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WWE usually has its pecking order well set. Most wrestlers are placed in the level that the management feels is best for business.
Every now and then, someone gets a push. From there, it is a gradual build to a Championship or a return to obscurity.
While most future contenders are well known names, here are 5 unlikely superstars who are well placed to benefit and capitalize from a push.
Let us know your thoughts on the men we've mentioned in the comments below.
#5 Elias
Elias was, largely, a forgettable character in NXT. Not much was expected when he made his debut on the main roster.
To the surprise of many, he has come across as a much better performer on RAW. He has routinely gone up against Main Event caliber talent and has almost always come out looking good.
His heel promos with the guitar have been enjoyable and he is able to work the crowd very well. Although young on the main roster and largely untested, his current character arc has the potential to take him to Championship glory.
Elias is our first contender. Click to find out who's next.
#4 Dolph Ziggler
Dolph Ziggler is not a name that would have made this list an year or two ago. He has always been a brilliant performer and someone most fans would back for the championship.
The last year changed that. It has been almost taken for granted that he will job out. His days as someone who could go for the title seemed over.
Even his latest incarnation led to a string of losses against Bobby Roode. Then out of the blue, he won the US title.And on the latest episode of Smackdown Live, he seemingly relinquished the title and walked out.
This has to be one of the most interesting arc featuring Dolph Ziggler in recent years, if not his entire career.
Even a day prior to Clash of Champions, I would not even consider him in the list of probables for the highest titles.
Now, he is possibly en route to a third World Championship.
#3 Rusev
Rusev made his debut as an unstoppable force. He ran roughshod over the roster and held the US Title with an iron grip. He seemed destined to rise up the ranks and be in the main event.
For reasons best known to them, WWE creative managed to kill the heat he had. Then following his hair cutting incident, he fell off the radar completely, stuck with a silly Rusev Day gimmick.
To his credit, he is making it work. His social media activity has shown him to be witty and his promos have always been great.
Rusev day could surprisingly be what propels Rusev to the World Title scene. This is because it is incredibly over with the WWE Universe.
#2 Jason Jordan
Jason Jordan's gimmick as Kurt Angle's biological son did not take off like WWE creative planned. To their credit, they have turned him into an entitled, whiny, excuse-making son of a man in power.
And it works. Even while doing so, they have in no way diluted the athletic ability or performance of Jason Jordan in the ring. He has been mixing it up with the members of the Shield, Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe. All main event caliber opponents. His WWE career may have begun, but he can easily be positioned to go for the Universal Title.
#1 The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E and Xavier Woods)
All three individuals that make up the New Day are extremely talented individuals. Everyone, at one time, seemed destined to go on and become the WWE Champion.
Instead, they were put together in what seemed at a time like a career ending comical faction. Kudos the three individuals, they made it work. Today, it is difficult to imagine them as individual performers.
WWE would also not be willing to let the merchandise income go away. However, WWE has in the past been open to the concept of co-champions with Laycool and with Jericho-Chyna (Intercontinental title). It will be an intriguing concept of having the entire New Day recognized as WWE champion.
One can imagine them putting Kofi Kingston forward to defend the championship if it's a ladder match, or a Big E if the opponent is a known power house. Given the immense talent these three individuals have, and their connect with the WWE universe, there is a good possibility that it would be a successful experiment, if the WWE dared to do so.
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