Notable Superstars Missing from the Card
Note: This is not a full list of everyone on the roster who is not scheduled for the show. It excludes jobbers, injured talent, people who wouldn’t have normally been expected to appear on the show for some fashion, those who are unable to perform due to travel restrictions and so on. It also should be noted that much of the information regarding COVID-19 pandemic regulations and precautions is not public knowledge, so there’s no telling if anyone on this list or elsewhere is not going to be on the card due to those factors.
Note #2: A dual-brand battle royal was announced for the kickoff. We don’t know who will be competing in that. Anyone on this list and elsewhere could be participating.
Aleister Black = Supposedly, Black requested to be moved back to NXT. It doesn’t necessarily seem like that will be the case, although he could always be Finn Balor’s next challenger that they’re waiting on announcing for WarGames. Even still, he probably isn’t in as good of a spot right now to just wrestle in the battle royal because of Zelina Vega’s exit from WWE.
Alexa Bliss / Bray Wyatt / Nikki Cross / The Miz and John Morrison = Bliss and Cross are still playing their game of breaking up, while Wyatt is hovering the world title picture. There isn’t a spot on the card for him. Likewise, The Miz has the Money in the Bank and last wrestled Wyatt, so he and Morrison are just waiting in the wings to strike and have no other role on this show.
Angel Garza = It would have been cool to see him get a spot on Team Raw. However, there were bigger fish to fry and he is seemingly without a feud at the moment. It wouldn’t surprise me if he has nothing going on for quite some time and doesn’t get something going until after WrestleMania, actually. He might be in the battle royal, though.
Apollo Crews = I’d assume he’s a guarantee for the battle royal.
Big E = He’s likely either in the battle royal (as a potential winner) or he’s ringside for the tag team showcase.
Billie Kay = Frankly, with Peyton Royce being on Team Raw, I think WWE missed an opportunity having her on Team SmackDown. I’d have enjoyed that more than Natalya finally winning a spot.
Carmella = Lately, Carmella’s been attacking Sasha Banks from behind. I’d assume she either does that here, again, or she’s just out of the mix for this show and we go back to that on the next SmackDown. These two are definitely fighting at TLC.
Chad Gable = He could be ringside to help cheer on Otis during the Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown fight. If not, and maybe on top of that, he could be in the battle royal.
Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose = These two were supposed to be on Team Raw, but Nia Jax injured Rose. WWE must have decided if they can’t be there together, Brooke had no purpose to offset Jax and Baszler, so they cut her, too.
Dolph Ziggler / Robert Roode = Ziggler lost a qualifying match and Roode wasn’t even entered in one. There’s your explanation. Good enough for me. They will probably be filler in the battle royal, too.
Dominik Mysterio / Murphy / Rey Mysterio = WWE took this storyline with Seth Rollins, dragged it out for WAAAAAAAAAAAY too many months than it ever deserved, and then rushed the finale. Typical. These three have nothing going on. Rey lost a qualifying match, Dominik’s just hanging out and Murphy beat Rollins, but that doesn’t get them spots on the card unless they’re in the battle royal.
Elias / Jeff Hardy = Both lost their chances to be on Team Raw. Since then, Hardy threatened Elias to let go of his suspicions that The Charismatic Enigma was the one who ran into him. If this weren’t a Raw vs. SmackDown event and if they hadn’t already had a worthwhile feud-ender with the Guitar on a Pole match, I’d assume they’d be fighting once more.
The Hurt Business (Cedric Alexander, MVP, Shelton Benjamin) = Cedric and Shelton had a chance to win the Raw tag titles, but failed. Had they done that, they would be on the card. That’s a good enough reason to keep them off the card in my mind, especially with Bobby Lashley appearing. They can always pop up to be ringside for his match or, you guessed it, in the battle royal.
Lars Sullivan = He’s my pick to win the battle royal.
Tucker = How is he not fighting Otis in a brand vs. brand match? That’s the most obvious, easiest way to capitalize on their split and make something worth watching. Instead, he’ll just get his ass whooped in the battle royal, if anything.
Randy Orton = Up until this past Monday, Orton was scheduled to fight Roman Reigns. Dropping the WWE Championship back to Drew McIntyre changed those plans. I’m cool with that being why he’s not on the card. He’s too big for the battle royal.
RETRIBUTION = This group is a mess. As talented as the individuals are that make it up, the faction didn’t deserve to have a spot on this card. I don’t even want them in the battle royal.
Ricochet = You’d think Ricochet would be a go-to option for Team Raw, but there were too many other heavy-hitters who stood a better chance at beating Team SmackDown. I don’t disagree with the choices made. I do, however, disagree with how little Ricochet seems to ever have going on at any given moment. If WWE has nothing for him, he should be moved to another roster like NXT to make better use of his talents. I’d expect him in the battle royal, but not to win.
Continue to the next page for Heat Index.
