5 Most irreplaceable Superstars on the WWE roster

In WWE, generations come and go, and the rosters transform. Since WWE (or any wrestling promotion) actively looks to sign young talent, every Superstar gets replaced at some point.

While retirement is what ends many great runs of top Superstars, there are other circumstances as well.

These five Superstars are arguably the most irreplaceable on the WWE roster:

#5. Roman Reigns - the modern face of WWE?

While Roman Reigns may not be the "face of WWE" the way John Cena, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, or Hulk Hogan were, he is the closest to it in the current generation.

It's incredible to think of how the perception of Roman Reigns has changed in WWE over the last six years. He was the clear pick to succeed John Cena as the face of WWE. However, not only was he far from ready, but Vince McMahon tried to make him John Cena 2.0 - something that he was never going to be.

In fans' eyes back then, Roman Reigns was a top-tier talent who was being set up to fail. The argument wasn't incorrect, but from 2019 onwards, Roman Reigns started getting a better reception from fans post-remission.

Despite his unpopular status among the hardcore fanbase, Roman Reigns has been a consistent top merchandise seller. He is undoubtedly the most popular full-time star of the company as well.

While WWE slowed down on trying to make Roman Reigns the second John Cena a few years ago, they did what fans had demanded since 2015 - turn him heel. The COVID-19 era of WWE programming was unique anyway, but turning Roman Reigns heel was among the best decisions that WWE made in 2020.

As of this writing, Roman Reigns is still a top heel and is having the best run of his WWE career so far. His current reign as the Universal Champion is longer than his previous four World Title reigns combined.

While a large section of fans only started appreciating John Cena more after he became a part-timer, Roman Reigns is now viewed as one of, if not the best, Superstars in WWE. His actual talent is being recognized, and his importance is acknowledged.

He is arguably the most important full-time Superstar in WWE today and, thus, irreplaceable.

#4. Sasha Banks - The best female wrestler in WWE history?

There is no denying Sasha Banks' importance to WWE. It took a year for her career to take off on the WWE main roster. But ever since then, the majority of Sasha Banks' run has seen her emerge as one of the central figures of the WWE Women's division.

Sasha Banks' title reigns up until 2020 (when she dethroned Bayley to win the SmackDown Women's Title) seemed to be cursed. In four reigns as the RAW Women's Champion, she never accumulated a single successful title defense.

That changed in WWE's pandemic era, and like Roman Reigns, her current reign as SmackDown Women's Champion is longer than her previous four reigns combined.

Sasha Banks may not always be the #1 woman on the roster, but she is among the two-to-three- most popular ones. Many WWE fans believe that Sasha Banks is the best in-ring performer in the history of WWE's women's division. Some even believe that she is one of the best wrestlers on the WWE roster regardless of gender.

She is one of the most irreplaceable Superstars on the WWE roster.

#3. Brock Lesnar - WWE's last larger-than-life Superstar?

Brock Lesnar is the only Superstar on this list who technically isn't even signed to WWE. However, there seems to be little doubt about his return. The ship has likely sailed on a final UFC run, and WWE offered more to Brock Lesnar when he last had both companies negotiating for him.

UFC president Dana White said that Vince McMahon "threw the vault" at Brock Lesnar, which is indicative of how important he is to WWE. Brock Lesnar stopped appearing in WWE's pandemic era post-WrestleMania. It was rumored that WWE didn't want to bring a larger-than-life Superstar for empty arena shows.

Crowds are expected to slowly return to WWE in 2021 (with WrestleMania 37 being the first event in over a year with fans), and when they do, Brock Lesnar will likely have his return in place.

While Brock Lesnar's limited in-ring set over the last few years has been criticized, he has proved on numerous occasions that he is one of the best when he chooses to be.

It's not hard to see why WWE finds Brock Lesnar irreplaceable - as Goldberg is arguably the only other star with a larger-than-life feeling.

#2. Becky Lynch - The most popular woman in WWE

Becky Lynch hasn't been seen on WWE TV since May 2020 - where she vacated the RAW Women's Championship and announced that she was pregnant. This meant her 2020 was done, but the run leading up to it was nothing short of historic.

The entire build started from 2018, where a momentum-less Becky Lynch started picking up consecutive wins on SmackDown - leading to her having the longest win streak on the brand at that point.

The summer of 2020 was where things turned, and Becky Lynch's heel turn led to her becoming one of the most popular stars in WWE. It culminated with her unexpectedly getting a spot in the first-ever Women's main event at WrestleMania.

Winning the match and becoming RAW and SmackDown Women's Champion kickstarted another chapter in her incredible run. While she lost the SmackDown Women's Title back to Charlotte Flair, she held the RAW Women's Championship for a full year before vacating it.

In that time, she emerged as one of the top draws of WWE and was widely regarded as one of the hottest stars in the company as well. Though she has been absent for a while now, her presence in WWE's Women's division has been missed, and she will have a huge role when she returns.

#1. Drew McIntyre - WWE's most important Superstar in the pandemic era

Drew McIntyre fulfilled Vince McMahon's prophecy a decade after it was made.

Drew McIntyre was WWE Superstar of the Year in 2020, and there was no disputing it. While he was already lined up for a push and a WrestleMania main event win against Brock Lesnar, even he wouldn't have expected how important his role in 2020 would be.

He carried the responsibility of being the WWE Champion in the most unique period of the company's history. Drew McIntyre was the face of RAW and stepped up to the plate - putting in the best work of his career and having the best WWE Championship reign in years.

Except for three weeks in between where Randy Orton was the WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre held the title for almost 10 months.

He also delivered in every single pay-per-view match that he had - a rare feat for any WWE Champion. Drew McIntyre fulfilled Vince McMahon's prophecy, but nobody realized how important he would be to WWE when he eventually took the next step.