances in WWE in 2009. Without any hype or introduction to the character, he began appearing on SmackDown alongside Vickie Guerrero and was thrust into the upper-mid card scene and earned a spot on the brand's Bragging Rights team despite having little name recognition.
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Unfortunately for Escobar, his time in the spotlight disappeared as quickly as it began. In a few short weeks, Escobar was removed from the Bragging Rights team, was removed from top storylines, and then eventually from WWE television altogether, and was never seen in WWE again.
3 Matt Cappotelli
WWE Tough Enough was created with the intention of finding WWE's next breakout wrestler, and they came incredibly close when they crowned Matt Cappotelli as a co-winner in 2003. With a great look, solid athleticism, and a willingness to learn the business, Cappotelli looked like he had a great career ahead of him.
Unfortunately, a cancer diagnosis at the beginning of his career cut things incredibly short and Cappotelli was never able to make it off the ground in WWE developmental. Despite all the resolve in the world, Cappotelli was unable to defeat cancer and was not only forced to retire incredibly early but passed away in 2018.
2 Bam Neely
When ECW was relaunched as WWE's third brand, it eventually became WWE's developmental territory for up-and-coming wrestlers to gain television exposure. While many moved on to full-time careers on WWE's other brands, others were only visible to those who watched ECW at the time because they never made it any further.
As Chavo Guerrero's enforcer and a member of the short-lived La Familia stable, Bam Neely tried his best to find a following in WWE but was unsuccessful. With an unimpressive look and even worse charisma, Neely struggled on television from the moment he debuted and did not last very long on television.
1 Rochelle Loewen
Like many contestants on WWE's Diva Search, Rochelle Loewen was hired by WWE without any prior wrestling experience and aimed to gain a following solely on her looks. Despite being hired with good intentions, Loewen became another face hired by WWE that was quickly forgotten by fans.
After only a handful of appearances on television following the competition, Loewen was given a spot to try and wrestle in the ring but without any prior experience quickly learned that she was not cut out for the wrestling business. Loewen has continued a successful career outside of wrestling in the modeling and fitness industry but has not made a wrestling appearance since 2003.
