4 recent WWE storylines that went cold

One of the few downsides of WWE's main roster programming being live is that they can, and often do, change their mind on a storyline or a push at a moment's notice. This obviously leads to confusion and equally a bit of apathy from fans as they don't really understand why the company tends to begin a storyline or push before seeming to forget about it in the weeks that follow.

On top of this, the WWE's efforts to make it seem as though fans have forgotten the beginning of a feud is frustrating to watch - not least if it had potential to be a memorable one, for example.

Part of the reason behind NXT's success in recent years is down to the fact that because the episodes are taped in advance, this allows certain storylines to be locked in. Naturally, there are times where legitimate injuries can hinder an ongoing feud but the creative team for WWE's developmental territory always does a great job at adjusting on the fly if and when they have to.

Unfortunately though, the same cannot be said for the main roster's creative team, as they often make changes which do not make much sense.

So with that in mind, let's take a look at four recent WWE storylines that ended up going nowhere.

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#4 The Lake of Reincarnation

Back on the March 19 edition of Monday Night Raw, Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy went toe-to-toe in The Ultimate Deletion, which ended after Bray was thrown into the "Lake of Reincarnation." At the time, many assumed that this would lead to a major and frankly much-needed character change for the "Eater of Worlds."

But a little over two months later, it's pretty safe to say that nothing about Bray has changed. In fact, the only thing that is different at present is he's no longer involved in a feud with "Woken" Matt Hardy. Aside from that, he persists to still wear the same clothes, wrestles the same way and does his typical crab walk too.

What this has led me to believe is that once Bray is done being Matt's tag-team partner, he'll return to the same old character - who has been stale for a few years now. It's unfortunate to say the least because Bray's talent is evident for all to see, but he needs to be repackaged if the company want him to reach his full potential in future.

But for now, it's just the same old thing.

#3 Elias and John Cena

Back during the big Raw 25 show on January 22, Elias targeted John Cena and laid him out with a guitar shot in the middle of the ring. At the time, most believed that this would lead to a match at either the pay-per-view before WrestleMania, or at WrestleMania itself.

The only match between the pair took place on another edition of Raw, but was a triple-threat match which also involved Braun Strowman. They did, however, have a confrontation at WrestleMania 34 - which led to Cena running right through Elias en-route to him being swiftly squashed by the returning Undertaker.

After that though, the WWE just sort of forgot about Cena vs Elias. Luckily for them, the lack of follow-up to Cena's actions at WrestleMania in early April has not hurt the up-and-coming superstar.

The fact that this was completely forgotten about is puzzling, though. Elias would benefit from a feud with Cena in the long-run, not least if he managed to secure a clean win over the 16-time WWE World Heavyweight champion.

#2 Bayley vs Sasha Banks

Back during the March 26 edition of Monday Night Raw, long-time friends and former NXT rivals Sasha Banks and Bayley brawled with one another backstage - which many hoped would lead to one of the two turning heel. However, nothing really happened following the backstage brawl and at least as of right now, the feud appears to be dead.

Obviously, there's a chance that the company could end up reviving this storyline, whhich would be a great idea if executed properly as neither of them are progressing much more as babyfaces at present. In fact, both would probably be better suited to heel roles, as the WWE has botched their babyface runs and almost made them unconvincing.

Of the two, I'd say Bayley needs a heel turn more at present. But if they were to revive this storyline, it's more likely that Sasha would turn as she has plenty of potential in the role.

#1 Bálor Club

During the New Year's day edition of Raw, the highly-anticipated reunion of the Bullet Club - renamed the Bálor Club - took place, which pretty much led to nothing in the end.

The odd thing is that the WWE did actually hype up the Bálor Club reunion, having posted a video explaining the history between Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson and Finn Balor. We're at the end of May and the faction is essentially irrelevant.

They were only together for four months, but were not particularly a full-time group during that spell either. They appeared on Raw sporadically as a trio and during the Superstar Shakeup, both Anderson and Gallows were drafted to SmackDown - Balor remained on Raw.

The only thing of note the trio did during their short tenure alongside one another was assist D-Generation X on the 25th anniversary of Raw, where both factions laid out The Revival.