Why was Dean Malenko booked so badly in WWE?

A guy with Malenko's in ring ability would do well in todays WWE. Size being a liability to a smaller degree these days. That being said, i doubt he would have ever rose above a US or IC Title reign or two at best. But ,realistically, they did what they could with Dean knowing he was gonna wind down almost immediately after the Radicalz as a group were done. Saturn probably could have benefieted more if they didnt view him as a comedy act. I always thought he was over big time in WCW when he was fueding with Raven and booked as a serious ass kicker. WWE should have went that route with him and he might have been viewed on the same level as Benoit and Eddie.