Most Underrated: Sami Zayn
Runners-Up: Cesaro, American Alpha, Tye Dillinger, Alberto Del Rio
Sami Zayn’s treatment during the second half of 2016 has been nothing short of criminal. He took part in several fantastic matches throughout the first half (including this writer’s Match of the Year) and looked to be poised for a major run of some kind.
Instead, he was left off the SummerSlam card entirely, and spent the next several months so directionless he even said that exact word in a promo. He finished the year in a throwaway feud with Braun Strowman, with the latter coming out victorious. This has left many people, including me, wondering where Zayn’s career will be going in 2017.
Several of Zayn’s compatriots were just as unlucky. Cesaro should’ve gotten at least one World title shot by now, but instead finds himself teaming with Sheamus. This is a waste of Cesaro’s talents, as he has many supporters both within WWE and outside of it that are convinced he can be a big money draw as a World Champion.
American Alpha should have been catapulted to the top of the SmackDown roster right after the draft but were booked inexplicably as secondary to the thrown-together team of Heath Slater & Rhyno. They finally got their big title win recently, but it was long after the fanfare of their spectacular performances against the Revival had dissipated.
Finally, there was Alberto Del Rio, a former World Champion with solid in-ring abilities. He wasn’t pushed to the main event as he was promised, and was saddled with one poor feud after another. It shouldn’t surprise anyone, then, that he didn’t leave on the best of terms…again.
