WWE employs over 100 wrestlers between Raw, SmackDown and NXT, and when you have that many people fighting for TV time, some of them are going to end up being ignored or forgotten altogether.
Some Superstars have been dealing with injuries, but others have simply been left behind. The sad part is that a few of the people who are struggling on the main roster were top stars in NXT.
Working for a large promotion always comes with the risk of not being used properly.
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It’s not like working the indies where people book shows based on who is available and who will draw in more fans. WWE always has a bunch of people backstage who don’t end up doing anything that night.
Management uses a number of different factors when choosing which men and women to feature on television and which ones to use solely at live events. This slideshow will look at five Superstars you may have forgotten worked for WWE, whether it be due to an injury or simply due to not being booked.
#5 Darren Young
Darren Young has been used on and off since his team with Titus O’Neil broke up, but he has been almost completely absent from WWE programming for the last few months.
Young suffered an arm injury in January which took him out of action, but even before then, we only saw him on rare occasions with Bob Backlund by his side shouting motivational phrases at him during matches.
Young is a solid hand in the ring, but WWE doesn’t seem to know what to do with him outside of The Prime Time Players, and the same can be said about O’Neil. They were great as a team, but have struggled as individuals.
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Young’s partnership with Bob Backlund has done absolutely nothing to help his career, but that’s just because it took so long for anyone to understand what their gimmick was supposed to be.
Perhaps a stint in NXT could turn things around for him. The developmental brand is always in need of someone who can work with young talents to make sure that they are ready to be called up.
#4 Eva Marie
Eva Marie has been a WWE employee for four years, which means that she probably holds the record for the person who has worked the lowest number of matches during that period of time.
Even Brock Lesnar has participated in more televised bouts than Marie. Her career has mostly consisted of filming Total Divas and doing photo shoots for WWE.com, but she started taking her training more seriously a couple of years ago.
She enlisted Brian Kendrick to help her improve in the ring, and she definitely made progress, but Marie has never reached the level that someone wrestling for the WWE should be at.
She was brought to SmackDown as a heel following the brand extension, but a wellness policy suspension cut her push short. While she could have returned months ago, WWE has yet to find anything for her to do other than push products on Instagram.
#3 Tamina
Nia Jax is quickly becoming the most physically dominant woman on the roster, but another one of The Rock’s cousins was the powerhouse of the division long before Jax showed up.
Tamina Snuka has been off WWE television for almost a year after being forced to undergo knee surgery in May. She has been cleared to return to the ring, but management has yet to bring her back.
Despite being poorly used in several storylines, Tamina has a lot of value. Her power and size put her in a different league than most of her opponents, and she can have a decent match with just about anybody.
It will be interesting to see if WWE puts her on SmackDown or if she will interact with Jax on Raw. Either way, she will be a threat to whoever is champion, when she returns.
#2 Bo Dallas
Bo Dallas will randomly show up for a match once in a blue moon, but you could be forgiven for forgetting that he was still an active member of the roster. He has been floundering ever since The Social Outcasts broke up.
When he was in NXT, Dallas was highly successful. He won the NXT Championship and had numerous great matches against other Superstars who have since surpassed him on the main roster.
WWE could have put him in The Wyatt Family with his real brother, but the company opted to give him the gimmick of a motivational speaker who doesn’t actually want to motivate anyone. WWE could still add him to the family as the third member alongside Erick Rowan and Bray as the leader after WrestleMania 33.
Dallas is more cut out for tag team wrestling at the moment, so he should start looking for other struggling Superstars who would also benefit from having a partner.
#1 Summer Rae
Summer Rae hasn’t been seen since before the brand extension due to a knee injury, but she is still very much a part of the Raw roster. However, it would be easy to forget her with all of the new female talents on the show.
Charlotte, Alexa Bliss, Becky Lynch, Bayley, Sasha Banks and Nia Jax have been dominating the women’s division, and the return of Mickie James has only made it more crowded.
The odds of Summer Rae being pushed into the title picture upon her return seem slim, but she is still a valuable talent. Her time playing football gave her the physicality she needs to perform at a high level, but she needs to add more moves to her repertoire.
Summer would also make a great manager for another Superstar struggling to find their place, just as long as it doesn’t involve her dancing Fandango to the ring again.
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