Understandably not everyone on the WWE roster can be featured on television every week, but a lot of superstars haven’t been in the news much lately.
Here’s a mini-roundup of superstars that aren’t in a storyline of note:
- Brock Lesnar – Odds are that WWE needed to ease up on using Brock after all the house shows he did in 2015. His WrestleMania feud with Dean Ambrose was resolved. No open angles I can think of, given that he’s already had three major matches with The Undertaker.
- Randy Orton – Orton had shoulder surgery last year and was said to be out “indefinitely.” Recent reports suggest that Orton could start training for his return at the WWE Performance Center next month. WWE has been building up new stars as of late, but Randy Orton is a solid talent to have around as he’s a proven main eventer, and he always comes in handy when other main eventers get injured. I’d expect him to have at least one more title run before retiring.
- Seth Rollins – Rollins has been out of the picture for over six months, and WWE is currently in need of a full-time (intentional) top heel. Then again, if Rollins is brought out as a surprise to confront Cena or Reigns, I would expect a monster babyface reaction. He is a solid main eventer that needs to return to action ASAP. According to recent reports Rollins should be returning shortly.
- Braun Strowman – Strowman and the rest of the Wyatts were pictured in Payback promo materials, but with two members of The Wyatt Family injured now…well, let’s just say that Strowman has nothing much going on. There were rumors of him feuding with Brock for WrestleMania, and also the Wyatts feuding with the League Of Nations, yet there are no indications as to who the Wyatts currently think are hypocrites.
- Kane – I’m not aware of Kane being injured, so my hunch is that Kane is on stand-by for a new uppercard storyline. He is the resident main event jobber, and I think we all respect Kane for that.
- Big Show – Same deal as Kane. On a recent podcast he mentioned having two years left before he retires. He tends to work well in a Smackdown main event slot, but I think Big Show would fit well in a tag team with a fast-paced younger talent.
- Mark Henry – Henry referred to this year’s event as his “last Wrestlemania” in an interview, yet his last few appearances have been in jobber-esque roles. Hopefully Mark Henry can go out on a high note. His “retirement” promo a few years back on TV shows how great Mark Henry can be when given mic time.
- Zeb Colter – Late last year Zeb parted ways with Alberto Del Rio after a few months of awkwardly pairing together. Since then he’s been missing in action. Zeb’s gimmick is especially timely with all the Trumpamania going on, much like it was with Glenn Beck’s ascent a few years back.
- Tyson Kidd – Kidd was seriously injured, but I don’t recall him wearing a neck brace during his last appearance on “Total Divas.” (Yeah, I watch it. Big deal.) He could come back to confront Samoa Joe about his injury, or to confront Cesaro for forgetting him, or to confront Natalya about being a big star because of him…Lots of storyline possibilities on top of him being a great worker.
- Hideo Itami – Itami has been injured longer since joining NXT than he’s been active and seen on weekly programming. Hopefully Shinsuke Nakamura wasn’t brought in to replace him, as the WWE rarely has more than two prominent Japanese wrestlers on its roster at any given time. His potential as a performer has not been properly showcased yet.
- Cameron – Per “Total Divas,” Cameron asked to return to Orlando to develop more as a performer. She was recently seen in an NXT battle royal, but hasn’t been heard on a mic or featured in a singles match on TV in quite a while.
- Mojo Rawley – Since Zack Ryder has been focused as a singles competitor on the main roster, Mojo had been mostly invisible on NXT programming. Or at least emphasis has been taken off the Hype Bros with the American Alphas — babyfaces, as far as we can tell — leading the NXT tag division now.
- Alex Riley – Riley was in a mix of enhancement matches on NXT within the last six months, and he won at least two of them. A-Ry is in incredible shape and has proven to be good enough on the mic to be an official broadcaster.
- David Otunga – Otunga appeared on a house show last year, but hasn’t been on the air recently. I wonder if he’s actually working in their legal department now. The coffee mug is missed by this guy.
- Hornswoggle – Hornswoggle was suspended on a wellness policy violation last year. Prior to that, he hadn’t been on television much since his acclaimed WeeLC match against El Torito. Speaking of which, where’s El Torito? He was recently mentioned on Edge and Christian’s show, without appearing. Guess that makes this 16 superstars? Eh, too late to change the title.
So the next time WWE promises a “mystery guest,” feel free to take out this checklist to help spoil the surprise.
