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WWE is the juggernaut of Sports Entertainment/Pro wrestling. It's the pinnacle of the industry and was at one point a monopoly in the business. While there's always going to be news about ratings going down, one fact remains the same through the years - the company is making more money than ever.
Also read: 5 things you missed at Money in the Bank 2019
For those criticising WWE for moving to PG in 2008, just look at the revenue now. It's off the charts, and it's literally come to a point where they sign people just so that other competitors can't have them.
With All Elite Wrestling being a major threat that's approaching, it has been rumoured that WWE has offered to pay double if AEW approaches a superstar. Money is clearly not an issue because developmental contracts are worth tens of thousands of dollars a year. They have many trainees from across the globe and plenty of superstars on the main roster.
The issue is that many of them are underutilised and essentially spend most of their time in catering and on the sidelines. Here are five superstars who are now essentially being paid to do nothing.
#5. Tyler Breeze
Tyler Breeze may be the most underutilised star in WWE, especially if you've seen his work in NXT. However, he's probably the most utilised superstar on the list, regularly working Main Event tapings and even jumping over to NXT house shows.
Despite this, if you look at the talent that he has, he's essentially doing nothing. We're not saying that he should be a main eventer, but he could be a solid upper midcarder if given the chance.
Breeze is also a workhorse, and the fact that he's doing nothing makes it infuriating for many WWE fans who have followed him for a long time.
#4. Mickie James
Mickie James is a bonafide multi-time Women's Champion and a guaranteed future Hall of Famer. She wasn't exactly treated well during her first run with WWE, but she was given a second chance, and she took the role of a veteran who was constantly putting over younger talent.
Yet, it feels like WWE could have done so much more with her. She was a talented in-ring performer in an era of Divas and was the one who Trish Stratus deservingly passed the torch to. For a veteran of her status, WWE could have definitely utilised her more on television and have her put over the younger female stars.
Moreover, James is the kind of talent who would thrive working with the current crop of women. Ever since 2018, she has only been making sporadic appearances. Perhaps it's worked out well for her since she can spend time with her family, but she's basically being paid to sit at home at this point.
#3. Shelton Benjamin
In 2017, Shelton Benjamin returned after almost a year from being originally advertised. He was brought in around 2016 to be a part of the SmackDown Live roster, but a severe shoulder injury meant that he had to get surgery and wait it out.
When the time was right, WWE brought him back and paired him with Chad Gable, an alliance which lasted for a short while before the latter moved to RAW in 2018. Since then, Benjamin has been doing absolutely nothing and that's a real shame because he is still athletic in every shape and form.
He doesn't do house shows much either and isn't believed to be injured. It's not even known at this point if he does television tapings, but either way, he is being paid to do absolutely nothing. We highly doubt he's satisfied with that either.
#2. Alicia Fox
There's a little context to Alicia Fox being on the sidelines, but it still doesn't make much sense. Around March of 2019, it was reported that Fox showed up to a live event intoxicated. Wrestling Inc reported about it in their exclusive, saying:
Fox showed up at a live event while she was allegedly intoxicated. [Arn] Anderson was the agent for her match and allowed her to perform. Word got back to Vince McMahon, who was reportedly furious when he found out. There were apparently some other issues with Anderson in the past, however that was the final straw.
Arn Anderson subsequently lost his job while Fox was reportedly offered by WWE to go to an all-expenses-paid rehab. She refused and has been sitting on the sidelines since. She hasn't been on TV and she wasn't a part of the European tour either.
Somehow, she's been a part of the roster for over a decade, but she's stated in the past that she's "embarrassed" about her career.
Also read: 5 reasons why 3 new 24/7 champions were crowned on RAW
#1. EC3
We've seen cases in the past where WWE has buried superstars intentionally, but it's been a very long time since they've genuinely gone out of their way to bury someone. EC3, for reasons unknown, has been a part of this.
What makes it shocking is that he should be going in the opposite direction. He's essentially everything that Vince McMahon wants in a superstar - he has a great look, his character is far stronger than his ring work and he's one of the most comfortable superstars on the mic.
Yet, he has been relegated to Main Event and jobbing on house shows. Sure, he too is technically working, but given the level of talent, WWE is basically doing nothing with him.
He's completely out of RAW minus a couple of cameo appearances and it doesn't seem to be getting better anytime soon.
DISCLAIMER: These are the opinions of the writer alone and do not reflect Sportskeeda's stance.
