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While there are dozens of superstars signed to Raw at any given time and dozens more signed to SmackDown, sometimes five hours of weekly programming is still not enough to incorporate all of the contracted WWE talent into proper storylines.
Currently, there are a fair number of WWE Superstars who we have not been seeing much in terms of storylines or weekly television appearances as of late. That is without factoring in part-time talent, like The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar. It also goes without considering injured or soon-to-return talent, like Dean Ambrose, Jason Jordan, Randy Orton, Epico Colon, Tamina or Sami Zayn.
Below are six current and active WWE Superstars who we have not been seeing much of lately on WWE's television programming.
#1 John Cena
John Cena is a 16-time world champion within the WWE, and someone who will go down as one of the all time greatest of the wrestling business.
His last major WWE feud was as part of Wrestlemania 34 when he challenged The Undertaker and ultimately lost in a quick match. Cena has wrestled once since then, appearing as part of the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia in a victory against Triple H.
While Cena has not been seen or referenced much recently within WWE on-air programming, he has been no stranger to television.
Cena has been seen within Total Bellas, and related to that, he has been making regular media appearances as tabloids guess whether he and Nikki Bella are still romantically involved. He has also been attached to a variety of film and television projects, which is presumably what called for his in-ring hiatus from the WWE.
Cena currently holds the distinction of not being drafted to a particular WWE brand. He is notably not scheduled to be part of the big July 7th show at New York's Madison Square Garden at which the WWE is bringing out some big names, including Ronda Rousey and the aforementioned Undertaker. So it will be interesting to see when Cena returns to the WWE and with whom he is feuding.
#2 Goldust
Since Goldust's first WWF match was in September 1990 as Dustin Rhodes, he is technically the longest active performer on the current WWE roster, having been around the company for almost 28 years.
Rhodes' run with WWE has seen plenty of high points as he is a 3-time Tag Team Champion, a 3-time Intercontinental Champion and a 9-time Hardcore Champion. He also had title reigns while working for other companies like WCW and TNA.
While Goldust continues to wear his signature face paint and shiny gear in-ring, his run alongside brother Cody Rhodes several years ago reminded WWE fans that he is still in fine form as a wrestler.
Following his split with Cody, Goldust segued into a tag team run alongside R-Truth who has not been seen much on WWE programming since getting treated for a shoulder injury - as The Golden Truth.
After The Golden Truth disbanded, Goldust has been used as part of a variety of singles matches, working as both a heel and a babyface.
Unlike many other WWE performers around his age, a Goldust retirement angle has not been teased anytime recently, nor have any injury reports come out recently involving Goldust.
In turn, the likely explanation for Goldust's absence may be that the creative has nothing for him. However, given Goldust's prior experience as a trainer for WWE, the man undoubtedly has a job with the company for life if he wants one.
#3 The Ascension
In NXT, the tag team of Konnor and Viktor was a big deal. The Ascension held the NXT Tag Team Championship for 364 days, which is still the title's longest reign.
The Ascension was called up to the WWE's main roster in December 2014 after being given the vignette treatment. Several weeks of enhancement matches followed, establishing The Ascension as a dominant tag team.
However, things slowed down less than two months after the main roster debut of The Ascension, and fans were less than appreciative of The Ascension's promos, presumably scripted for them - in which they criticized WWE legends like The Legion Of Doom, Demolition and The New Age Outlaws.
In the Spring of 2017, The Ascension became aligned with Breezango through a series of Fashion Vice skits. This helped get Konnor and Viktor seen in a more favorable light as some comedic chops were showcased.
The Ascension moved from SmackDown to Raw as part of the 2018 Superstar Shake-Up and are currently alternating between working as babyfaces and heels in a lower card position. Given the duo's success as the longest-reigning NXT tag team champs, never say never on a return to prominence for The Ascension.
#4 Zack Ryder
Having worked for WWE for over a decade, Zack Ryder is one of the longest-tenured WWE Superstars on the current roster. Besides being the self-declared Internet Champion of WWE, Ryder also holds the distinction of being an Intercontinental Champion, a United States Champion and a Tag Team Champion within WWE.
In 2016 and 2017, Ryder was also part of a tag team with Mojo Rawley, the Hype Bros. To get this tag team off the ground, Ryder went back to NXT and worked his way back onto the main roster of WWE. After Ryder and Rawley disbanded, the two briefly feuded in late 2017.
Within the last few years, Ryder has had a few injury-related setbacks, which he now appears to be in the clear from. Ryder was drafted to Raw as part of the 2018 WWE Superstar Shake-Up.
He is not currently in the midst of a feud, but as someone who can seemingly have a great match with anyone, it is not a question of if Ryder will be popping up again in a storyline but when.
#5 Sheamus
Signed to WWE since 2006, Sheamus is in rare company as a 4-time world champion. He is also a 2-time United States Champion and a 4-time tag team champion WWE.
As far as other accolades go, Sheamus has won the Royal Rumble, Money In The Bank, King Of The Ring, and 4 Slammy Awards. Arguably the only title he has not captured is the Intercontinental Championship.
In terms of Sheamus' experience as a tag team champion, his run alongside Cesaro as The Bar undoubtedly revitalized his career in the eyes of a lot of the WWE Universe.
However, since losing the tag team titles to Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt, both Sheamus and Cesaro have not been utilized much as part of WWE's weekly television programming.
It is unclear whether this is a simple case of WWE creative having nothing for Sheamus, but the Irish-born WWE Superstar is undoubtedly prime for virtually any storyline, given his credentials and skills on the mic.
#6 Mike Kanellis
Mike Kanellis is a rarity in WWE, being one of only a few WWE Superstar signings from the last few years to never wrestle in NXT. A popular performer from Ring Of Honor as Mike Bennett, the Massachusetts native made his WWE main roster debut alongside wife Maria Kanellis.
Unfortunately, as they say, timing is everything. Part of Kanellis' the power of love gimmick was that he and his wife were madly in love.
However, shortly after Maria Kanellis announced her real-life pregnancy, Mike Kanellis became a rarity in terms of on-air appearances. Around the same time, Mike Kanellis went public on social media about his previous addiction to pills.
Any way you slice it, Mike Kanellis is an underrated in-ring performer that many members of the WWE Universe would undoubtedly like to see return soon. He could be a good fit for 205 Live should more heels be needed in the cruiser-weight division.
