At different times WWE might have such a large roster that not everyone gets TV time or time to develop. Someone like Armando Estrada or Brad Maddox.
In the case of Armando Estrada, they might sit on the roster and collect a check without being on television. Remember that? He still in the promotion but he hadn’t seen him for a few months before he was released. When he was finally released it was like “He was still there?! Wow!”
It happens. Before that, he had been taken off television for a period during the period where he was managing Umaga. This was also the time when WWE was trying to get some steam going with the ECW brand in its second year and a period as general manager.
I always felt something more could’ve been done with Estrada as a personality. Could Brad Maddox have been salvaged?
Maddox’s WWE Run
Sure, sure. Maddox wasn’t anything especially during his time in Florida Championship Wrestling but he was solid in-ring. It wasn’t until his character develops on the main roster with RAW that we started to see how he could be utilized.
Mind you, this was a time when WWE was sprinkling in a number of indy wrestlers and talent who had made a name elsewhere. Maddox wasn’t going to be shining against those guys in classic matches any time soon.
So, what does WWE do? Make him a referee. Now, he could’ve stayed a referee and no one would’ve batted an eye or drawn much attention to him. That is until he was made Assistant RAW Supervising Manager—which is just a mouthful of a job title. He grew in the role to the point of becoming GM of RAW, a big jump for someone who was referee a year or so earlier.
Then he ended up losing that position to Kane and was put in a bunch of situations that saw him get pummeled regularly. Towards the end of his WWE run he was in the ring more often but the sizzle was out on his steak.
Salvaging Brad Maddox
Back to the question at hand: could Brad Maddox be salvaged? The thing is, anyone can be salvaged it just relies on knowing how far that wrestler can go. On a stage like WWE, Maddox probably wasn’t going to go that far to start. He always seemed like someone who would get lost in the shuffle for a time until WWE found the right place for him in a tag team. Then that team would get lost in the shuffle and released.
Even with the brand split of today, Brad Maddox really wouldn’t have a place in WWE where he would shine. That’s not entirely on Maddox either, it’s just what happens in WWE because he could’ve easily had a Ziggler-like spurt in-ring but the roster is constantly bloated.
So, as a singles competitor, no. As a tag team specialist, definitely. I could’ve seen Maddox being paired with someone and getting a few title wins or being that team that could snatch your title if you weren’t careful. Also, at the moment the company isn’t aggressively picking anyone up never mind bring them back.
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