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Professional wrestling is a cyclical form of entertainment. Talents rise and fall until they are replaced. Those who thrive can never be replaced, but some stars get moments in the sun before finding someone else in their place.
It has happened to many greats, some who have been largely forgotten by casual fans over the years. This does not mean these wrestlers failed as performers or that they had bad careers. The issue is that they never realized their potential.
In recent years, wrestlers like Dolph Ziggler, Jinder Mahal and Natalya have gone from seemingly bright futures to awkward stop-start pushes that never lead anywhere.
Both WWE and All Elite Wrestling have a number of stars on the edge of a true burial, falling far beyond their status on the card. It will take serious work from them, as well as the right people behind them, to take that next step.
These are 12 wrestlers, including such stars as Mandy Rose, Shawn Spears, Elias and Ricochet, on the edge of falling further than anyone would have expected possible a year ago.
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Mandy Rose came out swinging in early 2020. Her story with Otis was a major fan favorite, building toward one of the defining moments at WrestleMania 36, when Otis finally got the girl.
Since that time, she has had many ups and downs. Sonya Deville turned against her, setting up a story that Deville largely carried to SummerSlam. At that event, God's Greatest Creation won and seemingly moved on bigger and brighter things.
Dana Brooke has been on a less ideal path, but her road was similarly filled with promise. She overcome a shoddy story as Charlotte Flair's sidekick to showcase her own talent. She has had a few great moments but has had to wait for a bigger spotlight.
After Rose and Otis were unceremoniously broken up at the back end of the summer, God's Greatest Creation moved to Raw to team with Brooke, setting up a tag team with potential but not a ton of upside.
Both women could make a major impact, especially on the red brand, which lacks for top stars in the women's division. However, it feels like Rose and Brooke are at the edge of relevance. A few more key losses could lead them down the same path as many of the other women on Raw.
Unless more character is added to this team and the two win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, it would be worth considering letting them work solo sooner rather than later.
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Kris Statlander was on a roll before an ACL tear put her on the shelf. Since that time, the AEW women's division has improved immensely, bringing in top-tier talent, including borrowing stars from NWA.
This leaves The Galaxy's Greatest Alien on the outside looking in. If she cannot find her groove again upon her return, she could fall back in line. AEW needs Statlander. She is immensely talented and one of the youngest women on the roster.
However, she has fallen short of her potential a few times in major moments. Her match with Nyla Rose for the AEW Women's Championship was awkwardly off-kilter. Her story with Brandi Rhodes never got off the ground.
If other women take her place near the top of the division, especially with the eventual return of Riho, Emi Sakura and Yuka Sakazaki, Statlander may find herself floundering.
It may sound harsh for a company to bury a woman after she gets seriously injured, but AEW is a fresh promotion with a lot of room to grow. It is all down to the patience AEW shows whether Statlander gets another chance.
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Elias may be one of the most unique stars on the WWE roster. The Living Truth can perform like a musician, making his shtick feel real. It elevates a gimmick that could have easily become as corny as Jeff Jarrett often was in WWE.
Elias also shares Jarrett's flair as more of a talker than a fighter. When Elias wants to go in the ring, he can, but he needs the right opponent. He relies on his chemistry with his rivals more than anything.
In recent months, he has been out of action before coming back with a flurry of momentum and falling short. He has not won a serious championship yet, and his feuds often end with him losing.
He came back with some hype behind him, including releasing a new EP. Jeff Hardy has slowed that momentum to a crawl. He is not booked for WWE Survivor Series, and his Raw spotlight is shrinking fairly consistently.
There is always potential for Elias to rebound. He is an incredibly charismatic performer with a unique gimmick among the current roster. However, WWE could just as easily grow bored with him again.
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When AEW began, one of the first big signings was Joey Janela. And The Bad Boy has never done himself wrong since. However, he just cannot seem to find a role wherein he will be taken seriously.
Flashes of brilliance in matches with Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley have hinted at a greater spot on the card, but something always gets in the way. He has recently done good work in a tag team with Sonny Kiss, but the two are still treated like secondary performers in a loaded tag team division.
Kiss has longer-term upside as the younger performer still learning his craft, so a weaker spotlight has less effect on him. Janela is a man who wears many hats and often feels separate from AEW through his work in other promotions.
He wavers between roles similar to those of Shawn Spears and Colt Cabana. He is a well-known name, but he could be taken far more seriously. Instead, he has found himself thrust to the side for stories and wrestlers considered to be higher priorities.
Will The Bad Boy always be an odd man out, occasionally around to put someone over in a No Holds Barred match? Possibly, but he has the potential to do so much more.
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205 Live has bred many stars, but few have followed a rockier road than Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik. Both luchadors came into the cruiserweight division with momentum and often overperformed their standing.
However, their talent was only good enough to move them to the main shows and not get a serious spotlight. Current members of Raw, Dorado and Metalik are just two more men stuck in the endless grind of the 24/7 Championship title picture.
Even when Lucha House Party got a shot at the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, it never felt like the titles were in reach. It was far more likely New Day would return and immediately win the gold than Dorado and Metalik in three separate attempts.
It's a shame because the two are genuinely talented. Few cruiserweights can match their speed and fluid styles in the ring. While Kalisto was often treated like the favorite son of the group, Metalik and Dorado have both shown that they could outshine him with the right story.
At this point, Metalik and Dorado are so far down the card that a burial does not seem like much of a downgrade. However, this group still feels on the edge of relevancy. Either they can return to a solid role in the tag team division or disappear from TV entirely until likely returning to 205 Live.
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The Hybrid 2 may be the primary victim of the bloated AEW tag team division. Angelico and Jack Evans have talent that rivals many of the best in AEW, but it never quite feels like there is a serious potential for them to go anywhere.
Evans is volatile, and both were seemingly co-signed to AEW and Lucha Libre AAA for a while. However, now more than ever, TH2 cannot get a spot in AEW. At 3-5 as a tag team, largely gaining wins on AEW Dark, Evans and Angelico are on the edge of relevancy.
It is a matter of whether AEW wants to make a concerted effort to push them. TH2 could be a major player in the tag team division, at least on the level of Kip Sabian and Miro, but the group could also quietly disappear without affecting the company.
When there is so much talent under one roof and focused on one single pair of titles, it can be tough to keep everyone relevant, but TH2 have not been able to make much of a splash in 2020.
If that continues, the next few appearances by Evans and Angelico could be their last in the promotion.
7 of 9
Has anyone had a rockier run in WWE than Apollo Crews? There may be a few but not many. He has struggled along the way. One of the biggest points of emphasis when he won the United States Championship was that he only had this one opportunity.
Despite putting on some of the best performances of his career earlier this year, Crews fell short. He has since been lost in limbo, waiting for another story. He does have more of an opportunity to shine on the SmackDown roster because there aren't as many wrestlers on the blue brand.
However, it is never a good sign when a wrestler loses a title and disappears. Crews has often struggled with this situation. He gets brief runs that seem to be going somewhere before vanishing. This time, he at least got a chance to hold gold. It was his big break. Bobby Lashley stepped in to take back the spotlight, but that did not means Crews had to disappear. What comes next will define his run for a long time to come.
If he returns to SmackDown with quick losses against top competition, it could be the end. If he comes back dominant or with a fresh character, he might just be able to weather the storm and thrive.
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Shawn Spears was one of the first wrestlers to make the dramatic jump from WWE to AEW, and that carried significant weight. He chose to bet on himself and join the fresh company over the industry titan.
At first, he looked to have serious momentum. He rocked Cody Rhodes in an unforgettable moment. He brought in Tully Blanchard, still the best manager in AEW. However, he struggled to finish the job in big matches.
The former Perfect 10 feels like the odd man out often when it comes to Blanchard's clients thanks to the arrival of FTR. While he has gotten wins, most have come on AEW Dark. Spears has yet to feel like as big a star as expected.
To AEW's credit, Spears has not been buried despite opportunities to push newly signed talent over him. Instead, Spears is in a limbo, waiting to see where he will go next. His feud with Scorpio Sky is building slowly, and it could make them both stars or just be the story that makes Sky.
Plenty is left for Spears to do in AEW. He does not have to fall off the map. The main concern is that AEW will continue to bring more fresh talent and that he will be forgotten in the mix.
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Many WWE wrestlers are undersold for their abilities, but few feel as wasted as Ricochet. The One and Only has proved true to his nickname at many points, doing things in the ring that no one else can.
However, Ricochet cannot seem to catch a break. He has had some momentum, feuding with AJ Styles and even Brock Lesnar, but he was suddenly cut off. Since that time, Ricochet has waited for an opportunity that may never come.
While The One and Only has limited mic skills, he is so beyond everyone else in terms of athleticism that it should not matter. He could easily be the Rey Mysterio of a modern era by allowing his work in the ring to get him over.
Even if WWE does not see him as a lasting star, there is no reason he could not be allotted 10 minutes a week to wrestle against top talent. Those matches would help sell Raw at a time when the brand is struggling.
The problem for Ricochet is similar to many on this list. Opportunities are limited. He has not gotten them. If that continues, he will remain a mainstay on WWE Main Event rather than working the true main event.
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November 15, 2020 at 08:00PM
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Mandy Rose, Shawn Spears and 10 WWE, AEW Stars in Danger of Getting Buried - Bleacher Report
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