This list will be compiled of 5 people who I think the WWE or most fans under appreciate as far as their ability. If you’re looking for Dolph Ziggler in this list you’ll have a problem finding him because he has been involved in main storylines through the past 6 months while holding the Intercontinental Championship. Also, I don’t think that everyone on this list should be World Champion or anything like that but I do believe that all of these guys should have characters and should be on TV weekly while being a mainstay in the programme.
5. Bo Dallas and the Bolievers.
Why did this gimmick get dropped from TV? Bo isn’t one of the best workers in WWE by any means and his body and overall look has been criticised but am I the only person who thought the gimmick was phenomenal? This guy could have went on and made a faction with a few people they don’t use and have them as his Bolievers and it would have been so entertaining. One thing that Bo does better than most, if not everyone, is have that smug smile on his face as he is telling everyone to BOLIEVE. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this was ever more than a mid card gimmick but it certainly would have got more of a crowd reaction than Fandango gets each week. At first, it seemed like he had no heat at all but as his ‘streak’ grew, the fans began to give him more heat and it was obviously leading somewhere. If they continued the streak they could have had him talk about beating Undertaker’s streak and how all you need to do is Bolieve. Then, when the fans really give him heat, you have a fan favourite come out like Ryback and just have him get beat. They could have even turned his loss into something more but instead they wasted it on R-Truth and the story went nowhere. WWE dropped the ball on this guy in my opinion and it is unfortunate. Rumours have been circulating that they might be repackaging him and if so then good luck to him and hopefully he’ll exceed what happened to this gimmick.
4. Cesaro
I know the immediate reaction to him being fourth will be that he is a lot more under appreciated by WWE than some of the other guys that will be on this list. However, I’m basing this list off of fans opinions of the wrestlers from what I’ve seen and as we all know, Cesaro is one of the ‘IWC’s’ (I hate that term) favourite wrestlers, therefore, from an audience point of view, he is appreciated.
How WWE, or Vince, don’t see the overriding quality in this guys work is beyond me. Vince was quoted during the Steve Austin Podcast as saying that Cesaro has struggled to connect with fans but I would argue that he’s struggled to be allowed to connect. If you think of the terrible gimmicks that Cesaro has been given from yodelling to average swiss guy it is no wonder that he won’t get over with the crowd. In comparison, during the WrestleMania 30 pre-show, Cesaro lifted Big Show over the top rope and got a huge pop. Moreover, every wrestling fan knows that the fans who go to WrestleMania are the fans that pour money into the company so to say he’s never connected with the fans, to me, is a very subjective way of looking at things. Another example was prior to that, he was over while being a part of The Real Americans and he certainly connected with the crowd then. Although slightly harsh on Swagger, Cesaro took that team and gimmick to the next level as far as fans getting behind it, yet again, this was left for WWE to ignore. Post-WrestleMania, Cesaro was pushed into being managed by Paul Heyman but was only used to keep Heyman on TV so although Heyman tried his best to get Cesaro over, it can be argued he lessened his prestige because Brock Lesnar was always the main focus of his promos.
Recent rumours have said that his work with Tyson Kidd is being noticed by Triple H and that they’re preparing Cesaro and Kidd for a title shot at WrestleMania which I can only hope to be true. This segues into my number 3 under appreciated guy in WWE Triple H. I joke, of course it is Tyson Kidd.
3. Tyson Kidd
Prior to seeing his most recent work I assumed and wrongly that Tyson Kidd was a guy who could JUST wrestle. However, since his return from injury I couldn’t have been further from the truth. First things to say is that Kidd is probably one of the WWE’s most used guys since his return from injury. This guy has been consistently on RAW, Smackdown, Main Event, Superstars, NXT and don’t forget Total Divas (although we all want too). He has continued to put on original and unique matches and he just doesn’t seem to get the recognition or credit he deserves from fans or WWE.
Since he became a solid part of the NXT roster, Kidd has come up with this gimmick of ‘telling FACTS” which sounds stupid when saying it out loud but he does it with such an arrogant, cocky and smug face that makes a brilliant heel while going up against Zayn or Neville. While doing this, he’s had funny and entertaining backstage promos with Natalya about his cats, which again, sounds bad on paper but he turns chicken shit into chicken salad with such ease. I’m hopeful that he will win the Tag Team Championships with Cesaro just so he’s a guaranteed regular on WWE TV. Even when Natalya is having a match and he’s at ringside he still seems to become the best part of the segment some how. Overall he is one of the best workers in the company in terms of his in-ring work and at the minute, he’s one of the most entertaining people on RAW each week in my opinion.
2. Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes or Stardust has consistently turned chicken shit into chicken salad more times than I can count and never seems to get credit for how good he’s made such terrible gimmicks. For example, the face mask gimmick which he had for a while, the mustache gimmick, stardust which at first seemed to be a ridiculous concept which to me, has turned into something quite entertaining. While doing all of this he’s won IC championships and has still had good runs. Another thing that has impressed me about Cody is his unique move set and his ability to change it up between gimmicks. The disaster kick has been, probably the only consistent move he’s used in his transition from Cody Rhodes to Stardust and it’s the little things that make him such an under appreciated wrestler by basically everyone. He swapped the springboard dropkick to a springboard elbow and that’s just a basic move but he’s clearly trying to make the best out of it. I’ve seen interviews where he has said he prefers playing a character like Stardust and you can tell because he fits the gimmick so well and he out performs Goldust who has been doing the gimmick for 20 years.
1. Luke Harper
Luke Harper is probably the only guy on this list I could envision becoming the World Champion and having a successful run with it. This guy has everything you need in a wrestler to make him a big monster heel. First, he has that crazy psycho look that made him stand out while in the Wyatt Family with the rough looking hair, long beard and his eyes which more often than not look black. Secondly, he’s got a great promo ability and maintains that psycho, almost serial killer atmosphere. To me, he has that same ability that Bray has where when he cuts a promo you can’t help but watch. Of course, lastly is his great in ring work which has been proven in his matches against Ziggler and Cena. This guy is everything you could want in a heel and I have no idea why WWE are having him job weekly and not doing anything with him. I’m also surprised that more people on the internet aren’t picking up at how low this guy is on the card in comparison to how much potential he has.