The 2017 TLC pay-per-view is scheduled for this upcoming Sunday night and it appears as though the card has been finalized outside of any last-minute additions, which means it’s time for another look at the superstars on the roster who have been skipped over.
For whatever reason, these men and women from the brand weren’t deemed important enough to find a spot for at the event—at least as far as it’s currently being advertised. Some of those omissions might be justified, while others below are a bit more questionable. Let’s take a look at who will be sitting this show out.
The Injuries
Per the way things have been going, we should still continue to not expect Big Cass or Big Show any time soon. The same goes for The Revival since Scott Dawson is on the road to recovery, but not there yet.
Jeff Hardy’s recent injury has ruled him a no-go as well, which has pretty much left Matt Hardy to linger with nothing to do, rendering him another casualty of injuries despite how he’s healthy (similar to Dash Wilder’s situation).
There’s also Darren Young, who has still not made his return after many, many months.
When they were toying around with the idea of a fifth member to The Miz’s team, I was certain Samoa Joe would fit the bill, but lo and behold, they pulled a fast one and it ended up being Kane. You got me, WWE. Now when do we get to see Joe come back?
Brock Lesnar
Shocker. This always happens with Lesnar as the champion. But I suppose that’s to be expected. After all, Lesnar needs to rest up before he beats Jinder Mahal in 10 seconds at Survivor Series, right?
Elias / Jason Jordan / Titus Worldwide / The Good Brothers
If these six men are involved in a feud, based off this week’s tag team match, we could potentially see them joining back up again in some fashion to fill in another random fight if WWE finds themselves needing some more time to kill.
Outside of that, though, the only person that I think has a decent shot to make an appearance is Elias, as he seems to have the best track record of popping up on cards compared to the others.
On a personal note, I think all six of these guys deserve better than what they’ve been going through as of late. I know Jordan has his detractors and we’ve seen little charisma from Apollo Crews, but I’m disappointed that there’s nothing more for any of them to sink their teeth into.
John Cena
The free agent has been spending a lot of his free time working elsewhere instead of the WWE circuit, popping up for a quick feud here and there and not really staying around like he used to.
I would love it if this became a storyline for Survivor Series with both brands trying to recruit him for their team, but for TLC, he’s not going to show up whatsoever.
From the Women’s Division
With the roster stretched thin to compensate for some injuries, Lesnar’s absence and wanting to stall for other feuds, there are actually three women’s matches on the card, meaning more of this division is being utilized than normal.
That being said, there are still some omissions.
Summer Rae is no surprise, having been missing for well over a year at this point, and Dana Brooke barely ever pops up, but Bayley and Nia Jax are featured members who are basically being pushed aside for Mickie James, Emma, Alicia Fox and the newcomer Asuka, as those four aren’t remotely used as often as Bayley and Jax, but you should anticipate both being on Team Raw for Survivor Series.
From the Tag Team Division
Bo Dallas has been off-screen for a few weeks and Curtis Axel was potentially written off for this event after being attacked by The Shield, so The Miztourage could be a rare no-show to even accompany The Miz.
There’s been no activity from Heath Slater and Rhyno for quite some time, so their exclusion shouldn’t be any surprise.
From the Cruiserweight Division
As mentioned before with the women’s division, this card is trying so hard to fill time and it means we’re getting a rare second match from the 205 Live crew, meaning six of those men have a spot on the pay-per-view.
The unlucky cruiserweights who were left out in the cold, though, are Akira Tozawa, Ariya Daivari, Drew Gulak, Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado, Mustafa Ali, Neville (who might not even be employed anymore), Noam Dar, TJP and Tony Nese.
The Leftovers:
Curt Hawkins has his losing streak, Goldust has seemingly no direction after his two or three week random push out of nowhere, and R-Truth is……..where’s R-Truth, actually?
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!
