WWE can often prove to be an unfortunate place for some of their superstars. In the world of three-week pushes and never-ending feuds, it can be almost impossible at times for anyone to gain real momentum. And with that, many of their wrestlers can find themselves off TV and out of mind. So, which WWE Superstars deserve the chance to cement themselves as regulars on either Raw or SmackDown for the remaining portion of 2021?
Honourable Mentions
- Big E – Whilst E certainly hasn’t had a bad start to 2021, only recently dropping his Intercontinental Championship. Now is an important time for him in his career, one where he needs to push on from mid-card titleholder to main-eventer.
- Jey Uso – Admittedly Jey Uso is a featured part of the Universal Title scene on SmackDown. But with just three wins since the start of last November, ‘Main-Event Jey Uso’ feels like a distant memory at times.
- Every single member of RETRIBUTION – Do I need to explain this one? WWE, please, now they’re all separate entities, can they have their old names and gimmicks back?
5) Bray Wyatt
Bray Wyatt has always been something of an anomaly in WWE. So often he will fall short at the final hurdle of getting truly over, or even worse lose the first big match his character faces. The examples in WWE history are multiple, losing to Cena at ‘Mania 30, Orton at ‘Mania 33, the mess that was Hell in a Cell 2019 and Goldberg at Super ShowDown 2020. But, now WWE may have performed their worst misstep with the Wyatt character yet, with his defeat at the hands of Randy Orton (again) at WrestleMania 37.
The feud between Wyatt and Orton lasted nearly six months, it included literal arson, as well as callbacks to their previous feud four years previous. So naturally, it concluded with Orton winning, not with a bang, but a whimper. The complete tarnishing of The Fiend character has left Wyatt’s card feeling way off being lost in the shuffle, it’s not even in the deck. The Fiend could well be dead now, the fire didn’t kill him, but WWE’s booking did.
Whatever is next for Wyatt will inevitably start brilliantly, he is incredibly creative and hopefully will come back either as a reinvigorated Fiend, or as a new character. One thing is for sure, six months into 2021, with one match in the year so far, more needs to come from Wyatt.
4) Nikki Cross
Despite her recent appearances on Monday Night Raw, Nikki Cross has been quite firmly missing in action for a long time now. Even with all her ability, and the fact she is uniquely brilliant, unlike anything else on the SmackDown or Raw rosters, she has scarcely been featured on the two main roster shows.
Of Cross’ last nine matches, five happened on Main Event, a show which I imagine nobody reading this still watches. The remaining four matches were the 2021 Royal Rumble Match, her two most recent Beat-the-Clock challenge matches, and a match on Raw against Alexa Bliss, which was little more than WWE showing off their camera tricks.
Whilst having Cross win in the least intimidating way is hardly the way to build a credible threat, it is a start. If going forward Cross can start to rack up some wins, her future for the rest of 2021 could prove to shine a lot brighter.
3) Shayna Baszler
Shayna Baszler finds herself in the unfortunate situation of WWE forgetting makeshift tag-teams don’t need to last forever. After ten months with Nia Jax as her partner, Baszler has seen her stock as a singles superstar fall rapidly.
It seems a distant memory of her arriving on Raw as the Elimination Chamber-conquering force of nature she debuted as. And, whilst not everything was perfect upon her arrival on the main roster, (I’m talking about her biting a chunk out of Becky Lynch), they still got some parts of her character right. Baszler could have easily been the best heel in the women’s roster, but after losing to Lynch at WrestleMania 36, she has failed to stand out in a division that desperately needs stars.
The fear for fans of Baszler, is that now after the latest round of WWE releases, the company is rapidly running out of women’s tag-teams. Yet, if Baszler manages to escape the tag scene, as Monday’s episode of Raw suggested, things could yet pick up for her.
2) Aleister Black
Originally, Aleister Black was on this list in full. However, with the news of Black’s release from WWE today, I considered taking him off this list, naturally. Instead, I’ll just leave it with this.
Wherever the former Aleister Black end’s up, he will succeed. If now not with WWE, then in spite of them. He is a talent any company will be lucky to have, welcome back Tommy End.
1) Keith Lee
If you were to list a criteria for characteristics you would want in your ideal wrestler, you’d probably say; charismatic, with an elite move-set and unique in their own way. Keith Lee has all of these things and more. He is quite possibly the most engaging superstar on not only the Raw roster, but in all of WWE. With the top of WWE’s Raw roster becoming unbearably stale of late, Lee is exactly what would be needed to add a little spice back into the scene.
A marvel on the mic, Lee is effortlessly captivating and when he’s healthy, he deserves as much screentime as possible. Admittedly, it could be argued that without fans something could have been lost. By Keith Lee’s own admission, he has struggled without fans “I am one that very much misses crowds…know that I miss you very much”. Now however, with the return of fans edging ever so close, Lee deserves to be put straight to the top of the card. Lee could return to Raw to save a dying show, or go to SmackDown and face Roman Reigns. His potential truly is limitless.
Enjoyed this article? Let us know in the comments! And who do you want to see have a better second-half to 2021 in WWE?
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