Downed On The Farm: Top WWE Developmental Prospects That Never Made It…Part 3

Posted on June 26, 2020 by bdamage1

Brian Damage

The WWF/WWE has had some type of developmental system for years now. Whether it was the USWA, Ohio Valley, Power Pro, Heartland, Deep South, Florida Championship Wrestling or NXT…many of the company’s top superstars got their start in at least one of them. While some developmental names like John Cena, Kurt Angle, Randy Orton, The Miz, Brock Lesnar and Charlotte Flair all made big stars of themselves by first training in developmental, others never got to see the light of day. This series will focus on those wrestlers…the ones that at some point were a lock to get called up to the main roster and never quite made it. What once was hot, suddenly became a “not” as a WWE superstar.

Dan Rodman

Daniel Rodimer was a collegiate football player out of the University of South Florida. After graduation, Rodimer played semi pro ball with the Arena Football League. When that career did not pan out…Rodimer became a personal trainer. It was at that time that Rodimer decided to audition for WWE’s Tough Enough competition in 2004. The very same show that produced the likes of the Miz and Ryback.

While Rodimer did not win Tough Enough…WWE management liked his look. He was tall, muscular and good looking. He stood 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighed a solid 300 pounds. The WWE offered Rodimer a developmental contract and assigned him to Deep South Wrestling based in Georgia. He was eventually reassigned to WWE’s main developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) to continue his training. He was eventually renamed Dan Rodman and wrestled a host of future WWE stars like Kofi Kingston, Fandango, Jack Swagger and Tyson Kidd.

It was none other than Stephanie McMahon who saw unlimited potential in the Dan Rodman character. She even went as far as christened him the ‘Next big thing in WWE’ referring to his potential to be a big superstar for the company. Tentative plans were made to make Rodman the bodyguard to both Edge and Randy Orton as ‘Rated RKO’ tag team. Rodman appeared for one match on WWE’s main roster show ‘Heat’ before being sent back down to developmental for more experience.

He was reassigned to WWE’s newest territory Florida Championship Wrestling and worked a few dark matches on the main roster. While Stephanie McMahon was Rodman’s biggest supporter….others within the company felt he was way too green to get such a big opportunity. Ultimately, Vince McMahon made the decision to keep Rodimer off television and was eventually released in 2007 after trainers and agents felt he wasn’t progressing fast enough.

Rodimer would get out of professional wrestling completely and attend law school instead. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where he is married with six children and was involved in politics. He has been accused of murder in March of 2024. Rodimer has pled not guilty.