John Cena
Seth Rollins
Daniel Bryan
Sting
Randy Orton
Cesaro
Those are just some of the major injuries in WWE today, and doesn’t even speak to injuries to midcard talents like Tyson Kidd and King Barrett, or to lingering ailments for stars like Sheamus or Alberto Del Rio. It’s nothing new to wrestling fans, WWE has been dealing with an injury crisis for quite some time now. There are spots to be filled, and opportunities to be had, yet throughout the roster I still see talented names floating week to week without any apparent direction or purpose. While we’ve seen a bit of a mini-push for a name like Kalisto, too much time has still been heaped on the usual suspects, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose finding their way into multiple segments on every show. No knock on those two, but we’re about to head into a Fastlane event where there will be no World Championship OR Intercontinental Championship match, and very few meaningful storylines outside of the main event. So why aren’t some of these names being positioned to play a larger role?
Tyler Breeze
A few weeks ago, just as my panic level for Tyler Breeze’s chances on the main roster were approaching critical mass levels, a glimmer of hope appeared. Breeze announced that he was done taking “Us-ies”, and would no longer have Summer Rae by his side. I saw this as acknowledgement by WWE that adding Summer to Breeze’s character was unnecessary, and by removing her, that WWE was essentially hitting the reset button on Breeze’s debut. Unfortunately, since that time, it seems Breeze went from being marginally irrelevant, to completely forgotten. The breaking point came last night on RAW, when Breeze was defeated handily by Titus O’Neil, someone who, despite WWE’s apparent desires to the contrary, nobody sees as a superstar or big player in the grand scheme of WWE. It seems strange to me, in this time of such roster depletion, that WWE would be so quick to basically give up on a talent they’ve spent so much time on in NXT, and who succeeded so often in that setting.
Rusev
It seems my fears surround Rusev from the time of his debut are finally being realized. The story of the unstoppable, dominating foreign villain is always a popular angle in WWE, but what does that villain do once he’s stopped? Rusev hasn’t even sniffed Championship gold since losing the U.S. Championship to John Cena at WrestleMania 31, and while injuries may have played a part there, Rusev’s stock has seemingly crashed over the past year. Just like Vladimir Kozlov and The Great Khali before him, Rusev has gone from menacing foreign monster, to a complete afterthought within the weak League of Nations stable. The major difference between Rusev and those other names, and the truly sad part of this story, is how talented Rusev truly is. Rusev’s matches with Dolph Ziggler, Cesaro, and even Kevin Owens in the past have been extremely enjoyable, and during a time where WWE seems to be struggling to find villains who can stand on their own and be truly despised, Rusev splitting from the League of Nations and becoming, say, a legit Intercontinental Championship threat seems like a simple move to make. Does WWE really have the roster to still be punishing him for an ill-timed TMZ photo?
Neville
Does anyone have any clue what Neville’s doing right now? Where’s he been? The breakout Superstar of the year needs to find a way to break onto our television screens on a weekly basis with something meaningful. Other than a great match with Kalisto a couple weeks back in a losing effort, Neville’s been a background character at best lately, which isn’t doing him any favors. I applauded WWE when they introduced Neville to the main roster for not overreacting to the flashiness of his style and overpushing him, but we’re far past the point where a Neville push would feel rushed. I loved the Stardust feud, but it seemed that they dragged that two extra months, and it’s become apparent that the reason was WWE simply had no idea what to do with both participants after it ended. Start building something now so that you can showcase Neville in a meaningful way at WrestleMania, as the guy has huge “WrestleMania moment” potential.
Chris Jericho
Was this just an effort to pump up Royal Rumble views, or did WWE bring Chris Jericho back for a reason? Many assumed they’d be revisiting the teased issue between Jericho and Dean Ambrose, and they still may, but right now it seems WWE needs to thrust Jericho into a main spot on their show, and yet haven’t done so to this point. Truth be told, fan favorite, “Savior” Chris Jericho became played out years ago, but if WWE is looking for a main event level villain to temporarily fill Seth Rollins’ spot, Chris Jericho is that man. No, Jericho shouldn’t be World Champion again, but he’s certainly capable of being in a co-main event setting at WrestleMania, and he’s best suited to fill that spot as a villain. Maybe, if we’re lucky, that’s where this undeveloped story with AJ Styles is heading…
Dolph Ziggler
At this point, is there anything more overstated than the idea that Dolph Ziggler deserves better? Honestly, I’m beginning some of it has to be on him, but that’s another column for another day. I’ve been saying for months that Ziggler would benefit from some time away from WWE, as absence always has a way of helping fans truly appreciate the skills of a talent like Ziggler, but with the recent rash of injuries, WWE can’t afford to simply send steady hands to the sidelines right now. That being said, my other solution for Ziggler’s current malaise, and quite frankly, the one I’d prefer, would be a return to the dark side. Whether it’s via a brutal attack on a guy like Kalisto, or perhaps even a double turn-type scenario with current opponent Kevin Owens, Ziggler’s in desperate need of freshening up his persona, and a turn back to his #Heel roots would be a perfect way to accomplish just that.