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A lot has happened in the WWE recently. From a quite shocking revelation of Roman Reigns' battle with leukemia, to holding one of the most controversial pay-per-views in the company's history, Crown Jewel. The landscape of the company has completely changed from what it was a few months back.
But this has not changed the fact that many deserving superstars on the roster are underutilised, and are without a clear direction at the moment.
You'd expect the lower tiers of WWE's talent to be nothing more than jobbers and fillers, but the superstars down there are actually top-notch. You wouldn't know it though, because WWE treats them all as if they really are nothing more than just jobbers and fillers, while there are a few who get all the TV time at the top, in spite of negative crowd reaction.
WWE has recently started giving some underappreciated Superstars like Dolph Ziggler and Apollo Crews more time to connect with the WWE Universe, but the size of the Raw and SmackDown rosters means there will always be a few who struggle for inclusion.
Here we look at 9 of the most underutilised superstars on the WWE roster who have one thing in common - they all have had success in WWE's development division, NXT.
#8 Apollo Crews
Apollo Crews is a rare combination of speed, athleticism, and raw power. He had a brief but great stint in the NXT before his arrival on the main roster. He was expected to be a big star, and won several big matches in his debut on Monday Night Raw.
Apollo got few opportunities then and there for the Intercontinental, and the Tag team championships, but there was no intention of making him champ.
Things went downhill, and he was part of a faction called Titus Worldwide, but couldn't capitalise on their early success. Recently the group broke up, and Crews started on a course to be a singles star.
He has all the trappings of a future big money draw with his power and agility inside the ring. Maybe this could be the start of a much needed push.
#7 Bobby Roode
Bobby Roode is one of the most accomplished wrestlers in the world. But he has not been able to reproduce the same success in WWE.
He had a good run in WWE NXT where he won the biggest prize the brand has to offer, and was destined to be a big star on the main roster, but it has not been the case.
Roode won the United States Championship upon his debut on SmackDown Live, but had a disappointing run as the champ with some lacklustre feuds with Randy Orton and Jinder Mahal.
Things got worse when he got drafted to Monday Night Raw as he couldn't even get the screen time he got in the blue brand.
He is currently paired as a tag team with an impressive Chad Gable, and hopefully this works out best for him.
#6 Andrade Cien Almas
Almas had a great start to his WWE career as he won the NXT championships and put on some great performances on the roster, including a rare 5-star match against Johnny Wrestling.
A lot was expected of him when he got called-up to the main roster, and he did live up to expectations as he put on some great matches with AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan, but there were no consistent matches for the young man in the land of opportunities to show his full potential.
Almas had a rather underwhelming feud thereafter with the pair of R-Truth and Carmella which saw he and his partner Zelina lose in a mixed tag team match.
He faced Rey Mysterio in last week's SmackDown episode, but ended up losing the match. A feud between the duo would be epic, and could be the launching pad for Almas.
#5 The Revival
Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder had been one of the hottest tag teams in the NXT where they won the tag team championships twice and looked to achieve great things on the main roster as well.
They have had a disappointing run on the Raw roster however, because of the presence of big money draws like The Shield.
With The Shield gone for the foreseeable future, The Revival can get their hands on tag team gold, and also dominate the tag division along with The Authors of Pain who recently won the championships.
This could be the start of the revival of The Revival if booked properly, as there is a dearth of quality tag teams on the Raw roster.
#4 Cesaro
Cesaro was clearly one of the most over superstars in the recent memory, and could have been the face of WWE had he been pushed to a certain extent. He was not even getting an odd opportunity at the top prize.
Forming a tag team with Sheamus in 2016 helped revive his career, and together they were a force to reckon with during the initial run of The Bar, as their feuds against the Hardys and the re-united Shield were good.
After they moved to SmackDown Live, they were not as successful as they were on Raw, but their recent coronation as the blue brand's tag team champions is the only shining light in an otherwise disappointing 2018.
One can only hope he gets a shot at the main event like he richly deserves.
#3 Rusev
There is no superstar who is a crowd favourite more than Rusev at the moment. His Rusev Day gimmick, along with Aiden English, was the talk of the town. But unfortunately, WWE didn't capitalise on this popularity by not pushing Rusev.
Aiden turned on Rusev by attacking him, setting up a feud. Rusev is one of the hottest babyfaces on SmackDown after Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles, but WWE hasn't capitalised on that situation.
He should have represented SmackDown at Survivor Series, but is not even included on the match-card.
#2 Shinsuke Nakamura
A United States Champion on the list of underutilised superstars speaks volumes about the booking of both the championship and the champion.
Shinsuke Nakamura is one of the most charismatic superstars in the world, and he was an instant success upon his arrival in the WWE, with a great stint on NXT. With that momentum, he made his debut on the main roster where he won the Royal Rumble less than one year after his debut.
His feud with AJ Styles for the WWE Championship was considered to be a dream one for many audiences, but it failed to satisfy huge expectations, and their feud was deemed lacklustre. The only good thing in that time was the heel turn of Nakamura, but his heelish gimmick is getting too repetitive.
Shinsuke is scheduled to face Seth Rollins at Survivor Series.
#1 Finn Balor
The alter-ego gimmick Finn Balor possesses is one of the finest gimmicks in professional wrestling right now. His demon alter ego is also one of the most protected, as Finn has not lost a singles match on the main roster with that gimmick. But sadly, Finn Balor has used it only 4 times on the main roster so far.
Finn has the right body, the right talent, and the right gimmick to succeed in WWE, but for some reason, Vince McMahon feels that Balor is not over with the WWE Universe. This is actually rubbish as Finn is one of those wrestlers who is loved by fans from all over the globe.
A stacked RAW roster is the reason for Finn's halted push. A move to SmackDown Live filled with top heels could be the way ahead for Finn Balor.
