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With such a talented roster at hand, WWE has had the opportunity of telling us some truly incredible stories over the years. Be it personal feuds, rivalries between friends, or even downright animosity between two rising Superstars, we've seen the company give a significant direction to its best performers.
How big a name or talent a WWE Superstar is generally has a bearing on the nature of feuds they are involved in. However, several times, we've seen even the biggest of draws in WWE lacking a sense of purpose.
There are several top Superstars and champions who are also surprisingly lacking a direction right now. Let us look at five such names.
#5 Shinsuke Nakamura
Only until a few months back, Shinsuke Nakamura was a definitive heel in WWE who held the Intercontinental Championship. He did not have a lot of meaningful defenses ever since he won the title from Finn Balor, but The King of Strong Style has seen his stock plummet even further since he lost the Intercontinental title to Braun Strowman.
Ever since Sami Zayn emerged as the IC Champion at Extreme Rules, Nakamura has been reduced to the role of a lackey for Zayn alongside Cesaro in a unit named as The Artist Collective.
Zayn has been absent from WWE TV since WrestleMania and is even going to relinquish his title. However, Nakamura still remains paired with Cesaro. The two again played second fiddle to King Corbin in recent weeks on SmackDown.
Now anyone who has seen Shinsuke Nakamura perform during his heyday knows exactly what he's capable of. He deserves to be in title pictures and challenging the top Superstars on any brand of WWE. Yet, he continues to do the dirty work without much sense of what the future holds for him.
#4 Carmella
Carmella has not been involved seriously in a title picture in WWE ever since losing her SmackDown Women's Championship to Charlotte in a triple threat match at SummerSlam in 2018 which eventually led to the birth of Becky Lynch's The Man gimmick.
The Princess of Staten Island though was a part of a very engaging run with R-Truth where the duo of Fabulous Truth won the Mixed Match Challenge. Her role as an accomplice to Truth's 24/7 Championship pursuits was hilarious too, to say the least. But that's where the fun ended.
Carmella did not have a very successful run with Naomi and then Dana Brooke in a bid to claim the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships and her performance in the Money in the Bank ladder match also wasn't up to scratch.
Carmella is rather great at engaging fans, even during these tough times, as is evident from her recent string of videos on social media where she mimics popular WWE Superstars. However, she deserves much more than that.
Perhaps a heel turn could bring a change in fortunes for her but just like the case has been for the most part of 2020, she's without a proper feud right now.
#3 Andrade
When Andrade won the United States Championship from Rey Mysterio during a WWE house show at Madison Square Garden, most fans expected him to elevate the mid-card of RAW which was and still is brimming with talent.
Following a rather lackluster feud with Humberto Carrillo and a failed attempt at the RAW Tag Team Championships, it's pretty reasonable to say that El Idolo has flattered to deceive.
Even though he joined hands with Angel Garza and Austin Theory to form the strongest faction in WWE, the triumvirate has failed to impress of late. Zelina Vega's stock as a manager has improved but Andrade constantly getting in the face of WWE Champion Drew McIntyre and being hit with Claymore Kicks subsequently has not helped him at all.
Andrade has not had a meaningful feud involving the US title for a while now. The last time he defended his championship was against Apollo Crews on RAW last month which was also cut short because of the latter suffering a knee injury.
Andrade can certainly work with a lot of talents in WWE and bring the RAW mid-card alive, but as of now, he does not have anything concrete chalked out for him.
#2 Ruby Riott
Ruby Riott missed quite some time on WWE TV due to an injury for which she underwent surgery last year. On returning to RAW in early 2020 she went after her former Riott Squad member Liv Morgan in a segment that really left the fans in awe.
Ever since though, Riott has had four matches on RAW – three of which were against Morgan – and she has lost them all. For someone who drove Charlotte to the limit at Fastlane in 2018, that's certainly getting the short end of the stick.
While we have a few credible names to be involved in the RAW Women's Championship picture after Becky Lynch's departure, the mid-card of the women's division on WWE's Red brand looks rather weak.
Riott is a bonafide heel who's a spectacular performer inside the ring. She could certainly start a feud with another babyface such as Kairi Sane who herself is lacking direction as of now since Asuka is now a singles champion. However, if something like this is not on the cards for Ruby Riott, then probably WWE Creative doesn't have anything compelling for her right now.
#1 AJ Styles
AJ Styles had a fantastic build and eventual Boneyard Match with The Undertaker. The brawl was certainly befitting the occasion of WrestleMania but ever since he got "buried" by The Deadman, Styles does not seem to be having a sense of purpose in the WWE.
The Phenomenal One came back on the go-home show of RAW before Money in the Bank and qualified for the most unique iteration of the ladder match in WWE history. He seemed to have the briefcase in his grasp too, but eventually, it was won by Otis.
Now even during the Money in the Bank ladder match and on the RAW after the said PPV, Styles was seen feeling the aftereffects of his encounter with The Undertaker at WrestleMania. And while that makes for a hilarious spot or two, it does not do one of the best heels in WWE any favors.
Perhaps with the new inter-brand invitational matches, we might see Styles confront Otis for the Money in the Bank briefcase. After all, it was The Phenomenal One who got hold of the briefcase first before fumbling it. But that is also mere speculation as of now and until this actually becomes reality, we don't know what's next for Styles in the near future.
Teddy Long snaps when Swerve Strickland's race is brought up HERE
