With the likes of James Ellsworth, The Spirit Squad and The Headbangers all being given TV time, you’d be forgiven for thinking that WWE is struggling for talent on its roster.
That said, the roster is arguably the most stacked it has been in years. With the success of NXT, there are numerous talented Superstars currently employed by WWE; the problem is that creative doesn’t appear to know how to use them.
James Ellsworth has been given three, yes that’s right three, WWE World Championship matches. Sure this has been part of an ongoing angle between AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose, but with the depth of talent at WWE’s disposal, this is frankly insulting to other hard-working and capable Superstars.
Similarly, there are tag teams on both Raw and SmackDown Live that could do with more TV time and exposure. Yet WWE has shown no hesitation in bringing back gimmicky teams, such as The Spirit Squad and The Headbangers; the latter of which hadn’t been in a WWE ring for over 15 years.
WWE may proclaim that we are in the midst of a new era, but there are still Superstars that are being badly misused within the company. Take a look at these seven WWE Superstars who, in 2016, really deserved to be utilised better.
Honourable mentions: Tyler Breeze, Apollo Crews, Naomi, and Luke Harper.
#5 The Club (Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson)
Remember when Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson were a legitimate tag team who had the potential to run through any opponents? Anybody? No, me neither, however, that’s through no fault of their own.
The pair arrived with a great reputation, and fans were rightly excited to see what they could bring to the WWE tag team division. The WWE Universe was thrilled when the hard-hitting duo from New Japan Pro Wrestling debuted through the crowd to attack The Usos.
Had this been a sign of things to come, then there’s not a chance they would have ended up on this list.
However, Gallows and Anderson have been diluted significantly during their debut year in WWE due to poor booking. Instead of being a couple of tough bruisers they have lost countless matches and been made to deliver cheesy comedy shtick. The latter just doesn’t fit their characters – see for yourself.
They were embroiled in a rivalry with The New Day for months but never came out on top. The duo was defeated in each of their three title shots and lost all momentum as a result. Despite picking up more wins towards the end of 2016, the damage has been done. It’s going to take time and effort to build Gallows and Anderson as the intimidating pair that they should be.
A stop to the silly and childish promos, as well as more dominant victories inside the ring, would be a welcome start.
#4 Neville
‘The Man that Gravity Forgot’ has unfortunately become the man that everyone has forgotten, this year. A former NXT Champion, Neville is a gifted in-ring performer with great high-flying moves and one of the best finishers on the roster. Not that we’d know, as we barely get to see him compete.
After an unsuccessful attempt to win the United States Championship in January, Neville had a few televised matches of little significance. He was then extremely unlucky to fracture his ankle during a match against Chris Jericho in March, keeping him out until July.
Since returning from injury, we’ve barely seen or heard from Neville. He was drafted to Raw without any fanfare, and since then, he’s appeared in a smattering of matches against the likes of Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas.
Even if WWE don’t see Neville as being ready to challenge for the United States Championship (spoiler, he is ready), then why not have him bring some much-needed star power to the cruiserweight division?
He is within the weight limit and certainly has a suitable in-ring style. Neville winning the Cruiserweight Championship would not only benefit him, but also the division as a whole. Can you imagine the kind of matches he could produce with, Rich Swann, Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher, to name a few?
This is a Superstar, who continuously impressed in NXT and is one of the most consistent in-ring performers, despite having a high-risk arsenal of moves. Moreover, he’s shown that he can do it on the big stage against main event players; all you need to do is watch his United States Championship Open Challenge match against John Cena on Raw, last year to see for yourself.
Neville’s entertaining in-ring style and abundance of talent should be more than enough to ensure he isn’t left on the sidelines. Unfortunately, 2016 has been a year in which he’s been woefully mishandled. Thankfully, he turned heel towards the end of the year and joined the Cruiserweight division, adding a whole new life to his character. He’s since excelled in his heel persona
#3 Sami Zayn
If Sami Zayn was booked correctly, WWE could have another Daniel Bryan on their hands. ‘The Underdog From The Underground’ may not seem as charismatic or have the crowd backing that Bryan did, but remember that the latter had to find his feet before eventually gaining a reaction.
Nobody on the current roster plays the underdog in distress, better than Zayn. He’s made Braun Strowman look impressive – which many would say is no mean feat given the giant’s inexperience between the ropes.
We have seen in the past that, when given the opportunity, Zayn can put on great matches that WWE fans invest in. His match with Shinsuke Nakamura at NXT TakeOver: Dallas is easily one of the best matches of 2016 and his battle with Kevin Owens at WWE Battleground was incredible.
However, his time on the main roster has been stop-start, and the Montreal native has found himself missing pay-per-views and being left on the sidelines. One week Zayn is face-to-face with Mick Foley cutting an impassioned promo, the next he loses to Kevin Owens in a meaningless match on Raw.
The worry for many is that Zayn’s current battle with Braun Strowman is just to put the big man over. There’s a good chance that may be the case, which on the surface is bad news for Zayn and his fans.
On the other hand, there is the chance that WWE is trying to build Zayn as the underdog, who has reached rock bottom. The start of 2017 could be a reset button and may be the beginning of The Underdog From The Underground finally overcoming the odds and winning Championship gold.
There’s a reason that NXT is thought of by many, as the house that Sami built. His in-ring style and storytelling ability make fans want to root for him. Let’s hope WWE is preparing a bumper 2017 for Zayn. After all, he isn’t a young talent, so the company needs to act as soon as possible if they want to get the best from him.
#2 American Alpha (Chad Gable and Jason Jordan)
Chad Gable and Jason Jordan were setting the world alight in NXT in early 2016. Great in-ring chemistry and storytelling made them one of the hottest tag teams in WWE.
And although there was disappointment, when they dropped the NXT Tag Team Championships to The Revival after only 68 days, many were able to take solace in the fact that the explosive team would be moving onto better things on the main roster.
Gable and Jordan found themselves drafted to SmackDown Live. The downside was that there weren’t many premier tag teams to be found on the blue brand. The plus side was that American Alpha would surely be the linchpins of the division.
Unfortunately, the talented duo has been given very few opportunities to show the WWE Universe, why they were so revered at Full Sail University.
We saw a haphazard feud between them and The Usos, and since then, they’ve done nothing particularly of note – apart from losing in a decent number one contender’s match to The Wyatt Family.
Survivor Series would have been the perfect opportunity to showcase the team. Instead, they were eliminated fifth, exiting before other SmackDown teams like The Usos and Heath Slater and Rhyno.
There’s still an opportunity to turn this around, mainly due to the lack of depth in the SmackDown Live tag team division, but also because Gable and Jordan are great to watch. Moreover, Jason Jordan is arguably the best hot tag in professional wrestling today.
The pair must have looked on in jealousy at the recent NXT TakeOver: Toronto bout, between The Revival and #DIY. After all, since debuting on the main roster, American Alpha are yet to appear on the main card of a SmackDown Live exclusive pay-per-view.
Let’s hope we see much more of Chad Gable and Jason Jordan in 2017.
#1 Cesaro
The King of Swing is consistently one of, if not, the best in-ring performer in WWE. Just when you think you’ve seen everything in his arsenal, he’ll pull out something new from his bag of tricks. To put it simply, The Swiss Superman is badly under-utilised.
After missing out on the first few months of 2016 due to injury, he returned the night after WrestleMania 32 to a great reception. What has followed are months of frustrating booking and missed opportunities. He had several shots at the Intercontinental Championship but lost all three times.
One of these was a match of the year contender, which saw him battle Kevin Owens, The Miz and Sami Zayn at WWE Extreme Rules. No matter what situation he’s inserted in, he makes it infinitely better. For example, he played a huge part in ensuring the Survivor Series Elimination Tag Match was as good as it was.
He also had a series of entertaining battles with Sheamus – a match which the WWE Universe has seen countless times. It can even be argued that Cesaro has begun to show more personality since teaming with Sheamus.
However, as much as the recent bar brawl with The Celtic Warrior was hugely entertaining, Cesaro should be moving on to better things. Perhaps, the most baffling moment for Cesaro in 2016 was the WWE Draft. It was well documented that SmackDown Live would be a more wrestling-centric show.
With that in mind, it seemed The King of Swing and the blue brand would be a match made in heaven, but of course, he found himself drafted to Raw. Raw may be the flagship show, but Cesaro is more likely to be in the World title scene on SmackDown Live. Instead, he’s languishing in the mid-card on Monday nights.
Mr McMahon has made it clear that Cesaro’s problem is his lack of charisma. Sure he’s not red hot on the microphone like Enzo Amore or The New Day, but Cesaro’s in-ring work electrifies the crowd and forces fans to get behind him.
In all honesty, Cesaro would have made this list for the last few years, as WWE has never let him fulfil his potential, as a true main event star. It’s certainly not a coincidence that legends such as Ric Flair, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mick Foley all believe The Swiss Superman is the real deal.
If WWE never gets around to pulling the trigger on Cesaro, and allowing him a World Championship run, then it may go down as one of the biggest missed opportunities in wrestling history.
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