#4 Mike Kanellis
It’s unusual in WWE nowadays that a performer immediately joins the company as a member of the main roster, with even the most established of names like Kevin Owens and Shinsuke Nakamura having to go through the NXT process before moving up to Raw and SmackDown Live.
That’s why it was so surprising when Mike Kanellis, along with his wife Maria Kanellis, appeared at the Money In The Bank pay-per-view in June and were brought in as members of the SmackDown Live roster.
The only recent Superstars to debut without going through NXT first were AJ Styles, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, and the assumption was that WWE must have had big plans for Mike & Maria on the main roster.
As it turned out, the “Power of Love” gimmicks didn’t quite catch on and, while Maria has been absent on maternity leave, Mike has only had two matches on SmackDown Live since July. Don’t be surprised if WWE tries to revive his career in NXT in 2018.