There’s not much use in being negative. But in the Darwinistic world of WWE, some Superstars just have it better than others.
We’re halfway through the 2018 WWE season and as expected, a lot has happened. Unfortunately, not all of it can be good and wrestlers that finishes 2017 on high notes have been flubbing them for most of 2018. Whether it their own undoing or WWE’s decision to revoke their opportunities, there is a short list of WWE Superstars who have had a rough year.
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And no, Enzo Amore is on the is list. But nine other wrestlers most certainly are.
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8. Dean Ambrose
Let’s start off with a little warm up. Now, in Ambrose’s defense, he’s been hurt all year. But even though he’s not to blame, it doesn’t change the fact that he’ll be happy to forget this portion of his career.
Since his January surgery, Ambrose has had to watch his Shield mates become fixtures in WWE’s main event. While Reign’s spot was never in question, Seth Rollins has enjoyed lucrative 2018, and if Dean Ambrose were around, I think it’s fair to assume he’d have had similar success.
So, in the name of lost opportunities, Ambrose sits in the caboose of this very sad train.
Silver Lining: Ambrose should be making a thunderous return later this summer—potentially as a heel. The Big Comeback is one of the best ways to organically endear yourself to the WWE crowd.
7. Randy Orton
Like Ambrose, Orton is also injured. However, before his knee operation, The Viper was in one of the least remarkable stages of his career.
In March he did become a Grand Slam Champion—cheer to that—but outside of that US Championship victory, Orton had slithered out of WWE’s limelight.
He seemed like a logical name to switch shows during the Superstar Shake-Up but remained on SmackDown—a place that had shown little interested in feeding him juicy opportunities.
Silver Lining: He’s handsome as hell, rich, and has the most over finisher in the company. He’ll be fine.
6. The Bar
Not long ago, the success of Cesaro and Sheamus was one of the best meta-storylines in all of WWE. However, that European fairy tale is withering away.
After a fantastic 2017, The Bar was dealt a fatal blow at WrestleMania 34. Being booked with Braun Strowman was a big deal, and mystery of his unnamed tag team partner had expectations ballooning to an alarming rate. So when he picked a 10-year old named Nicholas from the stands, all of a sudden, The Bar’s hard-earned WrestleMania match meant very little.
And after they lost to Strowman and the child, Cesaro an Sheamus may be ready to boycott WrestleMania 35.
Soon after their Superdome nightmare, The Bar was shipped to SmackDown ins a move that promised entertaining feud with The Nw Day and Usos.
But for some reason, they rarely show up on Tuesday nights.
Silver Lining: They could win the SmackDown Championships at any moment.
5. Sami Zayn
Let’s take a moment to pour out a little liquor for Sami Zayn.
Just as the 33-year old looked to gain permanent traction in WWE, he was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff in both shoulders. He’ll miss the rest of the year, and a chunk of 2019.
Zayn had come into his own as a heel. His growth became undeniable during his feud with Bobby Lashley where he was asked to carry 90% of the dialogue during their lengthy segments. If not for the injury, one could make a case for Zayn having the best 2018 outside of Ronda Rousey and Seth Rollins.
But the untimely and significant injury makes him quite the unfortunate Superstar.
Silver Lining: Zayn can spend the next several months reminding himself that he is indeed capable of being a player in WWE.
4. Bobby Roode
Roode is the latest entry in the WWE Is Different Than NXT Index. However, it’s not really his fault.
Despite his best efforts, Roode just isn’t a great babyface—I’m not even sure if that’s possible in 2018. Regardless, Roode is better as a heel, yet remains handcuffed to acting like a nice guy.
His move to Raw seemed like a promising notion, but now there’s a creeping feeling that he can be easily buried underneath all of the hoopla surrounding Reigns, Rousey, Rollins, and Strowman.
Silver Lining: He’ll always have that heel turn in his pocket
3. Roman Reigns
Yes, it turns out you can main event WrestleMania and still be regarded as unfortunate.
There’s something up with Roman Reigns. His losses at WrestleMania and The Greatest Royal Rumbles felt like audibles, rather than WWE executing a long-term plan. By no means do I think WWE is ready to demote him, but I do think they’re open to new strategies.
Right now, I’ll bet WWE isn’t quite sure what to do with him at SummerSlam. and considering they wanted him to be Universal Champion two months ago, we can consider the first half of 2018 to be underwhelming for The Big Dog.
Silver Lining: He’s still one of WWE’s brightest stars, and can afford to wait his turn to become Universal Champion.
2. Asuka
Speaking of WrestleMania head-fakes, Asuka the rug ripped from under her in New Orleans.
After a dedicated campaign to advertise Asuka as invincible, WWE had Charlotte Flair beat her on the first try in the Superdome. While Charlotte is a safe bet for any Championship match, it certainly appeared that WWE was booking Asuka to become a monster in the women’s division.
Now, not only his her undefeated streak a thing of the past but her historic Royal Rumble win is looking less and less valuable. Even more, she just got Ellsworth-ed at Money in the Bank.
Asuka may one day be a WWE Champion, but she’ll likely never have the momentum she did in January of this year.
Silver Lining: She could be SmackDown Women’s Champion after Extreme Rules.
1. Big Cass
I hate this to be so on the nose, but do we really have another choice?
Let’s break down this 2018.
January: He and longtime girlfriend Carmella split.
April: Returns after missing significant time due to knee surgery
May: Reportedly in hot water with WWE brass after an impromptu beatdown of the little person
June 19: Fired from company
Ever since: Has had a character put under microscope resulting in the healthy batch of negative headlines the worst being a reportedly ugly backstage altercation with ex Carmella.
Silver Lining: I mean, he’s still 7 ft tall, right?
