WWE's Top 5 Underrated Wrestlers: Who Deserves A Push In 2015?
The July 6 edition of "Monday Night Raw," ended with John Cena's U.S. Open Challenge, as he put his United States Championship on the line against Cesaro in a match that lasted over 30 minutes. While Cena kept the title, as expected, it forced many fans to take notice of his opponent, who has seemingly been underutilized by WWE.
Cena praised Cesaro's efforts after the match, giving a rub to the wrestler that much of the internet wrestling community has been hoping would get a push. Wrestlers like Cena and Roman Reigns have garnered some resentment because WWE has given them so much support, but a few wrestlers stand out because they haven't gotten the spot on the card that they might deserve.
Below is a look at the five most underrated wrestlers in WWE.
Cesaro
Monday night was a perfect example of why Cesaro should be used near the top of the card more often. Cena and he tore the house down in Chicago, putting on one of the best "Monday Night Raw" matches in some time. Cesaro has one of the most unique in-ring styles in WWE, and his incredible strength is only matched by Brock Lesnar.
Cesaro might not be a master on the mic, but despite what Vince McMahon has said, it's hard to argue that he doesn't connect with the fans. He often draws big reactions with his moves in the ring, and he remains popular despite being mishandled. The Swiss Superman was placed with Paul Heyman when he should've turned babyface, and his win in the first ever Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal wasn't used to elevate him.
But there's still hope for Cesaro to get his deserved push, and WWE might have no choice but to give it to him if he continues to perform like he did on Monday.
Dolph Ziggler
It's been a few years now that fans have been complaining that Ziggler hasn't gotten the push he deserves. He's been among the best performers in WWE during that time, yet he hasn't come close to winning the company's top championship.
Ziggler's athleticism and ability to sell are second-to-none in WWE, and he has all the makings to become, at worst, a poor man's Shawn Michaels. But the company has missed a few opportunities to make him a main-event star. Ziggler became World Heavyweight Champion the night after WrestleMania 29, greeted by an incredible pop from the crowd. It was his only world title reign, and he lost the belt during his first defense. It looked like Ziggler might get a push when he pinned Seth Rollins and helped Team Cena beat Team Authority at Survivor Series 2014, but half a year later he finds himself in the middle of the Lana-Rusev storyline that has sometimes been hard to watch.
WWE fans have embraced few babyfaces as much as they have Ziggler over the past few years, and his popularity has helped him have a good WWE career in the upper mid-card. But he appears to be meant for much more, and he might never realize his full potential.
Damien Sandow
Talk about taking the ball and running with it. Sandow has taken almost every opportunity he's been given and knocked it out of the park. As WWE's "Intellectual Savior," Sandow became over enough with the crowd for WWE to give him the Money in the Bank briefcase for the World Heavyweight Championship. When taking over Santino's role as the comedic relief each week, he made his segments as entertaining as possible. Most impressive of all, Sandow somehow turned being The Miz's sidekick into one of WWE's most-beloved characters.
But even after turning three potentially lame gimmicks into interesting television, Sandow somehow finds himself off of "Raw" once again. After losing his cash-in attempt to Cena in 2013, Sandow's "Intellectual Savior" character was never in another major storyline. Sandow's popularity reached its peak in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania 31, but he was quickly dismissed after breaking up with The Miz.
Sandow's latest venture doing a Randy 'Macho Man' Savage gimmick has not gotten over, and hopefully WWE doesn't forget how valuable he is.
Mark Henry
The World's Strongest Man is headed towards the end of his career, but he still has a lot that he can offer WWE. When Mark Henry began putting wrestlers in the "Hall of Pain" in 2011, he started one of the top runs any WWE superstar has had as a heel this decade. After his run as World Heavyweight Champ was cut short because of an injury, Henry challenged Cena for the WWE Championship, cutting a legendary promo to begin their feud.
Since losing to Cena at Money in the Bank 2013, Henry hasn't done anything of much significance. He turned babyface the very next night, and has since only been part of a main event in a five-man tag match. In the last year, Henry has become a punching-bag for the top stars on the roster, being taken out by the likes of Lesnar, Reigns and Rusev without winning a match against them. Henry's age and propensity to get injured mean his days of being a world champion are over, but his ability to cut great promos and be a top heel can still be put to better use.
Hopefully, Henry has another meaningful feud before he calls it quits.
Luke Harper
Harper joined the main roster two years ago, and he's been involved in a few big matches as a member of The Wyatt Family. Still, the wrestler is highly talented and should probably be in a better spot than he is now.
The Wyatt Family debuted as a top heel faction in 2013, and the dynamic between Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan and Harper was unique and interesting. After Harper and Rowan had some success as a tag team, WWE decided to break up the group. While Harper was given an initial push as a singles wrestler, including a reign as Intercontinental Champion, his run was short-lived. Soon, he was reunited with Rowan, with very little explanation given, and he now finds himself off TV because of Rowan's injury.
Harper's combination of size and athleticism is extremely rare, and he knows how to make his character compelling. Once Rowan gets healthy, the two could be a force to be reckoned with in the tag team division.
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