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WWE has a loaded roster of about 200 Superstars, of which an estimated 150 are men and approximately 50 are women. To cope with such an enormous roster, WWE has 4 main shows on a weekly basis - Raw, SmackDown Live, 205 Live and NXT. WWE's Main Event also takes place weekly, but most fans don't give much significance to it as it doesn't air on the WWE Network. Excluding Main Event and pay per-view weeks, WWE provides fans with 7 hours of television weekly - 3 hours of Raw, 2 hours of SmackDown Live and an hour of NXT and 205 Live.
Even with so many weekly shows, many stars are unable to appear regularly on television. These stars often lack creative direction, so many officials backstage in WWE don't feel the need to bring them up on television. Lack of creative direction can be due to a number of reasons.
Firstly, the star may not be able to connect with the fans the way WWE wants them too, thus WWE might not know how to book them if fans are not interested in them. Secondly, the roster is so huge that even 7 hours of weekly programming aren't enough. It's an arduous task to write story-lines for so many stars, many of which have unique characters. Hence, those that are not particularly prioritized by WWE, are often neglected.
A third reason could be the unbalanced roster. For example, on both Raw and SmackDown Live, there is a lack of quality heels for the babyfaces. Hence, many babyfaces don't have creative direction as WWE has no heel to feud with them. WWE seldom does babyface vs babyface matches.
This list focuses on 3 talented individuals on the main roster that lack purpose and creative direction.
3. Ali
Ali debuted on SmackDown Live in December, instantly becoming a fan favorite and earning the respect and admiration of the fans and WWE officials. Management was high on him initially, he pinned then-WWE Champion, Daniel Bryan, on his first night on the main roster. He also defeated Andrade on a couple of occasions and had an impressive showing in the Royal Rumble match. Ali fell with injury after the Rumble match and was written off. He returned soon, but he had to regain momentum and rebuild himself.
Ever since his return in March, Ali has fallen down the pecking order. He did compete in a WWE Title match at Fastlane, but came up short. Ali's fortunes were about to change at Money in the Bank when he was a whisker away from grabbing the briefcase, until Brock Lesnar's music hit. Lesnar assaulted Ali and ruined his dream. Since then, Ali hasn't done much.
Ali has been kept off television lately and that could be due to WWE's loaded roster. He has immense potential, so I don't expect him to remain directionless for long.
2. Cesaro
After the Bar split due to an injury sustained by Sheamus, Cesaro was drafted to Raw as part of the Superstar Shake-Up. It was a controversial decision as it could've gone either way for the Swiss Superman. Cesaro did excel as a singles star in the past, but he never really broke through the glass ceiling and was forever stuck in the mid-card.
Cesaro, however, did make an impact on Raw by defeating Cedric Alexander on his return to the brand. He has been trading victories with the likes of Cedric Alexander and Ricochet, two talented stars in their own right. The King of Swing has been in contention for the United States Title lately and with the newly crowned champion, the aforementioned Ricochet, Cesaro's chances of winning the US title again have increased as he has defeated Ricochet in the past.
No matter how much fans admire Cesaro's ring work and commitment, the WWE management, including Vince McMahon, has never fully invested in him. With little backstage support from management, it's no wonder why Cesaro doesn't have a clear-cut creative direction.
1.Randy Orton
This name is quite a massive surprise, isn't it? After giving it a deep thought, you might just realize why Orton's name is on this list. Orton hasn't been seen on television since his victory over Triple H a few weeks ago at WWE Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia.
A thirteen-time world champion, two-time Royal Rumble winner, a Grand Slam Champion and a man that has been one of Vince McMahon's pet projects shouldn't be on this list. Orton is one of the only stars left from the post-Attitude Era period that is still a regular competitor. He is a great talent and (as JBL would put it) a perfect WWE star with the just the right looks, skills and passion.
Orton's reduced working schedule has put WWE in a predicament. WWE needs to put him in story-lines very carefully due to his schedule. WWE probably can't find something worthwhile for Orton to do, which is very odd for a man of his caliber.
