WWE is a very strange place, in the sense that some people don't always get what they deserve - and others may get more than they'd bargained for. Being able to get some consistent time on either RAW or SmackDown Live is always going to be tricky, but in many ways, it just depends on whether or not Vince sees anything in you.
Today, we're going to take a look at the current state of both RAW and SmackDown Live in order to try and break apart the reasons as to why some people get on TV, and why others don't.
10 NOT ENOUGH - Dana Brooke
We will openly admit that Dana Brooke is far from being the finished product, but that doesn’t mean we should be giving up on her. While we’ve seen a handful of appearances for her as of late it hasn’t quite been on the same kind of scale that you’ve come to expect of WWE’s top female stars, and that’s a shame.
She was pushed too hard too quickly when she came up to the main roster, and in reality, she needed more time down in NXT to develop her game. She could be the next Beth Phoenix with her talent and physique, and we do not say that lightly.
9 TOO MUCH - Baron Corbin
It’s calmed down a little bit in recent weeks, but Baron Corbin’s rise to prominence as a top-level heel has been a little bit odd to watch. Ironically, we do think he had a whole lot of potential back in his NXT days, but WWE just seems to have crippled him by placing the guy into this Corporate Kane type of role.
His attire is awful, they aren’t giving him great material when it comes to promos, and he is fighting a losing battle. If they can repackage him then that’s great, but if not, just send him back to the midcard.
8 NOT ENOUGH - Naomi
Back in 2017, it felt like Naomi was one of the hottest stars on the main roster. Her glow gimmick had really burst into life, injecting some much-needed star power into the women’s division over on SmackDown Live.
Ever since then, though, she’s been on a downward trajectory that we just can’t really understand. WWE appears to have lost faith in the idea of her being a top-level star, even though she consistently delivers whenever she’s put in a prominent spot.
Could she bounce back from this? We sincerely hope so.
7 TOO MUCH - Shane McMahon
We’ll start by saying this: Shane McMahon’s recent heel turn and subsequent antics don’t annoy us nearly as much as they annoy some people. Now with that being said, this is still a bit too much given that the end goal is Kevin Owens beating Shane McMahon and getting a rub – which is something we’ve already seen at a big pay per view.
Of course, with Kevin being the babyface now it kind of flips the script a bit, and we’re intrigued to see where they go with this match at the biggest party of the summer. Beyond that, though, we just don’t care all that much.
6 NOT ENOUGH - Robert Roode
This guy is money and it’s kind of painful to know and see for ourselves, that WWE doesn’t really invest into that same ideology. He may be in his forties now but that shouldn’t really mean anything, because he is still working at an incredibly high level.
The worst part of it all is that his recent character shift happened so recently, and we’re kind of perplexed that it’s taken almost no time at all for them to drop it completely.
The future should be brighter than ever for Roode, but it doesn’t look like he’s going to get a substantial shot on the main roster.
5 TOO MUCH - Lacey Evans
Much like Corbin, we actually think there’s some room for growth on the main roster when it comes to Lacey Evans. However, the second she was brought up from NXT it became painfully evident that WWE was going to push her far too quickly.
The fact that they decided to repeat her storyline with Becky Lynch over and over again was frustrating enough, but in terms of her in-ring ability, it just feels like she should have a bit more freedom.
There’s something there, but we just aren’t quite sure what it is yet.
4 NOT ENOUGH - The Ascension
We aren’t quite sure what the game plan is when it comes to The Ascension, but one thing we know for sure is that WWE dropped the ball with them in a big way. Down in NXT, they were one of the most entertaining acts on the entire brand, and now, they’re nothing but jobbers.
They were great big men wrestlers and, together, their initial characters in NXT were a lot of fun. We’d like to think that there’s still time for WWE to turn this ship around, but for whatever reason, they aren’t interested.
3 TOO MUCH - Brock Lesnar
Yes, yes – we know that Brock Lesnar barely appears on WWE television as it is. However, in a lot of ways, that’s kind of the point: because we don’t want to see him on our screens at all anymore.
He has served his time and made his money in WWE, but now, enough is enough. All he’s doing is repeating the same stale old routines that we’ve seen for years now, and we honestly can’t believe that he’s been allowed to get away with it for the better part of seven & a half years.
2 NOT ENOUGH - Shinsuke Nakamura
Shinsuke Nakamura’s run with the Intercontinental Championship has hardly been an inspiring one, but even with that being the case, the King of Strong Style should still be given the chance to shine like the champion he is on the main roster.
For whatever reason WWE has just decided that he’s going to be of no use to them anymore, and that’s just such an odd point of view in our mind.
He’s done everything that they have asked him to do, and yet, they’re not really giving him anything in return apart from a few cheap midcard title reigns.
1 TOO MUCH - Charlotte Flair
This one is certainly debatable, but we just feel like there’s too much Charlotte Flair adulation to go around right now. WWE knows she is probably the greatest female wrestler of all time and we can understand their logic behind that, but they’ve got the same issue that some fans had with Flair: we just don’t really understand the character all too much.
Is she a cocky babyface? Is she a dominant heel? It seems to change on a week to week basis, and we think a few months off from WWE programming could really invigorate her.