5 WWE Superstars who were 'buried' before getting a big push

#1. AJ Styles

AJ Styles didn't take long to impress WWE officials

There are only a few cases throughout WWE history where Superstars have been pushed as fast to a World title. For AJ Styles, it took just over seven months to win the WWE Championship. Fans who watched him outside of WWE knew that he was the best in-ring performer in the world and WWE didn't realize what they had until he began to deliver.

He admitted that he thought WWE was going to make him a mid-carder and nothing more. But as they say, the cream always rises to the top. AJ Styles' first feud was against Chris Jericho and he lost at WrestleMania, only to win a great #1 contender's match for the WWE title one night later on RAW.

His feud with Roman Reigns was essentially what convinced WWE that they had a top star in him. While he was never going to beat Roman Reigns, fans felt that the same finish to two PPV headliners gave him a bad look and that he was 'buried' in favor of Roman Reigns - the most hated Superstar at the time.

However, he would miss out on a Money in the Bank opportunity, which allowed him to feud with the returning John Cena. He faced him in two incredible matches, the second of which he beat Cena clean. That shot him to a WWE title opportunity and he would go on to win it and become the face of SmackDown until April 2019.