13 Forgotten Projects From WWE's Ruthless Aggression Era

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Every era of WWE has seen the emergence of huge stars, and the Ruthless Aggression Era was no different, with some of the all time greats both emerging and flourishing during that time. In the aftermath of the Attitude Era, WWE looked to find a new identity, and looked to also try and find some new stars, with Vince McMahon pushing some fresh new projects and trialing unproven names. However, there are many examples the more you look at those who wrestled within WWE’s roster during this time period who didn’t quite make it in the end. Whether it be botched booking or just a sheer lack of talent, this happened a lot.

The Ruthless Aggression Era was an experimental time for WWE trying to spotlight new talents. A transition was being made to a new time for the company with no more competition against WCW. The Attitude Era made WWE bigger than ever, but that style of crash television would no longer work in the 2000s.

WWE succeeded at finding new top superstars with John Cena, Batista, Brock Lesnar, and Randy Orton all breaking out. Unfortunately, not everyone pushed found that same level of success since it was a sink-or-swim environment. WWE had these forgotten projects fall under the radar when looking back at the Ruthless Aggression Era time.

UPDATE: 2023/08/10 16:09 EST BY ANDREW KELLY

Every era of WWE has seen the emergence of huge stars, and the Ruthless Aggression Era was no different, with some of the all time greats both emerging and flourishing during that time. In the aftermath of the Attitude Era, WWE looked to find a new identity, and looked to also try and find some new stars, with Vince McMahon pushing some fresh new projects and trialing unproven names. However, there are many examples the more you look at those who wrestled within WWE’s roster during this time period who didn’t quite make it in the end. Whether it be botched booking or just a sheer lack of talent, this happened a lot.

13 Nathan Jones

Nathan Jones had a good look, he just didn’t have anything else. He was given a major introduction initially, aligning with none other than The Undertaker, with it seeming as though Vince McMahon had huge plans for him.

However, after originally being scheduled to be alongside Undertaker for a tag team match at WrestleMania 19, he was pulled from the match as he wasn’t deemed ready for the spotlight. A year later he was handed his release after abandoning a WWE tour in his home country of Australia, putting an end to this failed project.

12 Orlando Jordan

Orlando Jordan as the United States Champion

Orlando Jordan was given a fair bit of momentum when he arrived in WWE, putting in strong performances against the likes of John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Big Show. With WWE seeing his talent, he was turned heel and joined The Cabinet alongside WWE Champion JBL.

He would go on to win the United States Championship, and it looked like he was set for a gradual climb up the card. However, the aftermath of this reign saw his booking plummet and he eventually left the promotion.

11 Jesus

Jesus was an example of yet another “heavy” who was booked strongly at first before WWE realized that they had minimal talent and ended their push quickly. Jesus was the bodyguard for Carlito, and would even find himself in a PPV singles match with John Cena at one point.

However, WWE gave up on him as a project quickly, and was let go from the promotion soon after his loss to Cena.

10 Sean O'Haire

WCW ending led to Sean O'Haire joining WWE as one of the younger talents they wanted to carry over. O’Haire had a short stint in the Invasion, but his biggest push came in the Ruthless Aggression Era when repackaged with a new gimmick.

The master manipulator O’Haire talked others into doing extreme actions, like Brian Kendrick streaking or Dawn Marie flashing the crowd. WWE even paired the returning legend Roddy Piper with him, but they gave up after a few months and never changed their minds.

9 Ernest Miller

Former WCW talent Ernest Miller joined WWE in the Ruthless Aggression Era with his dancing gimmick. The same theme song used later by Brodus Clay was made for Miller to dance before, during, and after his matches.

WWE went hot and cold with Miller’s use as a wrestler before having him remain a color commentator for the rest of his run. Miller commentated on the secondary SmackDown show Velocity with Josh Mathews before eventually leaving the company.

8 Joy Giovanni

The original Diva Search led to quite a few women getting signed despite Christy Hemme being the only winner. Joy Giovanni was one of the runner-ups to stand out and get a strong fan ovation from most of the live crowds.

WWE re-introduced Giovanni a few months later after the Diva Search ended in a romantic angle with Big Show. Kurt Angle and JBL ran into awkward situations with Joy added to their feuds with Big Show, but the creative bailed on the couple before Giovanni was released.

7 Luther Reigns

WWE wanted to make Luther Reigns an intimidating figure on the roster for years to come in the Ruthless Aggression Era. Reigns was put into a strong role as the right-hand man to Kurt Angle during his stint as SmackDown General Manager.

Angle had his own mini faction with Reigns and Mark Jindrak behind him. The weaknesses of Luther led to his weak matches and lackluster promos making it hard to continue pushing him. Once WWE realized Angle was better off without the backup, Reigns was no longer an asset.

6 Kenzo Suzuki

Japanese talents struggled to get a noteworthy push in the previous eras of WWE. Kenzo Suzuki received a rare push with effort and intent behind it. WWE did place Suzuki in a stereotypical anti-American heel role to get heat by bashing the United States.

Kenzo’s real-life wife Hiroko was signed to manage him since it made the act more unique. Both the singles push on his own and a tag team push with Rene Dupree each ended with the audience not caring. Suzuki even feuded with John Cena and couldn’t get over with his stale gimmick.

5 Christopher Nowinski

The first season of Tough Enough was the most successful with Maven and Nidia winning due to a strong viewership on MTV. Christopher Nowinski was a runner-up, but he looked like the most ideal of the contestants to have a future in wrestling.

WWE introduced Nowinski in the Ruthless Aggression Era using his arrogant heel gimmick playing into attending Harvard college. Teddy Long even managed Nowinski during a push, but the concussion injuries took him away from WWE faster than expected. Nowinski now helps with concussion research while working with various sports and wrestling organizations.

4 Ultimo Dragon

WWE found massive success with the signing of Rey Mysterio instantly seeing him connect with the audience. Mysterio instantly was used in a bigger role than his WCW tenure, so WWE hoped to find more results with another great masked cruiserweight.

Ultimo Dragon joined WWE with a lot of vignettes hyping his debut. WWE lost faith when Dragon didn’t get over as easily as Rey with the new audience. Dragon primarily worked on Velocity with just a handful of SmackDown matches before his run ended.

3 Heidenreich

The effort put into Heidenreich’s push showed that WWE clearly wanted him to become one of the Ruthless Aggression Era success stories. Heidenreich was managed by Paul Heyman with the hopes of getting over instantly, like Brock Lesnar.

WWE pushed Heidenreich hard by costing The Undertaker a few world title matches and feuding with him for a couple of months. The singles push flopping saw another idea coming when Heidenreich joined Road Warrior Animal in the new Legion of Doom, but that ended even worse.

2 Kenny Dykstra

The Spirit Squad is remembered for a short run of getting heat as a faction before D-Generation X buried them. WWE wrote them off when DX stuffed all five members in a box with an OVW sticker on it. Ken Doane was renamed Kenny Dykstra as the only member to stay on the main roster.

WWE paired Dykstra with Randy Orton and Edge to face off with Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair. The feud of Dykstra vs Flair was meant to help elevate him in a singles heel role, but it didn’t work out. Dykstra never got another chance and was surprisingly released rather quickly.

1 Matt Morgan

WWE once viewed Matt Morgan as a future star partially due to Jim Cornette hyping him up in developmental. Morgan had two roles in the company that each ended poorly. Brock Lesnar recruited Morgan to his big man Survivor Series team that eventually lost.

Morgan returned a few years later with the new gimmick of speaking with a stutter as the bodyguard of Carlito. WWE valued Morgan enough to have him put Big Show through a table. Unfortunately, this was the peak of his WWE run before getting released and spending the rest of his career in TNA.