Originally Posted by
Jack-Hammer
Teddy Hart was only 18 when he signed with WWE, which in and of itself could be considered a mistake because how many 18 year olds are legitimately mature enough to be able really hold up on that sort of a stage? When it comes to arrogance, based on what I've read, Teddy Hart was the stuff of legent and had it from the moment he signed with WWE. He constantly clashed with trainers, he got into altercations backstage, felt like he already knew everything and it just kept going to such a point that WWE let him go without him even hitting the main roster.
He worked the indie scene here and there for the next few years and, allegedly, one of his only appearances for Ring of Honor ended with him sort of embarrassing himself and the company. The story goes that some wrestlers were just sort of ribbing him by saying he wasn't a good high flyer, which wasn't true but they were saying it because they knew it'd get a rise out of him. So, following his match that night, rather than selling the effects of the moves he'd been pinned with, he started doing random flips and high spots off the top rope and off top of the steel cage he'd been wrestling inside. Rather than doing what a professional is supposed to do, he decided to go into business for himself and do all these various flips and flops without telling anyone and the result was that this was one of his only appearances for Ring of Honor.
He started working for TNA sometime later in 2003 and eventually got into a public fight in a restaurant with none other than CM Punk, who himself had publicly said what a jerk Hart was though he himself was never exactly a prize, and they had to be separated by Sabu.
Basically, it ended up being pretty much the same story wherever he'd show up to work, at least in most cases. He burned bridges in WWE, TNA, ROH, rubbed people the wrong way in Japan, etc.. One of the few endearing traits is that, at times, he'll bring his cat, Mr. Money, into the ring.
Could he have been a big star? I think it's possible. During his time in WWE, I could see him having an Owen Hart level career in which he has some runs with the Tag Team, Intercontinental and possibly United States Championships, before leaving in the mid 2000s due to wanting to be a main eventer but not getting the shot. So, he gives ROH a try for a few years, maybe wins the ROH World Championship for a while before heading to TNA as TNA started to try signing any remotely relevant former WWE star they could beginning around 2008 or so. While in TNA, I see him mostly as a tag team or X Division guy considering that circa 2008 through around 2012 is a time where you're going to have a lot of Sting, Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy in the main event picture. By 2011 or so, if he's gotten into Hulk Hogan's good graces, then maybe he could've had a couple of runs as TNA World Heavyweight Champion, given that Hogan had tons of influence on Dixie Carter. If not, then I think he'd have left and maybe gone back to WWE where he might have won the World Heavyweight Championship; after Taker's 3rd run with the WHC ended in late February 2010, the title really became more along the lines of what the IC title was supposed to be rather than a title on equal footing with the WWE Championship.
Overall, I think Teddy Hart, had he not been crippled with overwhelming immaturity, arrogance and just a general gift of rubbing people the wrong way, would have had a career along similar lines of Christian when it was all said and done.