Steve Corino never made it beyond enhancement work or tryout matches to the WWE, but his matches in the dying days of ECW turned many heads.

Corino was not afraid to bleed, and many of his matches ended with the proverbial crimson mask.  While the WWE passed on him, he won a plethora of singles and tag team titles on the independent scene, and was a coveted mind and draw on that level.

That should mean something, shouldn’t it?

Rob Van Dam never won the ECW World Heavyweight Championship (in the original promotion anyway), but he was without question one of the best wrestlers ever to star for Paul Heyman’s renegade promotion and one who will always be synonymous with the promotion.

Kurt Angle won the 1996 Freestyle Olympic Gold Medal in Atlanta, and thought there has been past Olympians in the WWE, Angle would become the first Gold Medalist to enter the organization. Angle would have the best rookie year in WWE history, winning the European, Intercontinental and World Heavyweight Title, while dazzling fans with his in ring ability and entertaining them with his goofy sense of humour.

Like Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi rose up the ranks to become of the top stars of All Japan, and subsequently one of the most respected wrestlers in the world.  The tough grappler was credited with the invention of many high impact offensive moves that have been liberally stolen in the States.  Despite the high regard he is held in, the current draw of Pro Wrestling NOAH is like Misawa in another regard; he never plied his trade in the States and is thus unknown to the average North American wrestling fan.