Hello! WWE loves talking about the best moments of the year, but which WWE Superstars have struggled to leave their mark on 2022? Let’s look at 12 examples from the main roster and NXT.
#1. Cedric Alexander
The former Raw Tag Team and Cruiserweight Champion has had a lackluster year. Cedric Alexander has spent much of it working on Main Event. On the rare occasion that he appeared on Raw, we could see him losing to Omos, MVP, Baron Corbin, Ciampa & The Miz in a tag match with Mustafa Ali, and The Mysterios with Shelton Benjamin. The last time he won on Raw was a tag team victory with Benjamin against The Mysterios in February.
There was a tease of the Hurt Business getting back together, but nothing came of it. Despite his athleticism, nothing changed when Triple H took over creatively. At this rate, he’s lucky to still be with WWE.
#2. Shelton Benjamin
From one former Hurt Business member to another, Shelton Benjamin has struggled to get his head up for years. Ever since the split of the World’s Greatest Tag Team, he has had little luck with his solo career. On Raw this year, Benjamin has lost singles matches to Damian Priest, Austin Theory, and Dominik Mysterio. The sky is blue, and Shelton is forever buried in WWE. And that’s disappointing, because we know he’s way better than that, but nothing changed when Triple H took charge.
#3. Doudrop
Back in January, Doudrop had the biggest match of her career against Becky Lynch at the Royal Rumble for the Raw Women’s Championship. It had its challenges, because it was heel vs. heel and the WrestleMania sign caught fire mid-match. She hasn’t since reached that same height, as she dropped from being a title contender to occasionally finding herself on the losing side. Even after teaming up with Nikki A.S.H, this partnership did nothing for them. They lost a NXT Tag Team title match to Kayden Carter and Katana Chance at Worlds Collide. Her last match saw the team win against Toxic Attraction on NXT TV.
Back in August, not long after Triple H took over, Doudrop suggested that she have her name changed. Formerly going by Piper Niven, and Viper on the independent scene, fans have often ridiculed the Doudrop name. We haven’t seen her since September, and there’s no news of any injury. Either WWE has nothing for her, or they are in the process of repackaging. However we look at it, Doudrop has struggled since losing to Becky Lynch back in January, and there’s no sign of her getting anywhere near that level again.
#4 & 5. Los Lotharios’ Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo
The team of Los Lotharios began 2022 pretty well, as they fired up a rivalry with The New Day on SmackDown. Since then, it has been a topsy-turvy time. After getting a win over The New Day in February, the team has won only once on the main roster, by defeating Jinder Mahal & Shanky in May.
They have won several dark SmackDown matches, and others at live events, but their TV time has been sparse and lackluster. Under Vince McMahon, they had a gimmick where they would kiss a lucky woman at ringside. Since Triple H took over, it has been absent, and so have they. Which is a shame, because Garza has charisma. I can’t say the same about Humberto.
#6 & 7. Jinder Mahal & Shanky
Jinder Mahal has fallen so far since his time as WWE Champion. He got back to what he originally was, which is an enhancement talent getting guys over on lesser shows. However, the team of Mahal & Shanky was gradually beginning to work, because of fans encouragement of Shanky’s dancing. WWE teased splitting them up, as Mahal got frustrated and Shanky pushed back.
They had a couple of singles matches at live events, but nothing changed. Shanky hasn’t worked a match since July, and Mahal returned to action against Braun Strowman last month. If you remember, Drew McIntyre hit Shanky with roughly 20 chair shots, and he hasn’t wrestled since then. So, he could be injured, but we haven’t heard anything. The biggest question is… does anyone care to see this team again?
#8. Lacey Evans
One of the biggest misfires of the year has been the mishandling of Lacey Evans. Originally working the “Sassy Southern Belle” gimmick, Evans played this role perfectly. It could only get her so far, though, because it was outdated and nobody could relate. Vince McMahon decided they would repackage her, so she returned from an injury in vignettes that saw her talk about her tough life. And it was fantastic, as it gave the fans detailed insight into where she came from, and the difficulties she has had to overcome to succeed. WWE was giving us a reason to care about her as a human being.
WWE’s mistake was that they kept airing her vignettes week after week after week. It was frustrating, because she was repeating much of what she had previously said. There’s only so many times you can listen to someone tell their life story before it comes across as unnecessarily preachy. Fans wanted to see where WWE was going with this. When Lacey Evans finally showed up, any potential hype had already fizzled out. The mistakes continued when WWE had no serious plan for her. Fans turned on the babyface character WWE had pushed so hard, noticeably frustrating Lacey Evans and management to the point they had no choice but to turn her heel.
Lacey Evans had been talking about mental health. She was advocating for fans to take this issue seriously and was hoping her message would land. But it didn’t, because many people tune in to get away from the woes of everyday life. Listening to somebody detail how miserable their life has been does not make for entertaining television. For sure, it is admirable, brave, and I applaud Lacey for doing what she can to inspire people who may be struggling. Yet, the way they did it wasn’t entertaining, and as callous as it sounds, many people just stopped caring.
Lacey Evans disappeared for months and has recently resurfaced again, repackaged with an US marine gimmick befitting of her past. This time, she isn’t talking about her personal life, but how fans could never handle the marine life. She will probably be a heel, but with more intensity, and hopefully it sticks this time. I’m a big fan of her work. She has the tools to be very successful, but it’s finding something that she feels right with, and more importantly, a character the fans find entertaining.
#9. Xia Li
After being repackaged in NXT as a brutal warrior who mercilessly decimated opponents, Xia Li debuted on SmackDown and racked up a winning streak. She went inactive between April and June after turning heel, but since then… hasn’t a won a single match.
And I’m not only talking about TV matches, but live events, and any time she has been on Main Event, Xia Li has been on the losing side. She’s supposed to be an unstoppable warrior with a fierce moveset, but it looks like that, even with Triple H in charge, that she’s destined for more mediocrity. I believe she was promoted too soon from NXT, and it would do her wonders to go back there for more seasoning.
#10. Boa
Speaking of NXT, Xia Li’s former Tian Sha stablemate Boa has been nowhere to be seen all year. He had two matches back in January, ending in a draw and a loss to Solo Sikoa (in a Falls Count Anywhere). For somebody to be out for this long, you’d think they would be injured, but I cannot find any information about this. Either he has a serious injury, or is the most buried wrestler in WWE right now. To be fair, I don’t believe anybody noticed.
#11. Commander Azeez
Azeez began 2022 firmly planted at the side of Apollo Crews in full Nigerian mode. However, they lost to the Street Profits before Azeez came up against Omos. They had a singles match on Raw, which Azeez lost, and I reckon many fans have since forgotten. This run likely told Vince McMahon that he wasn’t ready for a push, so he worked on Main Event through May, before disappearing.
Since returning to NXT in July, he has worked only two matches. The first was at the Cocoa Show, where he & Cora Jade lost to Sanga & Ivy Nile. Azeez won his last match in October, at the Largo Show, when he & Grayson Waller teamed up against Apollo Crews & Hank Walker. To me, his demotion to NXT coincides with Triple H talking over. Vince McMahon likely had him on the main roster because of his size, but Triple H doesn’t believe he’s ready. Azeez has a long road ahead before WWE can be confident that he’s deserving of a place.
#12. Sarray
After the exceptional rises of Japanese talent like Asuka, Kairi Sane, and Iyo Sky, Sarray debuted in WWE last year with a quiet optimism that she could follow in their footsteps. It wasn’t the best record, but she ended 2021 with (the matches I can find) a win-loss record of 9-4. However, there were reports going around that Sarray had not impressed WWE officials, because fans hadn’t taken to her as well as they hoped.
To muster more personality in Sarray, WWE introduced a gimmick. She returned to Japan to physically and mentally heal, where she came across a medallion given by her grandma. It reminded her of where she came from, and it would give “new passion and energy” to her NXT return. Now sporting pigtails and a schoolgirl uniform, upon her entrance, Sarray would transform from her innocent character into the fighting Warrior Of The Sun. Did it bring her new passion and energy? Well, no. Sarray ends 2022 with a record of 5-5.
In the Summer, Sarray appeared for NXT UK and respectfully challenged her idol, Meiko Satomura, for the NXT UK Women’s Championship. WWE canceled the scheduled match in storyline because of Blair Davenport, but more likely because they felt they couldn’t go anywhere with it. Sarray’s last match was in July, as she lost to Mandy Rose on NXT TV in a non-title match. Last month, she made a post on Twitter simply saying “Restart”, with a picture of her training. She could’ve been injured, but I can’t find anything to confirm that.
However we look at it, WWE tried and failed to make Sarray interesting and give her a better year. Along with the cancelled NXT UK title match, she hasn’t fought Mandy Rose once for the NXT Women’s title. With the fierce competition in NXT’s Women’s division, especially since the dissolution of NXT UK, it will take a monumental effort to get Sarray over in 2023. I’m not ruling it out, but she has everything working against her. If she finds her way in WWE, she will have earned it the hard way by overcoming all the obstacles.
With that said, I hope you have enjoyed this write up. Please let it be known that this is not a list of talent who I would like to see succeed. It is a list of talent who are clearly struggling to make their way in WWE, especially in the latter half of the year after Triple H took on the leadership role. Would you include anybody else? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading!
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