5 WWE Superstars who could lose their push when crowds return in July

WWE will start regular live touring for RAW, SmackDown, and pay-per-views starting from July 16th, where Houston will host Friday Night SmackDown. It's interesting because March 2020 to June 2021 will be viewed as a significant piece of WWE history.

A lot happened in that time that we never would have imagined. Roman Reigns turning heel was perhaps the biggest one, but there were a handful of superstars who rose to the occasion and got the biggest push of their WWE career.

Some of these names benefited from the lack of crowds present, which ultimately helped them develop as performers. However, the downside of crowds returning is that a few WWE Superstars will inevitably lose their push. Here are five possible names:

#5. Apollo Crews - Among the biggest beneficiaries of WWE's pandemic era

Apollo Crews has been one of WWE's key stars over the past year

The past 13-14 months have been the greatest of Apollo Crews' career in WWE (and wrestling in general). When he signed with the company in 2015, he was promoted as a future top star with a lot of promise. NXT was the right starting point, but WWE made the mistake of calling him up to the main roster less than a year into his run with the former "developmental" brand.

It was clear that he was green from the get-go. While he was always a great athlete and a good in-ring performer, that's usually never enough in WWE. The commentators would repeat "he has all the tools" for years, all while he was being underutilized.

Then, 2020 happened. The pandemic began, and with worldwide lockdowns happening, WWE was forced to shift all their shows to the Performance Center, where it was all held behind closed doors.

It was then that Paul Heyman got Apollo Crews over to RAW. With a large part of the WWE roster taking a hiatus during the early stages of the pandemic, Crews turned out to be a huge beneficiary.

Not only did this provide him with his first legitimate Championship push in WWE, but his promo ability and character started to slowly come together. In the past year, he has feuded with The Hurt Business, won the United States Championship, got re-drafted to SmackDown, turned heel, and won the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 37.

While we hope that his current push is only a stepping stone for bigger things, he could be one of the unlucky superstars to lose their push once the crowds return. Ultimately, the crowd reaction is everything, and Apollo Crews needs to get a big one to have a sustained push.

#4. Cesaro - Will WWE cut his 2021 push?

Cesaro at WrestleMania 37 before the biggest victory of his career

Cesaro has been one of the most heavily-pushed WWE superstars in 2021. Beating Daniel Bryan clean on multiple occasions, defeating Seth Rollins at WrestleMania, and headlining a pay-per-view against Roman Reigns for the Universal Title are perhaps his three biggest achievements in the first half of the year.

It could be argued that his 2021 run in WWE is better than his brief push in 2015, especially under the bright lights of Friday Night SmackDown on FOX. Cesaro has improved as a character as well, but only a sustained push will prove WWE's seriousness in making The Swiss Superman a household name.

While he isn't ready to dethrone Roman Reigns and win the Universal Championship, he's on the right track. His character growth hasn't been seen as much. With that said, there's little doubt about the crowds getting behind Cesaro.

The only question is whether WWE is serious about pushing him as a long-term main event star.

#3. Tamina - 11 years in WWE for her first Women's Title victory

Tamina and Natalya after winning the Women's Tag Team Championship

Tamina has been an unlikely star who WWE has pushed in 2021. 43 years isn't an age that most women last in WWE until, but she is a rare exception. While Tamina has been criticized by WWE fans for years, she has been a mainstay, and somehow went 11 years without winning a single title in the company, minus a brief reign with the 24/7 Championship.

It was only on the road to WrestleMania 37 that she started to get recognized as a title challenger. While the singles main event scene in both Women's divisions is stacked with talent, it left some room to compete for the Women's Tag Team Titles.

Her random pairing with Natalya worked out, and they were the only superstars to compete on both nights of WrestleMania 37. The first night saw them win a multi-women's Tag Team match to become the No. 1 contenders, and a night later, they failed to capture the titles against Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax.

It was post-WrestleMania 37 when Tamina finally had the greatest moment of her WWE career, dethroning Jax and Baszler to win the Women's Tag Team Championship with Natalya.

With that said, a sustained push in WWE seems unlikely for Tamina. Once the crowds return, it will only be a matter of time before her push cools down.

#2. Asuka - Did her peak in WWE come in 2020?

Asuka was another one of WWE's MVPs in the pandemic era. While some fans have complained that she is always viewed as a step below Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, there's a counter-argument as well.

For one, she was given the role of leading the RAW Women's Division after Lynch's hiatus last year. In the process, she became a Women's Grand Slam Champion in WWE.

Having won the Money in the Bank and the Royal Rumble, she has won everything there is. Admittedly, she has a poor WrestleMania streak, but minus 2019, she has found herself in three important title matches at The Grandest Stage of Them All.

What WWE seems to have recognized is Asuka's overall ability as a performer and the fact that she can lead a division. She may not be as popular as some of the other women on the roster, but her achievements alone set her up for a future spot in the WWE Hall of Fame.

With that said, 2021 could be the end of the continuous push that she has enjoyed. We wouldn't be surprised to see her taken off the RAW Women's title picture and perhaps even get drafted to SmackDown later this year.

#1. Bobby Lashley - Will the end of his WWE Title reign mark the end of his push?

Bobby Lashley had a fantastic year in 2020, and MVP and The Hurt Business contributed to that in a big way. It culminated with his WWE Championship win on RAW in March 2021, and he surprisingly retained the title against Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 37.

Lashley is currently enjoying the best run of his wrestling career, and many feel that his reign as the WWE Champion will lead to a blockbuster SummerSlam clash against Brock Lesnar.

With Lesnar, a return seems to be uncertain. But given how he sat out the last few months of his contract without any appearance post-WrestleMania, the possibility of him returning still seems high.

If Bobby Lashley faces Brock Lesnar, the chances of him losing are high. Hopefully, this won't mean the end of his push as a main event superstar, but it's happened before.

It will be interesting to see how the company handles The All-Mighty once he loses the WWE Championship.

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