WWE will present SummerSlam from the Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Canada on August 11. The annual extravaganza, dubbed as the "the Biggest Party of the Summer," has an impressive card.
We will not only see Goldberg seeking redemption after a disastrous Saudi Arabia outing, but also Trish Stratus' first singles match in nearly 13 years.
With Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar and Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton set at the top of the card and the arrival of the Fiend, SummerSlam is a must-watch.
However, superstars like Drew McIntyre, Andrade, Cesaro, Lacey Evans and Sami Zayn won't be in action. Even the legendary Rey Mysterio couldn't find a place on the card.
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Remember Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns have nothing set yet as well but expect them to have a confrontation. The list of absentees will go long. Here, we present the top 5 superstars left off the SummerSlam card who could have added immense value to the card.
#5 The Miz
The Miz will not wrestle this Sunday. Who can we blame? Perhaps, we can blame the WWE creative team who haven't executed Miz's face run with anything close to perfection thus far.
Do we agree that WWE could have handled Miz's feud with Shane McMahon differently? The rivalry had spark; there were some amazing moments. However, it never really paid off.
The Miz took losses to the 'Best in the World' at WrestleMania and Money in the Bank. While Miz dominated those matches and McMahon won each match by 'luck,' the lacklustre rivalry killed Miz's momentum. Perhaps, WWE tried too hard to get McMahon's gimmick over.
To make matters worse, WWE had nothing for the A-Lister until Dolph Ziggler pulled the superkick on Shawn Michaels. Even then, unfortunately, Miz could only get the responsibility to hold Goldberg's place in his feud against Ziggler.
Miz did his job, but it's noteworthy when an A-lister doesn't wrestle on one of the A-shows, SummerSlam being 1 of the top 4 WWE pay-per-views. Ziggler vs. Goldberg is a big deal, but Miz and Ziggler could have torn the house down.
#4 Lacey Evans
Lacey Evans doesn't have anything to do at SummerSlam yet.
Evans has been one of the top figures on Raw since WrestleMania. Her stocks have seen an exponential rise. Considering her inexperience, the former United States Marine was a revelation in her rivalry with Becky Lynch.
The Sassy Southern Belle might have been absent from TV since Extreme Rules, but her sass has been in full practice. Most notably, she savagely called WWE legends 'yesterday's nasties' in a tweet. It led to a heated argument with Alundra Blayze. Things heated up so much that Evans stated she'd gladly "lose this career" and walk away with blood on her hands. Phew!
We do know that WWE isn't the place for "blood and guts." But, it's a place for dreamers to shine. Evans has a presence. She appears to live her gimmick. And, WWE should have her in top spots.
Evans has been left off the card on Sunday, but let's hope she returns to TV soon.
#3 Samoa Joe
From the moment Samoa Joe enters a building, you know he means business. As the crowd begin the JOE chants, we know we have a potential brawl.
However, SummerSlam wouldn't witness the Samoan Submission Machine put anybody to sleep. And that is a loss.
Joe has had a start-stop time off late. Every time we think that he is finally getting a push, something goes wrong. His feud with Rey Mysterio could never reach top gear, largely due to injuries to the Master of 619.
Then, he dropped his US Championship to Ricochet. And, most recently, Roman Reigns beat him clean on an episode of RAW. From there on, he's just been a supporting actor in a larger Roman Reigns story.
Perhaps WWE could have waited to start Roman Reigns' attack saga, and had him face Joe at SummerSlam. It'd have been a classic bout.
Another monster, who comes next in this list, is also set to remain absent from the card. If Reigns vs. Joe wasn't possible, WWE could have had something remarkable there for Joe leading up to SummerSlam.
#2 Braun Strowman
We know that Braun Strowman and WrestleMania don't go well together. The Monster Among Men finds himself in underwhelming spots during WWE's peak season.
Now, it looks like the Sun gods are also not too happy with Strowman. As of now, Strowman doesn't have anything to do on WWE's biggest party of the summer and will miss another big event.
We have some potential reasons as to why Strowman is not on the SummerSlam card, with one of them being Bobby Lashley's injury. The two men tore the house down at Extreme Rules, but due to Lashley's injury, this feud came to a sudden halt.
We may call it Strowman's bad luck, but the reality is that WWE needs to be more proactive with their resident freakish monster's booking. Would you have loved to see Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman?
With his size and ability, he's a potential mega draw. WWE needs to book him better.
#1 The Tag Team division
We'll take some leeway here to mention WWE's tag team division in this list, as we will not see any of the three Tag Team Titles defended on Sunday night.
There are three tag-team championships in WWE at present. The O.C. has the Raw Tag Team Championship, New Day are the SmackDown's Tag Team Champions, and Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross have the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. They are special units that deliver strong performances. Still, they could not find a slot the 10-match SummerSlam card.
Considering the talent in the tag division, WWE should give better treatment to the tag teams. These teams consistently deliver show-stealing performances.
With the Usos, Revival, and plenty of other teams gaining momentum, let's hope WWE does more with them in the future. Until then, it's a sorry looking card for the fans of tag team wrestling.