10 Superstars who could miss WrestleMania 34

WrestleMania is the granddaddy of them all and as such, it’s the one day of the wrestling year where every single WWE Superstar is hoping and praying to get a place on the card. Some succeed, although a good portion fails whether that be due to how stacked the show already is or because of an injury.

The following ten Superstars that we’re about to list could well wind up getting a Mania payday under their belt, but in reality, it’s not about the money. This is the only chance throughout the year that these guys and girls have to wrestle in front of a stadium audience, and that in itself is incredibly special.

We really do hope that everyone we’re about to mention gets a shot at making a name for themselves on the biggest stage, even if it happens on the pre-show.

With that being said, here are 10 Superstars who could miss WrestleMania 34.

#10 Bayley

Bayley has struggled over the last twelve months

Bayley may not be the biggest or the baddest, but once upon a time she was almost certainly a fascinating female character back in the day. Her infectious smile and personality made her a household name down in NXT, but as we’ve seen so many times before, that doesn’t necessarily always translate to success on the main roster.

The Huggable One has had quite the fall from grace when you consider that at WM33, she successfully defended her Raw Women’s Championship.

Since then she hasn’t been able to draw anywhere near the kind of interest that she once did, and given the strength of both female rosters, a spot on the card in New Orleans seems increasingly unlikely.

#9 Big Show

If you’re searching for the name of the most underrated Superstar from the last twenty years, then look no further. The Big Show should’ve been an icon in this business by now, but while he may have been a relatively successful multi-time world champion, he hasn’t received the respect that he so richly deserves.

Show hasn’t been seen consistently on our screens since the summer, and while some may think that’s a good thing, he is in the best shape of his life right now. WWE needs to capitalise on what he can do while they still can, and yes, we know that he’s experienced some injuries as of late.

That’ll probably be the reason that he doesn’t make the Mania card, but beyond that, he needs to have another extended run before hanging up his boots.

#8 Jeff Hardy

The Charismatic Enigma has been on the sidelines since September

While his brother Matt may be moving slowly up the card under his new ‘Woken’ moniker, Jeff is on the sideline due to a shoulder injury he suffered in the second half of 2017.

It was highly disappointing for fans both new and old to see Hardy’s run back in the company be cut short, but now, many are eager to see when he’ll return.

The initial diagnosis of four to six months would mean that Jeff could come back around Mania season, but much like Finn Balor, WWE may decide to hold off on it until the Raw after WrestleMania. He’ll certainly get a big pop from the crowd, and perhaps he could even enter a feud with his brother.

#7 Kane

While Kane may be busy attempting to become the mayor of Knox County, the rest of us are wondering whether or not there’s going to be an advancement on his current storyline with Braun Strowman.

It seems likely that Kane will make his return one day in order to seek vengeance on The Monster Among Men, but in our opinion, it probably won’t be until after WrestleMania.

Kane could be useful in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal as a big monster to slay, but WWE doesn’t seem particularly interested in including any kind of ‘story’ in the match. Hopefully, we can find out a little bit more about The Big Red Machine’s plays for early April when he appears on Talk Is Jericho.

#6 Samoa Joe

Joe has been desperately unlucky with injuries

Despite being one of the most interesting members of the Monday Night Raw roster, Samoa Joe hasn’t been as featured as prominently as many would’ve hoped over the last few months.

Unfortunately, the reason for this isn’t an avoidable one, as Joe has picked up yet another injury that leaves many to wonder whether or not he’ll be able to have a consistently strong run on the main roster.

If Joe doesn’t make it back in the next few weeks, then it’ll surely all but confirm that he’ll miss Mania for the second consecutive year. If that turns out to be the case, then they’d better have something great for him next year at WrestleMania 35 – because he’s earned it.

#5 Mickie James

Babyface Mickie isn't getting the job done

When Mickie James returned to WWE as Alexa Bliss’ evil sidekick, all was right with the world. Her promo work was as impeccable as always, meanwhile, her in-ring prowess was as strong as it’d ever been. The time away from the company clearly did her the world of good, and then in the blink of an eye, she turned into a generic babyface.

It was a disappointing yet predictable transition for Mickie, and unless she goes back in the opposite direction, we can’t see her making it back onto the main card like she did last year in Orlando.

The only hope for her would be a women’s Battle Royal, which given the current landscape, wouldn’t surprise us one bit.

#4 Baron Corbin

Can Corbin scratch and claw his way into the Battle Royal?

Baron Corbin has gone from being Mr Money in the Bank to be one of the most forgotten names on SmackDown Live, and that kind of decline doesn’t happen overnight.

The Lone Wolf has been gradually slipping down the card, and while he does have a chance to enter the WWE Championship match at Fastlane, we aren’t holding out too much hope.

There’s a chance he’ll make his way into the Battle Royal again so that he can try and recapture the trophy he claimed back in Dallas, although we can’t even see a scenario where WWE would build towards the match in that way.

Hopefully, they do, because that’s the least Corbin deserves after how well he’s developed as a performer in the last year.

#3 Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler's character arch has been unusual to say the least — Ziggler's character development has been bizarre

You could copy and paste half of the Corbin entry into this one, although one major point is different – Dolph really hasn’t developed all that much. Sure, he’s still a great in-ring performer and can put on good matches with just about anybody, but outside of that, the character work that we’ve seen has been unusual, to say the least.

There’s no real substance to anything he’s doing and for the most part, his actions are just coming off as a little bit random.

His return in the Royal Rumble match was worth a nice pop on the night, but now we’re just back to our regularly scheduled programming as Ziggler and Corbin prepare to go one on one for what feels like the millionth time.

#2 Becky Lynch

Becky Lynch may not be resonating with hardcore fans in her current babyface role, but she’s still one of the best female performers in the company right now. She was carrying SmackDown Live on her back during one of its best periods towards the back end of 2016, and thankfully, the company hasn’t forgotten about that.

However, that doesn’t mean there’s automatically going to be room for her on the card at the Superdome.

The one exception to this that would make sense could be Lynch turning on Charlotte in order to repay her for when she did the same thing a few years back, but having a singles match like that go down on such a big stage is a risk.

#1 Naomi

We most certainly feel the glow and the WWE Universe does too, but Naomi already had her moment in the sunshine last year – and we mean that in the most literal sense possible. She’s still one of our favourite stars to watch, but we can envisage her having a brief backstage segment as opposed to a match.

That’d be a shame given that her entrance at the Superdome would be phenomenal, but there’s not really a place for her on the card at this moment in time.

In a way, it highlights the problem with WrestleMania given that the show is so long, and yet so many names still manage to miss out or be stuck in a multi-person bout instead.