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After two underwhelming pay-per-views in a short space of time, WWE fans have a right to feel aggrieved about what’s currently being presented to them – and so do some of the company’s top Superstars.
In an era where WWE has more high-quality in-ring performers at their disposal than ever before, it’s disappointing that so many huge personalities are being horribly misused right now or, even worse, not getting any opportunities at all.
In this article, we take a look at 10 Superstars who are being totally wasted and deserve to be presented in a much better way.
#10 Tye Dillinger
Tye Dillinger looked to be moving his way up the card when he was added to the United States Championship match between AJ Styles and Baron Corbin at Hell In A Cell in October 2017.
However, since then he has only appeared in four televised matches on SmackDown Live, and despite various experiments as a heel on live events earlier in 2018, “The Perfect Ten” remains a severely underused babyface on the blue brand’s roster.
With the Superstar Shake-Up giving Tye plenty of fresh opponents to work with on Tuesday nights, it’s time WWE finally gave him a truly meaningful storyline for the first time since he made the step up to the main roster over a year ago.
#9 Heath Slater
NXT General Manager William Regal once said that the art of professional wrestling (aka sports entertainment) is simply a case of performers trying to prove to viewers that they are worthy of their time.
In current-day WWE, there are plenty of examples of Superstars who have been given an extraordinary amount of television exposure and they’re still yet to prove that they are worthy of everybody’s time – but Heath Slater isn’t one of them.
On the rare occasions that the former 3MB star is involved in a meaningful storyline, he becomes one of the most entertaining people on the show. And even without a storyline, he still has the crowd chanting about his kids.
With respect to Rhyno, it’s time to split the duo up and give Slater more TV time on his own.
#8 Apollo Crews
You only have to look at Apollo Crews’ performances in recent tag matches against Sheamus & Cesaro to see that the guy is one of the most talented in-ring performers on the main roster right now.
The problem, however, is that he is very much a sidekick to Titus O’Neil in Titus Worldwide, and he’ll never truly fulfil his potential in WWE until he either splits from his current tag partner or he reverts back to being managed by him.
After several failed attempts to win the Raw Tag Team titles, Titus Worldwide are effectively dead as a serious tag duo, so now is as good a time as any to give Apollo some more character and another run as a singles competitor.
#7 Rusev
If this article had been written before the 8 May episode of SmackDown Live, Rusev probably would’ve been #1 on the list due to WWE’s continued portrayal of him as a heel when the majority of fans want to cheer for him.
However, things finally look to be going in the right direction for “The Bulgarian Brute” after a clean victory over Daniel Bryan on SmackDown earned him a much-deserved place in the Money In The Bank ladder match.
Even with that victory, it still feels like WWE has failed to truly capitalize on the “Rusev Day” phenomenon, which began in November 2017 and has only gotten more and more popular as time has gone on.
If the former United States champion remains a heel for the next few months, it’ll be one of the biggest booking own-goals that WWE will make all year.
#6 The Club
WWE often struggles to keep tag teams relevant for any longer than six months, with The New Day, The Usos and The Bar being the only notable exceptions in recent years.
We’ve seen multiple tag teams make the jump from NXT to the main roster, only to find themselves largely forgotten about after an initial push, and the same can be said for The Club (Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson), who skipped the NXT process altogether.
The duo were involved in storylines with AJ Styles and had multiple Raw Tag Team title opportunities during their first year together in the company, but they’ve hardly been featured on WWE programming over the last 13 months.
Things should improve following their switch to SmackDown Live. However, based on their recent booking, don’t bank on it.
#5 Bobby Lashley
When it was first rumored earlier this year that Bobby Lashley was set to return to WWE, many fans expected him to be involved in blockbuster matches against the likes of Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, and Samoa Joe.
However, that hasn’t proven to be the case so far – in fact, he’s yet to even have a televised singles match – and WWE hasn’t done a very good job of portraying the former ECW champion as a babyface who fans should cheer for.
Hopefully, the awkward sit-down interview with Renee Young on this week’s Raw is going to lead to something further down the line for Lashley, but right now it feels like the 41-year-old is being totally wasted from a storyline perspective.
#4 The Revival
Injuries to both Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder seriously hindered The Revival’s progress during their first eight months on the main roster, so it’s understandable that they didn’t accomplish much on Raw in 2017.
What’s less understandable, though, is why arguably the best tag duo in WWE right now has barely been used on television since both men were cleared to compete again in December.
For the last five months, Dawson and Wilder have mostly featured on Main Event, while their infrequent appearances on Raw often lead to disappointing defeats.
The Revival were involved in the WWE Match of the Year in 2016 (vs. #DIY at NXT TakeOver: Toronto), so it’s fair to say that they definitely fit into the main roster’s ‘totally wasted’ category right now.
#3 Becky Lynch
Becky Lynch was involved in the first major women’s storyline on SmackDown Live following the 2016 brand split, when she won the SmackDown Women’s Championship in a six-pack challenge at Backlash before feuding with Alexa Bliss over the title for the next five months.
The problem? Since she competed in another six-pack challenge match for the title at WrestleMania 33, “The Lass Kicker” hasn’t been involved in any televised championship matches (that’s a whole 13 months) and she has been on a losing run for what feels like forever.
Unless WWE turns this underwhelming year into a storyline soon, it’ll continue to feel like they’re wasting one of the most popular babyfaces in the women’s division.
#2 Ronda Rousey
WWE has signed one of the most influential athletes of her generation in Ronda Rousey, so why has she become just another woman on the roster since her fantastic in-ring debut against Stephanie McMahon and Triple H at WrestleMania 34?
The MMA icon wasn’t on Raw this week but the two previous weeks saw her align with Natalya in her battle with Mickie James, simply because they trained together when Ronda was secretly preparing for a career in wrestling.
From a personal behind-the-scenes perspective, Ronda obviously has a ton of respect for Natalya, but is it really necessary for WWE to carry that over to television?
In all likelihood, this is just the start of a much longer storyline, but it feels like a waste to involve Ronda in a rivalry like this when she has a whole host of bigger dream matches waiting for her on Raw, as well as unfinished business with Stephanie McMahon.
#1 Randy Orton
On 24 May 2017, an esteemed Sportskeeda colleague listed five things that Randy Orton can do to become relevant again following his shock WWE Championship defeat to Jinder Mahal at Backlash.
Almost one year on, and with hardly any change in the Orton character during that time, every point made in the article is just as valid today as it was then.
As a babyface, “The Viper” is okay. But as a heel, he’s one of the best in the business, so it’s about time the 13-time world champion listened to those voices in his head again and let his psychopathic tendencies run wild on the rest of the roster.
He recently underwent surgery and is out of action for the next couple of months with injury. One can only hope that this will do good, and The Viper can return as one of the blue brand's top heels.
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