Ever since the WWE brought back Albert/A-Train who is now known to WWE fans as Lord Tensai, I figured it would be fun to look at the current state of the wrestling world and wonder what other former WWE stars should be re-signed by the company for a 2nd chance/run with the WWE.

Let’s face it; no matter how well A-Train did in Japan as “The Great Bernard” I don’t think many fans thought that the WWE would eventually bring him back. It’s just not in the DNA of the WWE to give a former talent a second chance with that amount of years between their last WWE run and the present time.

Lord Tensai/A-Train appears to be the exception and thank god for that because for a big ma he is a tremendous worker & has greatly improved since his last WWE run. But rather then being an exception maybe Lord Tensai has now become a pioneer in giving former WWE stars a 2nd chance especially if they have perfected their craft on the independent circuit or outside the United States. With that being said here is a list of five former WWE stars that need to be re-signed by the WWE:

5. Colt Cabana

I have always felt that the WWE completely missed the boat with Colt Cabana a.k.a. Scotty Goldman. A lot of fans seem to really enjoy the gimmick Santino Marella has had the last couple of years where has been that comedic guy with good in-ring ability and I completely believe that Colt Cabana would have done that role so much better then Santino currently is. Not only does Cabana have a great personality but the guy is a tremendous in-ring worker.

Cabana is hilarious to all age groups and wrestles a tremendous British style of wrestling that entertains the wrestling fan. The WWE knows how popular he is with fans and I still don’t understand why he hasn’t been signed. We have seen how popular cult (no pun intended) like fan followings have been with guys like Zack Ryder and someone like Colt Cabana would receive the same popularity. It’s a shame that the WWE hasn’t brought him back as they really could’ve capitalized last summer when they had their chance with CM Punk gaining so much popularity.

4. Matt Hardy

This name might come as a surprise to many people but let’s face it internet fans, Matt Hardy has paid his personal dues to society, he has stayed out of trouble, by all accounts he has cleaned up his act, and we need to respect him for that, there’s no need to continue to kick a man while he’s down or on his way back up. I for one were one of those fans that were really hacked off by the actions of Matt Hardy during his dark period and bashed him a lot for it but you have got to give credit where credit is due & it looks like he is back on track with his life which is something we should be extremely happy to see. With the dark period of his life in the past Matt Hardy can return to doing what he does best and that is in-ring storytelling.

Before all the drama Matt Hardy brought onto his life he was most remembered for being one of the “internet fans favorite wrestlers to watch.” He had great in-ring psychology, told a great story inside & outside the ring and had a passion for the business you just cannot duplicate. Matt Hardy, to me, could very well be in that same position Christian is in right now if brought back to the WWE roster, a veteran who can work well with any talent in any high profile feud. Now with everything cleared up in his life I believe the highest mountain I’d love to see Matt Hardy climb is a return to the WWE and to continue to prove all his detractors wrong.

3. Carlito

Carlito was one of those talents that you’d just get really frustrated over because he was being underutilized or he’d (admittedly) get in trouble behind the curtain of the WWE thanks to his attitude or mouth. Back when Carlito debuted he was a guy that you could’ve easily penciled in as being a World Champion at some point by 2012. If you go back to his debut and remember how much the WWE pushed him it will remind you a lot of Alberto Del Rio; a guy that had the personality, in-ring work and charisma to be a top star in the next 2-3 years.

Carlito never lived up to those standards and since his release from the WWE he hasn’t been able to regain the same mainstream attention in the United States that used to have and that’s a damn shame. Carlito can talk on the mic, tell a story in the ring and is a pretty good worker, that’s typically the makeup to develop a top WWE star. Now that a couple years have passed and Carlito appears to have matured from that last run I think now would be a great opportunity to bring back a star that the WWE fans really seemed to enjoy during his run with the company.

2. Shelton Benjamin

I don’t think there is any more fundamentally sound wrestler the WWE has ever released then Shelton Benjamin was. His matches with Shawn Michaels on Monday Night RAW’s are some of the great RAW matches we have ever seen in the history of the show. He was one of the most gifted athletes to ever grace a WWE ring and he was still released by the company because he lacked the ability to cut a good promo.

You always hear the phrase “5 tool prospect” when it comes to professional wrestling and Shelton Benjamin was just that except he lacked the important tool in today’s WWE standards by cutting a promo. The WWE never paired him up with a mouth piece (sorry Shelton’s “mother” didn’t cut it for a manager) so he was destined to fail. Despite all of that he is still tearing it up in Ring of Honor wrestling and is still one of the best pound for pound wrestlers not signed by the WWE today. Envision matches between Shelton Benjamin and Daniel Bryan or CM Punk, they would be a wrestling clinic. He still has the tools and the WWE could use pound for pound wrestlers so a 2nd chance into the WWE could be in Shelton’s cards if the WWE knows better.

1. Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP):

This blog was originally inspired by the return of Lord Tensai into the WWE after years of being in Japan. Who better to return to the WWE then a guy who has been in Japan making his craft even better? That’s where MVP comes in.

At one time this was a guy who was looked at as the future of the WWE. A guy who carry a good match, hold onto the ball given to him by the WWE whether he was a heel or face and run with it. He already has the crafts & tools to be a top WWE star and the fact that he left the WWE to pursue a career over in Japan to make his game even better is worth another crack at the WWE spotlight.

He truly has all the right things to make him into a top WWE star again. His in-ring work is tremendous, he has charisma, he has personality, he is good on the microphone and he is getting better because he is over in Japan right now perfecting his wrestling abilities. We all remember how good MVP was during his first WWE run and a return to the WWE would really surprise fans with how much better he has already gotten thanks to his time in Japan. I don’t know what the WWE is waiting for but it’s time to bring a guy like MVP back to the WWE roster.

For more on this topic join us for the Thursday June 7th edition of “The Still Real to Us Show” and download the show at www.wheelhouseradio.com or www.wrestlechat.net.

If you would like to subscribe to “The Wheelhouse” on iTunes simply subscribe for free at iTunes by typing in “Wheelhouse Radio!”

You can follow “The Champ Jeff Peck” on Twitter at www.twitter.com/therealjeffpeck you can also follow Wheelhouse Radio on twitter at www.twitter.com/thewheelhouse and you can e-mail them @ [email protected]

[amazon_link id=”B0084136BC” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]WWE Brock Lesnar Carnage T-Shirt[/amazon_link]

[amazon_link id=”B007I1Q4PY” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]WWE: Falls Count Anywhere: The Greatest Street Fights and other Out of Control Matches [/amazon_link]

Grab discounted WWE DVDs, merchandise, t -shirts, figures, and more from the WWE Shop on Amazon.com

(Visited 40 times, 1 visits today)

Eric G. Eric is the owner and editor-in-chief of the Camel Clutch Blog. Eric has worked in the pro wrestling industry since 1995 as a ring announcer in ECW and a commentator/host on television, PPV, and home video. Eric also hosted Pro Wrestling Radio on terrestrial radio from 1998-2009. Check out some of Eric's work on his IMDB bio and Wikipedia. Eric has an MBA from Temple University's Fox School of Business. More Posts - Website Follow Me:

