The perception, as things exist heading into the summer of 2018, is that the World Wrestling Entertainment roster is currently deeper than it has ever been in the existence of the organization. Naturally, Vince McMahon and others within the promotion are still yearning to push acts who fit a certain description, wrestlers like Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman. While there is some logic behind that thinking, even though Reigns doesn’t appear to be getting any more over among casual fans than he was a year ago, the WWE also features some of the greatest workers on the planet. Finn Balor, AJ Styles, Seth Rollins and the returning Daniel Bryan, among others, help make editions of Raw and SmackDown enjoyable and entertaining shows, and any one of them are capable of creating a five-star match at any given time depending on who they are wrestling that particular evening. Add in the Cruiserweight division, 205 Live, weekly editions of NXT and the NXT touring brand, and one could say that the WWE offers something for just about every level and type of pro wrestling fan out there. WWE isn’t just the top name in the industry based on size and exposure these days.

Just as with a sports franchise that is only capable of featuring so many players on a roster at any given time, the WWE, reasonably speaking, can only hire a certain amount of male and female wrestlers to work on shows that air on cable television and on tours that are spread throughout North America and, at different points of the year, the world. Individuals such as the previously mentioned Vince and also Triple H are constantly scouting for talent, and the additions of known wrestlers and also unproven commodities will lead to some currently signed by the WWE not receiving contract extensions if they aren’t handed releases before their deals come due. It is widely believed among journalists who cover the WWE and also fans who follow the product via stories and other platforms that Vince and Triple H do have different ideas about who should and shouldn’t be pushed as main-event workers in 2018. Regardless of any disagreements or even arguments Vince and Triple H may have about these calls, it’s clear that both will have to choose to not offer contract extensions to a handful of wrestlers either later this year or further down the road and past the end of 2018.

15 Vince: Matt Hardy

It does not feel as if it was all that long ago when WWE fans around the world longed for the company to allow Matt Hardy to play some version of the BROKEN character that he created while in Impact Wrestling. Matt is now more WOKEN than BROKEN, and the WWE-ized gimmick is, unsurprisingly to those who know about Vince McMahon and writers working underneath the company’s umbrella, not as good as the original.

Hardy and Bray Wyatt are likely serving as the current Raw Tag Team Champions only as placeholders meant to carry those belts until it is deemed that the Authors of Pain are prepared to squash them and become the top tag team on the overall main roster.

Once Hardy drops the belt, there won’t be much for that character to do other than feud with Jeff Hardy — or Brother Nero — assuming the promotion will have them wrestle on the same brand in the future. When or even if that happens, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Vince not agree to a contract extension with the veteran who doesn’t have much else to offer the WWE minus one more Great War or a Final Deletion that occurs at the Hardy Compound.

14 Triple H: EC3

A common thought among people who attempt to follow the workings of the WWE behind the scenes is that Vince McMahon makes all of the decisions regarding who works on the main roster, and Triple H has the final say on who is and isn’t signed for the NXT brand. That isn’t necessarily true. Recent history has shown that Vince does keep tabs on NXT, particularly those Takeover events that are often some of the best shows produced by the WWE in any given year, and also that Triple H is able to push his chosen wrestlers on either Raw or SmackDown.

This brings us to EC3, who failed to light the world on fire during his first run in the company before making a name for himself in Impact Wrestling. EC3 looks great, and he’s a solid promo.

His in-ring work leaves something to be desired, though, and he probably isn’t improving that aspect of his game at this point of his career.

Others currently in NXT and on the main roster are better wrestlers and are able to offer what EC3 can provide for the WWE, and that’s why we can see Triple H not offering him a contract extension when his deal expires.

13 Vince: Sami Zayn

This one probably bums more than a few fans who have followed Sami Zayn’s career since his days in Ring of Honor and the independent scene. Unfortunately, the WWE has thoroughly wasted Zayn’s undeniable and incredible talents all the way back to his NXT run leading up to his time on the main roster as a part of SmackDown and, more recently, Raw. Zayn can be the ultimate underdog who gets over as a top babyface by notching upset wins over larger opponents such as Baron Corbin, Rusev and even the likes of Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns. Vince and others elected to not go that route, though, and the company had Zayn turn heel and align himself with long-time rival Kevin Owens.

Once the shine is off the figurative apple of that storyline, Vince could decide to not offer him a contract extension.

After all, the WWE already has Daniel Bryan to play the role that would have been perfect for Zayn in 2017, if not earlier, and Miz is more likely to be pushed as a heel gimmick ideal for somebody such as Zayn. At least we know Zayn would get over and make money on the independents after WWE.

12 Triple H: Sonya Deville

Triple H is tasked with both monitoring male and female wrestlers assigned to the NXT brand and also ensuring that those athletes improve before and during their stints on the main roster.

Because of his position within the WWE, we can forecast that Triple H would be OK with the company not offering Sonya Deville a contract extension in the future.

Deville is a fine hand who could serve on either Raw or SmackDown, but her using a mixed martial arts gimmick isn’t going to work within a promotion that is pushing former Ultimate Fighting Championship superstar Ronda Rousey as the biggest and best thing to ever happen to the women’s division, and also Shayna Baszler as an unstoppable heel who is dominating the NXT brand. You don’t have to roll on a mat or know submission holds to understand that Baszler and, more so, Rousey are at different levels than Deville, who never really flirted with making a name for herself in a noteworthy fighting promotion. Triple H moving on from her seems to be an inevitable end to this story unless she shows drastic improvements as an in-ring worker before the spring of 2019, if not sooner.

11 Vince: Cesaro

We would like to believe that Triple H would work to offer Cesaro a contract extension, if not a push as a significant solo star capable of competing for and maybe even winning either the WWE Championship or Universal Championship. Realistically speaking, though, we all should know better as it pertains to what Vince McMahon thinks of the man who is currently a member of The Bar and a tag-team specialist. Vince once had the WWE hint that the company was going to turn Cesaro from a midcard wrestler into somebody worthy of working in main events, but that run ended almost as quickly as it began.

Once Cesaro is no longer part of a tag team that is in main events and feuding for titles, he will probably drop down cards en route to becoming a forgotten figure in the eyes of Vince and those who agree with him.

The hope, moving forward, is that Vince would realize the talent he has in Cesaro and let him get over among fans who appreciate the wrestler’s talents and skills. Unless something changes, though, these two could part ways before next year’s WrestleMania or soon after the 2019 edition of the biggest show of the year.

10 Triple H: Oney Lorcan

Those who know anything about the type of wrestlers Vince sees as potential superstars probably wouldn’t be stunned were they to learn that the Chairman wasn’t all that high on Oney Lorcan. We can, however, get why Triple H may see something special in Lorcan as a worker who can help others develop in NXT and, in time, maybe even get a push either on SmackDown or 205 Live.

As was stated earlier in this piece, the WWE can hire and pay only so many wrestlers at any given time, and it has been reported by journalists such as Dave Meltzer that the company’s developmental system is overflowing with athletes who need to be given opportunities to show what they can do in NXT.

We may eventually witness Lorcan wrestle in the Cruiserweight division, but Triple H will likely have a difficult decision to make when the time arrives to agree on a contract extension with the competitor. Assuming we are correct and Triple H will allow the WWE to part ways with Lorcan, we just hope that Lorcan is able to have a brief feud for the purple championship belt with a fellow talented wrestler before the promotion lets him leave.

9 Vince: R-Truth

If you’re anything like us, you probably forgot that R-Truth was still on the main roster until the WWE moved him from Raw to SmackDown as part of the Superstar Shakeup. Truth is still capable of going inside of the ring, and he’s a solid comedic figure for either the blue or red brand. None of that erases the harsh reality that one would have to think long and hard to remember the last time Truth did anything of note on WWE programming that was not a storyline that involved Goldust. The WWE needs enhancement talents, jobbers and people who can work with younger members of the roster, and odds are Truth is just fine earning his pay while in the position he is in on SmackDown as of early May 2018.

Vince has no reason to cut Truth, as far as those of us who don’t work for the company know, but that doesn’t mean he would use a contract extension to keep the veteran around whenever his deal expires.

Fans around the world probably wouldn’t blink or react much at all if they were to read online that the WWE has wished Truth the best in his future endeavors during the summer months.

8 Triple H: Lana

Vince would probably hate even the notion of this, but don’t act or feel surprised at the idea of Triple H not agreeing to a contract extension with the Ravishing Russian when her deal with the promotion runs out. Granted, there is a long history of WWE acts working to improve as wrestlers before they became beloved stars. Remember, as an example, that Trish Stratus was far from a Hall of Famer as a promo and a wrestler during her early days in the company. As true as that is, some people just don’t have the supposed “it” that wrestling minds such as Triple H look for in male and female athletes.

Lana has everything Vince would want to push in a women’s star, to the point that she probably would have been a Divas champion back at the start of the decade.

Triple H has taken that portion of the main roster and NXT in a different direction, though, and Lana, simply stated, isn’t who he would have topple wrestlers like Charlotte, Ronda Rousey, Shayna Baszler and others.

For Lana and the WWE to part ways, it’s possible Vince will have to choose to not offer a contract extension to a different wrestler.

7 Vince: Rusev

Depending on how you feel about Rusev, you may find yourself actually banging your head against a wall or a desk upon reading this or watching how the company treats the wrestler who has done well to get over in multiple ways in NXT and on the main roster. The WWE seemingly has a future top babyface in the man who allows us to celebrate Rusev Day seven times a week, but Vince and others continue to use him as a heel who suffers losses to wrestlers such as AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura when Nakamura was a babyface. Rusev has, in the past, taken to social media to troll fans about him potentially looking for work outside of the WWE.

We can’t help but wonder if there isn’t some truth to any lingering rumors about Vince letting Rusev leave the WWE, in one way or another, in 2018.

The company isn’t putting him in a main-event role at any point in the foreseeable future. Rusev could obviously do well for himself in a promotion such as Ring of Honor or overseas. Fans should cross their fingers and hope Vince comes to his senses and doesn’t let this talented individual make the boss look foolish by becoming a star elsewhere.

6 Triple H: Shelton Benjamin

Perhaps we are wrong about this one, but everything about the WWE welcoming Shelton Benjamin back to the main roster both before and after an injury looks like a move engineered more by Triple H than Vince McMahon. McMahon had Benjamin during the wrestler’s physical prime, but he never pushed the multi-time tag team champion as a solo worker beyond a mid-card level even though Benjamin was one of the more exciting performers on the roster at that time. The WWE went an interesting route with this character by turning Benjamin heel after the promotion moved Chad Gable, his partner, from SmackDown to Raw in the Superstar Shakeup.

We expect it won’t be too long before he is not involved in any championship picture or interesting storylines because, unfortunately, that is always how Vince and others have treated him. Triple H might desire to replace him with a fresher NXT talent.

Unless something is brewing behind the scenes that we do not know about, we imagine Triple H would sign off on the WWE not offering Benjamin a contract extension. The roster spot that is currently taken by Benjamin will eventually be grabbed by somebody in NXT who is ready to perform on live television and at pay-per-view events in 2018.

5 Vince: Hideo Itami

Just as Triple H has more pull with decisions for the main roster than some may want to believe, Vince McMahon, understandably, has the final say on who he pays and releases, and he will until he is no longer in power within the front office. The belief, based on storylines at that time, was that Triple H wanted to have Itami become one of the top stars of NXT before receiving a call-up to the main roster, but that never happened because of injury problems that sidelined the man once seen, by some observers, as the best wrestler in the world. Itami was eventually replaced by acts such as Shinsuke Nakamura, Finn Balor and others when he was away, and the company turned him heel in NXT before he was added to 205 Live.

The Itami experiment fell flat by the time his run in NXT ended, and it isn’t doing all that much for anybody as of the spring of 2018.

Vince would not have to think of a lot of reasons to not offer Itami a contract extension before the wrestler went back to working overseas or for different promotions in North America. Sadly, fans will probably never see Itami at his best in the WWE.

4 Triple H: The Brian Kendrick

One could come up with multiple reasons why Triple H would not agree on a contract extension with Brian Kendrick whenever the time comes to make that call on the veteran who is in the Cruiserweight division. For starters, Kendrick is not going to get any better, as a performer, or more popular among fans than he is as of the posting of this piece. That’s just the way it is. There are several wrestlers down in NXT who probably won’t get big pushes on either Raw or SmackDown but who could do something special facing other Cruiserweight performers and on 205 Live.

Giving any NXT talent Kendrick’s spot when his contract expires is, to steal the phrase, what is best for business when it comes to money being paid to active wrestlers.

It also should be noted that Triple H would likely be keen on Kendrick training would-be future stars in developmental and the portion of NXT that doesn’t tour outside of Florida. Just because the WWE may not offer Kendrick a contract extension as a weekly character should not mean that his time with the promotion is finished. He still has plenty to offer to wrestlers many of us haven’t yet seen.

3 Vince: Dolph Ziggler

Oh sure, the WWE is giving fans signs and indications that the promotion is about to have Dolph Ziggler become somebody who either works alongside main event wrestlers or who feuds for the Raw Tag Team Titles. We have seen this movie before, though, and we know how it ends.

Ziggler will have some great matches, he will get close to becoming one of the top champions, he may even win a mid-card strap or the tag team titles on the brand for which he wrestles, and he will then be dropped in status after he helps somebody else, potentially a former partner, get over as a solo act.

Just as with so many others who either were or are still on the roster, the WWE dropped the ball with Ziggler when fans believed the company was going to go all-in on the gimmick and give viewers the champion they wanted to see. The momentum Ziggler had years ago is now nothing but a faded memory. Over the past several months, there have been rumors about the WWE possibly extending Ziggler’s deal. Even if those reports are accurate, Vince could decide that’s the final extension he is willing to give the gifted performer.

2 Triple H: Kassius Ohno

In a perfect world and/or an ideal situation, Triple H may call Kassius Ohno up to the main roster today and have Ohno work as a top babyface or heel. Ohno is unbelievably athletic for a man his size, he may be the best overall wrestler down in NXT today, and he could get himself over as either a babyface or a heel via his promos and microphone skills.

This is the WWE we’re talking about, though, and Ohno’s look and the excess weight he carries these days could cause others, most notably Vince, to veto any ideas or plans Triple H could have for him.

As is the case in other walks of life, there are times when one simply has to surrender, admit defeat and decide that putting up a fight about a given matter is not worth it. Triple H dying on a Kassius Ohno hill wouldn’t be best for business, and it probably wouldn’t do much good in the long run even if Ohno held a mid-card belt for a short period of time. Maybe Triple H would still be able to utilize Ohno’s abilities as a trainer if the WWE didn’t agree on a contract extension with the wrestler.

1 Vince: Baron Corbin

Fans who read pro wrestling newsletters and follow rumors are probably aware that Vince is high on Baron Corbin. It doesn’t take an insider or somebody who is close to McMahon to realize why that could be the case. Corbin is a former National Football League player who is tall, has a unique look and can be a powerful heel to feud with babyface wrestlers like Daniel Bryan, Finn Balor, Seth Rollins and other better workers. While those who have watched him since his days in NXT would have to admit that he has improved, over time, he still isn’t all that great when compared with others who have similar size. Drew McIntyre is just one example. Besides, the WWE already has Big Cass. Vince doesn’t need multiple versions of the same gimmick.

There is no reason for Vince, Triple H or anybody else to show Corbin the door before the summer of 2018, but the fact that he is feuding with No Way Jose (and losing) on editions of Raw could be a sign that Vince would not agree on an extension with Corbin.

Corbin may have to show further improvements and prove his worth to Vince to earn that extension in the future.