5 WWE Superstars you may have forgotten main evented a PPV

The WWE main event scene is a place that many have visited, but only a few have made their home.

Names such as The Rock, John Cena and Brock Lesnar instantly come to mind when thinking about wrestlers who were constantly headlining WWE PPVs.

From time to time WWE will be on the lookout for next big thing and insert new talent into the main event level. The company hope that they will become the new wrestling superstar that will headline their pay per views for years to come.

Unfortunately, not everyone who gets the opportunity to headline a WWE PPV remains at the main event level. Despite their time in the limelight no matter how significant or successful their efforts are a distant memory.

In this article we will take a look at those wrestlers who fought their way to the top of the card, only for the occasion to be lost to the annuls of time. Here are five WWE Superstars you may have forgotten were in the main event of a WWE pay-per-view.

#5 Jeff Hardy, WWE Main Eventer

The Enigmatic Enigma has had a troubled, yet highly-successful WWE career. His list of accomplishments are amazing. Jeff Hardy has held nearly every title in the company, from tag team titles to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Back in the late noughties, Hardy was a top-level guy. He was mixing it up with the likes of CM Punk, Triple H and Edge for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

During this time, Hardy was in the main event of a pay-per-view three times and was victorious in two of them. However, because of his personal problems and long absence from WWE, these main events are not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Hardy’s career.

#4 The Miz, WWE Main Eventer

Mike “The Miz” Mizanin has been a polarizing figure in WWE since his debut on Tough Enough way back in 2004. To say the WWE Universe didn't accept this reality TV star turned WWE Superstar would be a massive understatement.

Despite these obstacles, The Miz went from lower, mid-card talent to WWE Heavyweight Champion in four years, which is very impressive. However, The Miz’s main event run was short-lived.

The Miz would cash-in his Money in the Bank briefcase to capture the title from Randy Orton. He would then go on to feud with Jerry “The King” Lawler over the title, before crossing paths with John Cena. Their rivalry would take them to the main event of WrestleMania, which unfortunately for The Miz, is known as one of the worst WrestleMania main events of all time.

The Miz is excellent on the microphone, but a very average performer in the ring. His persona is purposefully annoying and his character highly unlikable. Because of his reality TV background, he was never accepted as a wrestler, let alone one worthy of the main event.

Despite winning a plethora of other titles in his career, The Miz has never been anywhere near the main event ever again.

#3 Dolph Ziggler, WWE Main Eventer

The “Show Off” has been a WWE Superstar since his days in the Spirit Squad. Touted as a breakthrough performer, Dolph Ziggler has been a constant and reliable wrestler for years. But for some reason or other, he has never made it as a main eventer.

Even during his two World Heavyweight Championship runs, he wasn’t in the main event of shows. For example, his match with Alberto Del Rio at Payback 2013 was in the middle of the card.

His only singles pay-per-view main event appearance was against Seth Rollins at Extreme Rules 2018 in a 30-Minute Iron Man Match for the Intercontinental Championship. Despite two excellent performers being involved, the match will primarily be remembered for the live crowd hijacking it. There was a flurry of annoying chants, counting down of the clock and buzzer sounds.

Why Dolph Ziggler was unable to break through the “glass ceiling” will be one of wrestling’s great mysteries. On top of that, the fact he has only been in one PPV main event in his entire career is baffling.

#2 Jinder Mahal, WWE Main Eventer

In 2017, Jinder Mahal won the WWE Championship. This hugely controversial decision came out of nowhere and was universally disliked. No matter what, WWE’s persistence to take Mahal seriously as a main eventer was rejected by fans during his six-month reign.

This was mainly due to Mahal’s history with the company. Mahal was never anything more a lower card talent and only remembered for being in 3MB with Drew McIntyre and Heath Slater. He was eventually released in 2014.

Despite his fantastic physique when he returned two years later and surprisingly pushed to the top, he was never going to be accepted as a top tier talent.

During his time around the championship, Mahal was in the main event of three pay-per-views. Unfortunately, none of them are remembered fondly, if at all.

#1 Sting, WWE Main Eventer

The Vigilante, Sting made his debut for WWE in 2014 to much fanfare. One of WCW’s most prominent stars had finally arrived in WWE. His first feud was against Triple H in a highly-entertaining match at WrestleMania 31.

His second was against Seth Rollins. The feud began in late 2019 and led to a match for The Architect's WWE Championship in the main event at Night of Champions.

Unfortunately, Sting’s best days were behind him and the action in the ring was not up to main event level. The match came to crashing halt when Sting crumbled to the floor and was unable to walk due to a neck injury sustained after taking a buckle bomb. The moment is hard to watch as the legitimate injury would end the career of a legendary character and performer.

Sting’s only main event in WWE will be remembered for the buckle bomb incident, rather than the history-making occasion it should have been. For those reasons, and Sting’s subsequent retirement, the match has mostly been forgotten.