WWE’s third Saudi Arabia event, Super ShowDown, is hitting us this Friday afternoon. As expected, there are more than a few wrestlers who have requested not to appear on this card, some who were forcibly told not to show up, and others who are simply not considered worth booking.
This makes the usual Superstars Missing entry for this event somewhat different, in that it isn’t all just jobbers and injuries. Also, to further complicate things, WWE will be holding a 50-Man Battle Royal on this show, which could feature any number of talent from Raw, SmackDown, 205 Live, NXT, NXT UK and elsewhere.
With all that being said, and knowing that the card is always subject to change, let’s take a look at the talent being left off the card for WWE Super ShowDown 2019.
The Entire Women’s Division
Per usual, since this is taking place in Saudi Arabia, no female performers are scheduled to appear on the card, be it as a manager or as a wrestler. Despite rumblings that a match could happen, it appears those were just empty promises.
As such, this means every woman on the Raw, SmackDown, NXT, NXT UK and even 205 Live if you count Maria Kanellis, is off this card. If you’re a completionist who wants to know everybody, here is your list of female Superstars who are not performing at Super ShowDown:
— From Raw: Alexa Bliss, Alicia Fox, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, Naomi, Natalya, Nia Jax, Nikki Cross, Ronda Rousey, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, Sasha Banks, Tamina Snuka
— From SmackDown: Asuka, Bayley, Becky Lynch, Carmella, Charlotte Flair, Ember Moon, The IIconics, Kairi Sane, Lana, Liv Morgan, Mandy Rose / Sonya Deville, Mickie James, Zelina Vega
— From 205 Live: Maria Kanellis
— From NXT and NXT UK: Aliyah, Bianca Belair, Candice LeRae, Chelsea Green, Dakota Kai, Deonna Purrazzo, Io Shirai, Isla Dawn, Jazzy Gabert, Jessamyn Duke, Jessie Elaban, Jinny, Kacy Catanzaro, Karen Q, Kavita Devi, Kay Lee Ray, Killer Kelly, Lacey Lane, MJ Jenkins, Marina Shafir, Mia Yim, Nina Samuels, Piper Niven, Rachael Evers, Reina González, Rhea Ripley, Shayna Baszler, Taynara Conti, Tegan Nox, Toni Storm, Vanessa Borne, Xia Brookside, Xia Li
From Monday Night Raw
— AJ Styles: The current storyline is that Styles is dealing with an injury right now that Baron Corbin has made worse. Whether that’s true in any fashion or just a means to write him out of the mix so he doesn’t show up for this event remains to be seen.
— The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor): When was the last time they were even seen? They’ll likely be in the battle royal, but that’s not saying much.
— The Authors of Pain (Akam & Rezar): Rumor has it AOP will be ready to go pretty soon, but until then, they’re still on the inactive list while Akam is injured.
— Bray Wyatt: Call me crazy, but I just don’t think the Saudi Arabia event is going to be where we see Wyatt make his in-ring return…
— Cedric Alexander: Undoubtedly, Cedric is going to be in the battle royal. They didn’t feel it necessary to announce him, though.
— Cesaro: Likewise for most people here, Cesaro will be in the battle royal. There’s even a chance he’s one of the more prominently featured players.
— Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder: Fodder for the battle royal, if they’re going.
— Drew McIntyre: He’s not technically “scheduled” to compete yet as far as the advertised card, but you know he’ll be there for the Roman Reigns and Shane McMahon match, if not also the battle royal.
— EC3: I’m assuming he’ll be fodder for the battle royal, which is a shame, as he should be booked well enough at this point to be a potential winner. That’s not going to happen.
— Eric Young: I’m 100% depending on the idea that Eric Young will be unceremoniously thrown over the top rope very quickly in the battle royal.
— Fandango: Fandango is still on the injured list, with no set timetable announced for when he’ll be returning to action.
— The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows): If these guys haven’t requested to not work the show, they’ll be battle royal participants.
— Heath Slater and Rhyno: Fodder for the battle royal, for sure.
— Lio Rush: We haven’t seen Lio Rush in quite a while. He may or may not be in the doghouse. He may or may not be going down to NXT. He may or may not be working out the rest of his contract and on the way to being released. Who knows?
— The Miz: It’s interesting The Miz wasn’t given something better to do here. Perhaps he’s one of the foremost people in the battle royal, or maybe he even requested not to go to this event? That would seem out of character for someone who seems to be willing to do anything for WWE, though, so I guess he’s just one of the 50.
— Mojo Rawley: Battle royal filler. Good lord, he’d better not win or something stupid.
— No Way Jose: He’s going into the battle royal. He’ll be eliminated rather easily. You’ll basically just see his hair.
— Rey Mysterio: Mysterio is injured and will be out for an indeterminate amount of time.
— Ricochet: He and Cesaro are in a feud, but that’s not going to translate in any way in the battle royal that I can realistically see happening. Too many other people are in the mix and this isn’t a spot to showcase something like a personal feud between two of the midcarders, no matter how good they are.
— Robert Roode: Battle royal, for sure. That is, unless they plan on doing something with the 24/7 Championship. Then, maybe he’ll be involved in that, too.
— Samoa Joe: The new United States champion could have been defending this or regaining it here had WWE decided to put more stock into that, but I’m actually on board with him just being given the title by Rey Mysterio. If that’s all he does this week, I’m okay with it, but I’m hoping Joe is one of the possible winners of the battle royal.
— Sami Zayn: Supposedly, Zayn is not allowed to appear at these events because of his ethnicity. Imagine that in 2019…
— Titus O’Neil: One of the first to be eliminated in the battle royal.
— The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar): I actually don’t think these two will be in the battle royal. I have a feeling WWE will want to protect them from that loss, and there will be enough others from Raw, SmackDown, 205 Live, NXT and even NXT UK that they won’t need to be in it.
From SmackDown Live
— Aiden English: There’s a chance he’s in the battle royal, but I don’t think that will happen. English is more of a commentator at this point and I think they have more than enough people where they’ll put others in the match above him.
— Aleister Black: Supposedly, Black is not joining this event because his tattoos are of a religious nature and that could be considered “offensive” to some.
— Ali: I actually think Ali is one of the potential winners of the battle royal that people should be watching out for.
— Apollo Crews: Crews is a company guy who fits into things like the battle royal so well. He’ll definitely be there, and he’ll definitely lose, but he’ll give it his all.
— The B-Team (Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel): These two are totally going to make asses of themselves in the battle royal.
— Buddy Murphy: Since being moved to the SmackDown roster in the Superstar Shake-up, all Murphy has done has been maybe two video promos. They’re just not using him at all. Don’t be surprised if he isn’t even in the battle royal.
— Chad Gable: I’d be very, very surprised if he wasn’t in the battle royal.
— The Colons (Epico Colon & Primo Colon): Let’s face it, you can count the amount of times The Colons will show up on television in a year with one hand.
— Daniel Bryan and Rowan: Daniel Bryan is one of the people who doesn’t want to work these shows, so it’s likely Rowan will just sit it out, too, as they’re a paired act right now.
— Elias: If he doesn’t show up in the Roman Reigns and Shane McMahon match, I’ll be very, very surprised.
— The Hardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy): Jeff Hardy is still injured, but Matt Hardy is a different story. He’s actually one of my favorites to win the battle royal if they want to tap into the nostalgia element like they have with other matches on these Saudi Arabia shows.
— Heavy Machinery (Otis Dozovic & Tucker Knight): Otis and Tucky have their sights set on the SmackDown Tag Team Championship titles, but Daniel Bryan isn’t working this show. That means either they sit this out, or they’re in the battle royal.
— Jinder Mahal: 100%, he will be in the battle royal, doing his job to fill it out. Oddly enough, he might be one of the bigger names in it, too.
— Kevin Owens: Whether out of protest standing beside his friend Sami Zayn or for some other reason(s), Owens has opted to not perform on this event.
— Killian Dain: Rumor has it Dain is going back to NXT, but until we actually see that, I’ll keep him in the loop as a member of SmackDown.
— Luke Harper: It seems as though WWE is paying Harper to sit at home for six months. Can I take that job?
— The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods): We could see both of them in the battle royal, but I would wager a bet that they won’t be in that. Instead, if they’re on the card, they’ll be ringside for the Kofi Kingston match in some way, but I don’t even necessarily think that’s the plan.
— R-Truth: If he is able to work the show, I see no reason why they wouldn’t have the 24/7 Championship change hands at least once, if not multiple times, going back to him.
— Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura: Hey guys, you were both something big 2 years ago. Now, you’re a tag team that doesn’t do anything. Want to be in a battle royal and blend in with 48 other people? Actually, Rusev has some potential to win this, if there is true favoritism toward him with the prince.
— Sheamus: The Celtic Warrior is dealing with injuries that are keeping him out of the ring.
— Shelton Benjamin: Battle royal fodder, if he isn’t pushed aside for someone else.
— Sin Cara: As far as I’m aware, Sin Cara hasn’t actually returned from his injury. If he does do that here, it’ll be as unceremoniously as you can get, where he’ll just be a blank face (get the joke?) in the crowd of the battle royal.
From 205 Live
Technically speaking, since even the Cruiserweight Championship hasn’t been confirmed to be on this card, everybody from 205 Live is up in the air.
Given the circumstances of the 50-Man Battle Royal, as mentioned above, any number of the following Superstars could show up, but there’s just as good of a chance not a single one of them does.
With that in mind, here are the wrestlers on 205 Live at the moment who are not advertised to appear: Akira Tozawa, Ariya Daivari, The Brian Kendrick, Drew Gulak, Gentleman Jack Gallagher, Humberto Carrillo, Mike Kanellis, Oney Lorcan, The Singh Brothers and Tony Nese
From NXT and NXT UK
As this is a main roster pay-per-view, it’s expected that nobody from the NXT and NXT UK crew are advertised for it. However, we’ve seen in the Greatest Royal Rumble that they’ve set a precedent of having NXT people thrown into the mix if they randomly decide to, like Babatunde.
That means the 50-Man Battle Royal could have anybody from NXT, NXT UK, or either brand’s Performance Center recruits help fill out the 50 spots.
For those counting, that means the following names.
— NXT Superstars: Adam Cole, Angelo Dawkins, Bobby Fish, Cezar Bononi, Danny Burch, Dominik Dijakovic, Jaxson Ryker, Johnny Gargano, Keith Lee, Kona Reeves, Kushida, Kyle O’Reilly, Matt Riddle, Montez Ford, Oney Lorcan, Raul Mendoza, Riddick Moss, Roderick Strong, Shane Thorne, Steve Cutler, Tino Sabbatelli, Tommaso Ciampa, Tyler Breeze, Velveteen Dream, Wesley Blake
— NXT Performance Center Recruits: Adrian Jaoude, Albert Hardie Jr, Babatunde, Boa, Brendan Vink, Brennan Williams, Cal Bloom, Court Moore, Damien Priest, Dan Matha, Daniel Vidot, Denzel Dejournette, Elliot Sexton, Eric Bugenhagen, Garza Jr., Jeet Rama, Jermaine Haley, Mansoor Al-Shehail, Mars Wang, Mohamed Abdelfattah, Nick Comoroto, Omari Palmer, Rinku Singh, Robert Strauss, Rocky, Samuel Shaw, Saurav Gurjar, Shane Strickland, Team 3.0, Tomu, Trevor Lee
— NXT UK Superstars: Alexander Wolfe, Amir Jordan, Ashton Smith, Dave Mastiff, Eddie Dennis, Fabian Aichner, Flash Morgan Webster, Ilja Dragunov, Jack Starz, James Drake, Joe Coffey, Jordan Devlin, Joseph Conners, Kassius Ohno, Kenny Williams, Ligero, Luke Menzies, Marchel Barthel, Mark Andrews, Mark Coffey, Noam Dar, Oliver Carter, Pete Dunne, Primate Jay Melrose, Sam Gradwell, Saxon Huxley, Travis Banks, Trent Seven, Tyler Bate, Tyson T-Bone, WALTER, Wild Boar Mike Hitchman, Wolfgang, Zack Gibson
Do you think these men and women or any others not on this list should have been booked on the card in some fashion? How would you have utilized them if given the opportunity? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
