Last weekend was a whirlwind of activity in the WWE
Universe. The weekend kicked off with NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, and was followed
by the second biggest show of the year- Summerslam. NXT is the future of the
WWE, and Summerslam put all the current stars on display. But it begs the
question:
Who will get lost in the shuffle?
WWE's roster is deep, despite what their booking makes you
believe. While some wrestlers are put in floundering roles, don't let it fool
you. They are all professionals with experience around the world, and can
wrestle. Does that mean WWE will let them go out and put on a five-star
classic? Of course not. There's only so much time they can devote to wrestling
when there are many awful segments and non-wrestling related filler they need
to stuff their shows with.
You would think having three hours would be more than enough
to get exposure for the entire roster, but the E does stand for entertainment.
Sometimes good, sometimes bad- the need to add more than just pure athleticism
and competition is there. With the new influx of NXT superstars, there will be
less time and storylines to devote to current WWE stars. Here’s who will suffer
most.
Dolph Ziggler
Yes, we know he’s a worker and can put on a great match on
any given night. We know he can bump out of the building and make any star look
even better. Yet that has been a constant criticism of Ziggler over the last
half-decade or so. His willingness to make everyone look good all the time is
frowned upon by some in charge, and that ill-timed concussion after he beat
Alberto Del Rio in 2012 didn’t help matters, either. Ziggler could help enhance
NXT talent and put over new stars, but it’s been obvious in the last few years
WWE doesn’t trust him to be a main event player. It also hinders him that he
has seen zero character development in years. The NXT influx will only continue
to push him down the totem pole.
Sheamus
“Wait, really? You mean the guy who won WWE’s Money in the
Bank briefcase- the symbol of a likely future WWE World Heavyweight champion?”
– You
Yes, I mean THAT Sheamus. He, like Ziggler, suffered for
years to progress his character beyond “Hey, I’m Irish.” After returning from
injury, it was thought a heel turn would do him good and add a little spice to
the otherwise dull Irishman. Yet since that heel turn with questionable facial
hair decisions, little has changed to make him seem anything than a good worker
and journeyman to the stars. His recent feud (if you want to call it that) with
Randy Orton has done nothing to change anything. His promos still lack any sort
of conviction and are typically cheesy and forced. I cannot think of a reason
why WWE would put their main title on him within the next calendar year- and
that’s NOT the thought you want anyone having about your MITB winner. While
Sheamus can put on a good match more often than not, his limitations will
hamper him with the new crop of young stars.
Los Matadores
Yes, the team with the little guy dressed as a bull. That is
the team’s claim to fame. While both are great wrestlers and technically sound,
WWE hasn’t let them showcase it with any sort of great matches or even flashy
moves. The duo gets no promo time, and gives the fans no reason to get behind
them except “flying miniature bull”. This makes me wonder why they were in the
tag title match at Summerslam instead of calling up Enzo and Cass in New York.
The team’s exposure will only dwindle from here, as eventually El Torito- like
Hornswaggle before him- will become stale and not relevant.
The Ascension
The most ironically-named team might even have it harder
than Los Matadores. They get far less time on RAW or Smackdown, and haven’t
accomplished anything of note since debuting and beating jobber teams. They do,
however, come across as very likeable on the WWE Network show Swerved. But that’s about it.
They were treated as big fish in the small pond of NXT- but
the main stage has exposed their limitations both on the mic and in the ring.
The fact they haven’t found a way to consistently get time every week as well
as pay-per-view matches to vie for the tag titles is pretty telling. The
Ascension is on the way down the WWE hierarchy, and the youngsters will only speed
up that regression.
The Bellas
“The Divas Revolution” term has been tossed around so often
by the WWE that if you made it a drinking game you would have been dead a month
ago. It equates simply to “women get more time to wrestle, with no motivation
or personality”.
The two females who are dearly clutching on to their spots
are the Bellas. Yes, they move merchandise and are both tied to two company
golden boys (John Cena and Daniel Bryan)- but would the division really miss
much without the limited duo? Give all the credit to Nikki the last year or so,
though. She has improved her game in the ring, which is far better than Brie.
But both struggle on the mic, sounding rigid and rehearsed. The new crop of NXT
Divas can wrestle circles around the Bellas, and all have giant chips on their
shoulders. Once WWE gets past the tired female tropes of women only being
jealous or crazy and treat the division similar to the men’s, the Bellas will
fail to keep up.
Alex Reilly
Yes, he’s really on the WWE roster still. There’s not much
to follow that up than with “lol seriously?”
Cameron
The writing was on the wall after her role on Total Divas
was massively reduced. Once her “feud” with Naomi was over last year, the most
she’s done since then is offer a line or two of dialogue every few episodes of TD. With no outstanding in-ring or promo
skills, as well as no male to tie herself to- Cameron will struggle to gain any
traction and will likely be future endeavored before 2016.
Jack Swagger
Swagger’s high point was his feud against Alberto Del Rio
heading into Wrestlemania 29. Since then, he was all but killed off by Rusev,
and has only had a few televised matches in the last year or so. His character
was strengthened by the uber-talented Zeb Coulter, but Vince McMahon has
forgotten Swagger exists and the current NXT bunch will put the nail in his WWE
career’s coffin soon.
Wade Barrett
This one pains me, because I truly like Wade Barrett and
believe he was the best thing outside of Daniel Bryan to come from 2010’s
alternate version of NXT. While some stars on this list are there simply
because they lack certain abilities, Barrett is a victim of booking and
injuries.
His gimmick was simple: a British brawler who has no issue
smashing your face and being charmingly arrogant about it. He was able to break
through as leader of the Nexus versus John Cena- and we all know how that
turned out. Injuries sidelined him multiple times, but he eventually caught
fire again as Bad News Barrett. The gimmick was later scrapped out of nowhere,
pulling the rug out from underneath the talented Brit. Winning King of the Ring
did for him what the Intercontinental title did- nothing. He lost far more than
he won, and would likely be booked for the pre-show of special events.
While former Nexus members such as Ryback, Darren Young, Daniel
Bryan- and even Heath Slater- have gone on to have standout careers in the WWE,
it’s quite ironic their talented leader is treated like Marty Jannetty. The
current iteration of NXT will do him no favors.
Emma
Emma caught fire in NXT as the awkward, quirky Aussie who
did the arm thing. Since then, she’s accomplished nothing of note outside of
being Santino Marella’s on-air girlfriend and stealing an i-Phone case at
Walmart. Sure, she’s on Total Divas and seen most weeks on RAW, but has no
direction and little room for leeway in a crowded Divas division.
R-Truth/Kane/Big Show
This is not a reflection on their talents, but more so their
ages. The trio have done a lot of great stuff in their collective 47 years of
WWE experience, but offer very little in ring in 2015. I see Show and Truth
transitioning to road agents or trainers in Florida eventually, with Kane
pursuing politics as he has stated previously. The amount of time devoted to
them could be better served giving exposure to younger stars.
My thoughts are in no way infallible. There are still
chances for some of these stars to redeem themselves and catch on with
different gimmicks or improvements, but I don’t see it right now. With NXT
setting the bar higher and higher, most of these WWE stars listed here should be feeling
the pressure to perform.
Did I leave someone out? Do you not agree with any of the selections here? Let me know @SeanNeutron.
