Traditionally, the wrestlers who compete in the main event of a pay-per-view are among the biggest stars in a company. Legendary bouts featuring the likes of John Cena, Steve Austin, and The Undertaker were commonplace at the top of the card. Alas, this actually isn't always the case on these major events.

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There are times when a PPV is headlined by a multi-person match. That could be a Survivor Series tag, Elimination Chamber, or something else that involves a big group of competitors. To fill out those matches, it has led to some lackluster wrestlers getting a spotlight they otherwise wouldn't have. This list doesn't take Royal Rumble matches into consideration.

10 Michael Tarver

Michael Tarver of Nexus

When the Nexus debuted, they were the hottest thing in wrestling for a while. Despite that, it quickly became evident that not everyone had the potential to be a top star. There was Wade Barrett and Daniel Bryan but the rest of the guys capped out at a midcard level. The stable didn't just headline a PPV but they closed out SummerSlam, one of the biggest of the year.

While guys like David Otunga were questionable as a PPV headliner, Michael Tarver stood out more. He had the shortest WWE career of the Nexus members and feels the most out of place when looking back. In fact, he was eliminated within four minutes, only outlasting Darren Young.

9 Sarah Logan

Sarah Logan

Women haven't had the opportunity to main event many PPVs. In fact, it only first happened at Hell in a Cell 2016. Most of the top of the card bouts for them featured Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, Bayley, and Asuka.

However, the women closed out Elimination Chamber 2020 in the titular gimmick match. The whole design of this contest was for Shayna Baszler to dominate and sweep the field. Sarah Logan had the least star power in the match, even less than her Riott Squad buddies Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan.

8 Snitsky

Gene Snitsky

Raw was an interesting place in 2004. From the split of Evolution to Chris Benoit as World Heavyweight Champion to Snitsky punting a baby doll, things were a mixed bag. At Survivor Series, Triple H captained a team against his newest rival and former Evolution buddy, Randy Orton.

There will be more on Orton's team later but for now, the focus is on Team Triple H. He added Batista and Edge, but rounded out the squad with Gene Snitsky. The push of Snitsky was ultimately a failure and he made no sense on the team since HHH already had a bruiser in Batista.

7 Mike Knox

Mike Knox

Speaking of monster heels who got pushed, there's Mike Knox. After flaming out in ECW, Knox returned with a massive beard and started squashing people in late 2008 on Raw. That also led him to a rivalry with Rey Mysterio in a classic underdog against monster storyline.

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Not many fans were interested in the angle. Still, it allowed Mike Knox to get the biggest opportunity of his career. He was part of the World Heavyweight Title Elimination Chamber match at No Way Out 2009. Knox was eliminated second in a match that was won by Edge.

6 Ludvig Borga

Ludvig Borga

The trend on this list certainly seems to be villains who are brutes getting big spots on pay-per-view. There were many during the '90s but one who stood out was Ludvig Borga. The Finnish wrestler debuted as a prototypical anti-American heel who ended Tatanka's undefeated streak.

He set his sights on Lex Luger afterward and became one of his biggest rivals during his rise to the top in 1993. After coming up short against Yokozuna at SummerSlam, Luger captained the All-Americans at Survivor Series. On the other side, Yokozuna led the Foreign Fanatics, which included Crush, Quebecer Jacques, and Borga.

5 Red Rooster

Image Featuring Former WWE Superstar The Red Rooster

While most fans would agree that Terry Taylor was a solid wrestler, they'll all admit that the Red Rooster gimmick he had with WWE was something of a joke. It was hard to take someone seriously when they clucked and literally dressed like a rooster.

Regardless, that didn't stop the Red Rooster from getting the chance to main event a pay-per-view. At the second-ever Survivor Series event, the Rooster teamed with Ted DiBiase, the Twin Towers, and Haku against the Mega Powers, Hilbilly Jim, Koko B. Ware, and Hercules.

4 Maven

WWE Maven

The first season of Tough Enough was initially viewed as a success. Maven was the male winner and seemed like he had some potential. Alas, he didn't have much of a character and was actually rather bland, despite showcasing athleticism from time to time.

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As noted earlier, Randy Orton's team from Survivor Series 2004 would be mentioned again. Orton partnered up with former World Champions Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit, as well as Maven. He was out of place but they still won and as a result, each man got to run Raw for a week.

3 Lacey Evans

Lacey Evans WWE

The most recent case of this happening came at the 2020 Money in the Bank event. With no live audience, WWE had to get creative. One way they did that was to have both the men's and women's Money in the Bank ladder matches happen simultaneously and at WWE Headquarters.

There were some surprising people to headline due to this, including Dana Brooke and Otis. However, Lacey Evans stood out the most. Her character has been up and down, turning face to heel and back often and not being consistent. She certainly wasn't ready to main event a show.

2 Erick Rowan

Erick Rowan

Erick Rowan is a guy who has been part of some pretty incredible matches throughout his career. Just think back to the series between The Wyatt Family and The Shield. He was the least pushed member of his stable, even when he got the chance for a singles run near the end of his WWE career.

Rowan was given one opportunity to headline a PPV. That came at Survivor Series 2014. He randomly joined Team Cena to combat Team Authority's acquisition of Luke Harper, who was his former partner. The bout was fantastic and memorable for Sting's WWE debut. Rowan was bested by Harper during the contest.

1 General Adnan

Gen. Adnan

If there's one thing that wrestling loved to do during the '90s, it was to partner up top babyfaces against a group of villains. That was again the case at SummerSlam 1991 in what was dubbed the "Match Made in Hell" to oppose the Macho Man/Miss Elizabeth wedding that was the "Match Made in Heaven."

In it, Ultimate Warrior partnered up with Hulk Hogan to take on the Triangle of Terror, which was led by Sgt. Slaughter. Sarge in a main event made sense and even so did the inclusion of former WWE Champion Iron Sheik as Col. Mustafa. The other teammate was General Adnan, who certainly made no sense in a top position.

NEXT: Ranking Every SummerSlam Main Event Of The 90s