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Given that WWE is a global juggernaut with an annual turnover always hovering near the billion-dollar mark, it employs hundreds of Superstars who are gunning to find success in this competitive business. As a result, while a few of them get to showcase their skills by getting featured on TV, others have to wait for a long time for the WWE creative to give them something of note to do.
Over the years, countless talented Superstars have found themselves unable to show their worth due to insufficient opportunities or lack of TV time. Some Superstars of the past like Paul London, Tazz, and Elijah Burke were way more talented than what their presentation suggested on WWE programming.
Even today, when the roster is as stacked as ever with gifted in-ring talents, many performers have been unable to compete on a regular basis. These Superstars aren't just languishing in the lower card, but they are hardly given any chance to show their worth.
Here in this slideshow, we will look at five such struggling WWE Superstars, who could shine in the mid-card if given the right opportunity. Do mention the names of the Superstars you want to see regularly on TV in the comments section below.
#5 WWE RAW's Angel Garza hasn't been significantly featured on television lately
Upon signing with WWE NXT in 2019, Angel Garza was instantly put into the Cruiserweight Championship picture, indicating how highly the creative viewed him as the future of the company. The Mexican Superstar has tremendous in-ring skills with a charismatic ability that is off-the-charts, which was evident in his incredible matches against Lio Rush in NXT for the aforementioned Championship.
A few months later, Garza was called-up to the main roster and formed an alliance with Andrade. Though the two got off to a good start, their stock soon dwindled as they lost most of their vital matches. In October, their team was broken up, with Andrade being taken off TV, and Garza went back to being a singles act on RAW.
More recently, Garza has been competing for the 24/7 Championship on the Red brand, which possibly indicates that WWE creative is losing interest in him. If booked correctly, he can be a valuable addition to the mid-card on RAW and can have fun rivalries with Bobby Lashley, Keith Lee, and others.
#4 WWE RAW's Mia Yim has been struggling as Reckoning of RETRIBUTION
Mia Yim, currently known as Reckoning of RETRIBUTION signed with WWE in 2018. Before signing with the company, Reckoning was a well-accomplished indie wrestler with a wealth of experience. She is also a former TNA Knockouts Champion in IMPACT Wrestling, where she wrestled under the ring name Jade.
Her stint in NXT was moderately successful as she was regularly featured on television and even wrestled for the NXT Women's Championship against Shayna Baszler at NXT TakeOver Toronto 2019.
However, since moving to WWE RAW as a part of the widely criticized stable RETRIBUTION, Mia Yim has fared poorly as she has barely wrestled on the Red brand. While her other stablemates like Slapjack, T-Bar, and leader Mustafa Ali are regularly wrestling on TV, Yim has been surprisingly kept out of action except for a few instances last year.
Considering how talented Mia Yim is, she can be a worthy addition to the women's mid-card on RAW and can have decent encounters with anyone she's booked with.
#3 WWE SmackDown's Mojo Rawley has been struggling in the promotion
Having been in WWE for over eight years now, it's quite surprising that the company never really noticed Mojo Rawley's potential as a singles star and gave him the chances he desperately needed to prove himself. The former professional football player was signed by WWE in 2012, though he found his way into the main roster only in 2016. Along with his tag partner, Zack Ryder, the duo became crowd favorites, with fans clamoring to see them win the tag gold on SmackDown.
When Ryder was out of action due to an injury for six months, Rawley was pushed as a singles wrestler. The biggest victory of his career came when he won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33. However, his push never really materialized into anything concrete, and he was aligned back with Ryder once the latter returned.
A heel turn also didn't any wonders for him, and since then, Rawley has found himself contending for either the 24/7 Championship or sitting on the bench doing nothing. While nobody expects him to be in the main event scene anymore, he can certainly be a dominant force in the mid-card scene of SmackDown as a contender for the Intercontinental Championship.
#2 WWE SmackDown's Aleister Black hasn't appeared on television for months
Once rumored to dethrone Brock Lesnar as the WWE Champion, Aleister Black has had quite a roller-coaster run on the main event. Signing with WWE in 2016, Black was quickly given the spotlight in NXT and became a featured player for the Black and Gold brand. He would go on to have some incredible rivalries with Velveteen Dream, Tommaso Ciampa, and more. While his debut on the main roster generated high buzz, it soon fizzled out when he teamed up with Ricochet in the tag division.
A series of terrific matches with Murphy and a win against Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania 36 gave signs of a resurgence and a possible push to the main event scene. However, post-Mania, he lost his rivalries with Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens and disappeared from WWE programming. In October 2020, he was drafted to SmackDown.
Having last performed on live television in October 2020, fans hope to see Black return at Royal Rumble 2021 and hopefully gain some momentum soon. A mid-card rivalry with Big E for the Intercontinental Championship seems like the right way to introduce him on SmackDown.
#1 WWE RAW's Drew Gulak hasn't made a huge statement on the main roster
One of the most talented technical wrestlers in WWE today, Drew Gulak, has been criminally underused by the company in recent times. Once known for his work in Combat Zone Wrestling and Evolve Wrestling, Gulak signed on with the WWE in 2016. With many proclaiming that he would do wonders in the company, the future was seemingly bright for him.
With some tremendous performances on WWE 205 Live, where he was also the Cruiserweight Champion, Gulak was expected to instantly make a mark on the main roster. Apart from his undeniably terrific in-ring skills, Gulak also displayed fantastic character work, as seen from his PowerPoint gimmick on the Purple brand.
Though his alliance with Daniel Bryan suggested he would soon be propelled on to the next level, things seemingly went downhill from there as the WWE creative lost interest in him. In May 2020, Gulak's WWE contract expired, but the company quickly hired him back after a few days. Yet, things didn't improve for the former Cruiserweight Champion as he was hardly featured on TV.
In October, he was drafted to RAW. Since then, he has mostly contended for the 24/7 Championship. A Superstar of his caliber can easily shine in the mid-card while consistently having terrific matches with any kind of wrestler. The management should be wise to identify his talents and give him the push he very much deserves.
