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Vince McMahon is a true businessman and he has proven that by bringing WWE to the level that it is on right now. Soon to turn 75, Vince McMahon continues to be heavily involved with the day-to-day operations as well as storylines of WWE. While there are many people involved in the creative team including writers and other executives, it is the Boss, who has the final say.
Thus, there's no denying the fact that any aspiring WWE Superstar has to be liked by Vince McMahon to get the push to make it big in the company. Unfortunately, there have been many instances of the Boss dropping the ball on certain Superstars due to various reasons - something we have witnessed multiple times this year alone.
So, let's take a look at five WWE Superstars who Vince McMahon has reportedly given up on in 2020. Be sure to let me know your thoughts and opinions on the same in the comments section below.
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#5 Shayna Baszler
Starting with the latest edition on the list is the woman who was the favorite to walk out of WrestleMania 36 as the new RAW Women's Champion, Shayna Baszler. Not many can claim to have made the kind of impact that the Queen of Spades did on her main roster PPV debut last year at Survivor Series 2019, where she defeated Becky Lynch and Bayley in a triple threat match.
Baszler then entered the 2020 Women's Royal Rumble match at the #30 spot, and almost won it before being eliminated by Charlotte Flair. Shortly after arriving on the main roster post-Royal Rumble, the two-time NXT Women's Champion was put inside the Elimination Chamber to determine Becky Lynch's opponent for WrestleMania 36. Baszler ended up plowing through the competition and won the match. Unfortunately, she couldn't dethrone The Man at the Show of Shows, much to the surprise of many.
WWE Universe expected her to become this year's Miss Money in the Bank, and even though she was in the match, it was Asuka who won it and was crowned the RAW Women's Champion the very next night. Since then, Baszler's stock has dropped drastically on the main roster, and she has been taken off TV as well.
As per the reports, Vince McMahon is done pushing Shayna Baszler as a legitimate star. It is indeed surprising to see Vince McMahon giving up on the Queen of Spades, as it was not long ago when she was looking all set to lead the Women's division on Monday Night RAW.
#4 Ricochet
Next on the list of Superstars who Vince McMahon has given up on is the One and Only, Ricochet. There's no doubt that he is one of the most athletic in-ring performers on the current WWE roster. Ricochet has remained a fan-favorite throughout his stay on NXT and now on RAW. Unfortunately, Vince McMahon is not high on him.
While Ricochet unexpectedly got a WWE Championship match at WWE Super ShowDown earlier this year, what happened in the match was something he would like to forget as he was brutally squashed by the defending Champion at that time, Brock Lesnar.
Ricochet's downfall continued as he lost clean on the following RAW to then-24/7 Champion, Riddick Moss. It was then reported on the Wrestling Observer Radio that Vince McMahon had lost interest in Ricochet. Following was the discussion that went down between Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez:
Meltzer: I don't know what the mentality is.
Alvarez: I think the mentality is that Ricochet is done.
Meltzer: Ricochet is done. Yeah. It's Vince! You know, he may change his mind next week, but yeah, this week he's done. He's so done. This was a burial, without a doubt, like who knows, he gets these things in his head. With Cedric Alexander, he was supposed to get a big push and Vince just buried the guy, and now he's burying another guy.
Speaking of Ricochet, he has been teaming up lately with a Superstar who couldn't keep Vince McMahon interested in his potential as well. He is...
#3 Cedric Alexander
Cedric Alexander had a great showing on 205 Live, winning the Cruiserweight Championship during his time there. Upon his arrival on Monday Night RAW, he was pushed for a while before he started losing to several WWE Superstars including Angel Garza. According to reports, former Executive Director of RAW, Paul Heyman wanted to push Cedric Alexander but Vince McMahon was not convinced and hence, no push was given to him.
Vince McMahon probably doesn't see any upside to featuring Alexander as a credible Superstar. Dave Meltzer said:
“They’ve got no plans for Cedric. He’s a talented guy but his number is just not being called.”
A WWE source added:
“Vince will listen to Paul [Heyman] on some ideas but other times he can be close-minded and he sees nothing in Cedric. Vince gave up on him a long time ago.”
Recently, we saw WWE pairing up Ricochet and Cedric Alexander, and the two worked some amazing matches together, picking up some impressive wins. Just when it started looking like a new top tag-team was ready to rule the respective division on RAW, Vince McMahon pulled the strings again and the two lost their pushes and got relegated to Main Event.
#2 Humberto Carrillo
The Mexican star, Humberto Carrillo received an amazing push after making his Monday Night RAW debut last year in October. Vince McMahon even tried to build him as a top draw for the Mexican audience by having him team up with Cain Velasquez in Mexico.
After some interesting feuds with the likes of AJ Styles and Andrade for the United States Championship, and with his real-life cousin, Angel Garza, Humberto Carrillo somehow got lost in the mix. As per the reports, Vince McMahon gave up on him as well, thus stopping his initial push. Dave Meltzer stated:
“AJ was there to make new babyfaces, that was what he was there for. How many new babyfaces did he make? None. He didn’t even lose on the way out. Well, he lost to The Undertaker but that didn’t but that does nobody any good.”
“My point is that every one of these guys from Ricochet to Cedric Alexander to Humberto Carrillo. Every single one of them was supposed to be in a big feud with AJ where they would get over and they would win the title and not one of them did.”
Currently, Humberto Carrillo is involved in the Rey Mysterio/Seth Rollins storyline and it remains to be seen whether Vince McMahon gives him another push or not.
#1 Lacey Evans
Lacey Evans came to the main roster last year and Vince McMahon instantly saw her as a top Superstar. She wasn't even properly done with her stint at NXT but was called up as Vince McMahon was impressed. She was instantly pitted against then-RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch, and while Lacey Evans lost the feud, she managed to impress the fans and backstage officials.
Vince McMahon also trusted her to compete in the first-ever Women's match in Saudi Arabia against Natalya at Crown Jewel 2019. Unfortunately, the Chairman has cooled down on the idea of pushing Evans and is not high on her anymore. As reported by Sean Ross Sapp on his Q&A Podcast on Fightful Select, Vince McMahon was really high on her last year but isn't anymore.
Q: Is Vince still high on Lacey Evans?
SRS: No, but I heard he really, really was a year and a half ago.
With her unsuccessfully challenging for the SmackDown Women's Championship on more than one occasion, it's highly unlikely that Lacey Evans will get in the title picture anytime soon. The SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley is probably not losing her title to anyone until her eventual feud with Sasha Banks kicks off. It remains to be seen what's in store for Lacey Evans next.
