So had I written this blog a few weeks ago it may have looked very different. Many of the people who were a part of the lay offs from WWE as a result of the cut backs were among those who I would class as some of the more underrated and underutilised talents on the roster.
Anderson & Gallows should be tag champions still now, EC3 should have Drake Maverick as his manager and be a top mid-card star, Deonna Purrazzo should be at the top end of the women’s division, Sarah Logan should be the wild female member of the Viking Raiders, Lio Rush should hold the Cruiserweight title for the next 5 years, Rowan should be a main event heel monster, Mike and Maria should be taking on all comers and doing all they can to reach the main event scene together, and Rusev… well… he should be WWE Champion.
So here I’m just going to give my own spotlight to a few people on the roster who I feel are underrated or underutilised, which seem to go hand in hand for WWE and their talents. This is one that is very much down to personal taste, but I’ll try and pick out those who I don’t think people talk about enough, that are still employed that is… and this blog is somewhat different to before also, given Paul Heyman’s recent booking of Raw… but anyway, see what you think…
There’s some of these people who are in fact rated by people, and always come back into that conversation, but for some reason or another they never seem to get the consistent push as a top star like they should do…
Ricochet
Has there been anything more painful in WWE this year than seeing Ricochet, a guy who I tipped in my end of year blog last year to be a world champion in 2020, get fed to The Beast in Saudi Arabia. BURIED. Then buried over and over in the weeks after??? WHAT?! I thought it had all been going FINE since Ricochet finished a tremendous year in NXT… he came up and had great matches with AJ Styles and Samoa Joe, and even had a short run as US Champion… and then he had a segment with Lesnar, helped eliminate him from the Rumble, got fed to him and then he’s just not been the same since. Recently he has began a tag team with fellow underutilised super-athlete Cedric Alexander so maybe the signs for a rebirth are good, But unless he’s world champion and viewed by everyone as one of the most amazing wrestlers IN THE WORLD he will be underrated in my books.
R-Truth
This guy is in his 50s! And still he’s so entertaining, so funny, and a very very solid in-ring worker. I’d have him on my tv show all the time if I were running WWE, just doing… stuff… anything, backstage stuff, a talk show segment, matches… anything… his 24/7 title stuff was so funny, and his gimmick with Carmella was great for them both. I think he’s so great at what he does, and it’s so easy for him to gain support or to entertain a crowd. Especially in times like this I think the world needs more R-Truth on their screens. And that segment he had with Lesnar and Heyman prior to the Royal Rumble… my god that was some of the funniest shit I’ve seen in WWE for a long time.
Ruby Riott
Speaking of people who have been fed and buried WAYYYYY too many times… You not think there was a good reason that it was the RIOTT squad as opposed to the MORGAN squad or the LOGAN squad? Because Ruby is fucking awesome that’s why. She’s a good talker, she’s solid in the ring… yet she’s always just… there, in the women’s division. Yet to be a champion, yet to even come close really… yes she’s had title matches but nobody really thought she was gonna beat Ronda for example… I hope her time comes…
CESARO
Cesaro should be called Cesaro Underrated for me. And I feel like everyone who is anyone in wrestling says the same thing. Crazy strong, crazy athletic, just an absolute monster. And yet… never given the ball and allowed to run. I mean, Vince McMahon himself said once on the Stone Cold podcast that Cesaro was just missing something… and it very much sounded like he was talking about his charisma or his ability not to be a natural on the microphone. And yes they tried putting him with Heyman, but Heyman is Brock’s guy… he shouldn’t be near somebody else until Lesnar is gone… Maybe he does need a manager… or maybe they just need to let Cesaro go out there and W.R.E.S.T.L.E… maybe…
Drew Gulak
Now here is a guy who has charisma. He has his thing and it works. He had his powerpoint stuff in 205 live and now he finds himself as Daniel Bryan’s friend on SmackDown. But this guy WRESTLE, and for me he should be a mid card heel. I’ve seen him have solid matches with high flyers, with technical guys like Daniel Bryan and an absolute banger with Matt Riddle. It’s not always that difficult, just let good wrestlers wrestle.
Gran Metalik
Just google some of this guys work outside of WWE. Yes maybe it doesn’t help he doesn’t do all that much talking, but my god can this guy work. He’s way too good to be stuck in some comedy tag team gimmick and be having a laugh with his fellow Luchas. This guy should be let just do him… all the damn time… and the people would fall in love with this guy in a big way just watching him do what he does best, and that’s wrestle.
Shorty G
Shorty G… WHAT KIND OF BULLSHIT NAME IS THAT??? How about we talk about CHAD GABLE??? How about we talk about one half of American Alpha??? How about we talk about an absolute in-ring MASTER. Character work he could do it too, I’ve heard him talk, he can cut a babyface promo. This guy should be the all singing, all dancing, wrestling machine who can occasionally be a goof ball, but occasionally can go out and wrestle a classic with anyone… remind you of anyone… well… maybe people will chant YOU SUCK at Gable too one day…
Ember Moon
There’s a reason she was set up as the only serious challenger Asuka ever had in NXT… it’s just a shame she had to eventually lose the NXT Women’s title rather quick before she went up to the main roster… and what’s also a shame is how injury has severely hampered any main roster run she’s tried to get… she’s another who is so good in the ring, her finisher The Eclipse is something else and is one of those that crowds wow at everytime. Just let her have that ball when she gets back from injury PLEASE WWE…
Nikki Cross
Now, I like Alexa Bliss, A LOT… but I feel like Cross should be so much more than Bliss’ sidekick. I saw her in NXT and her in-ring work is excellent, the crazywoman character she had going with Sanity was so good, and sure she was bound to get over as a babyface, but I think people don’t get just how great she is. If they were to ever or anytime soon do a split of Cross and Bliss, which surely will be Bliss turning back to her old bully ways, then I’d love to see it begin a babyface run for Cross right to the top… that’s where she deserves to be…
Sasha Banks
Right I know what you’re all thinking, Sasha Banks isn’t underrated, she’s a horsewomen, she’s had plenty of title runs and big matches… but I think Sasha Banks should be the face of WWE’s women’s division. I think she’s a MEGAstar talker, and… this is a big statement…
I think she’s the best all-round women’s wrestler (that isn’t Japanese) in the whole company.
I cannot wait for Sasha to finally get her shot at Bayley… that match and feud will hopefully make Sasha what she is and what people should see her as… a champion.
Josh.
NobodyisReady.com 