Seeing as how it’s the week building up to WWE Extreme Rules 2016, it’s time to tackle another edition of Superstars Missing from the PPV Card. We’re past the onslaught of making sure everybody is participating at WrestleMania and over the past few weeks, we’ve also seen a number of releases which cuts down the amount of people to choose from by a handful or two more, but there are still some noteworthy names not currently scheduled to make an appearance in some way. Who are they? Well, let’s break them down.
Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus
Overall, The League of Nations turned out to be a dud. Instead of being a dominant faction competing or possibly even holding the Tag Team Championship at the moment, one member is released from the company, one is wrestling the most useless United States champion we’ve had in a while (sorry Kalisto, but it’s true, they’ve killed your title reign) and the two most accomplished people of the quartet are nowhere to be found.
Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio are two of my least favorite talents on the roster, yet I can’t deny that they shouldn’t be overlooked as much as they’ve been in 2016. Does WWE really have nobody they want them to feud with and no ideas of how to use them creatively? I assume they’re just waiting until they can toss both of these guys in the Money in the Bank ladder match, which is a cheap and lazy effort, but it works. Things should be better for both of them come SummerSlam unless the bigger names like Brock Lesnar come in and push them aside some more.
Goldust, R-Truth, Fandango and Tyler Breeze
It sounds ridiculous, but on a thin roster where a bunch of storylines have been pushed aside or cut out entirely, this is one of the more developed feuds going on right now. I can’t stand almost anything that has happened with the pairing of Goldust and R-Truth and for months, I’ve been waiting for this angle to just end, but it keeps on chugging along like the Energizer Bunny.
That being said, considering the amount of time they’ve dedicated to this, I sort of feel as though we need to at least get Goldust and R-Truth teaming up against Fandango and Tyler Breeze in the pre-show just to eat up some time and to have a little bit more finality to the concept. In my mind, Fandango and Breeze should come out victorious and become a legitimate tag team while Goldust and R-Truth can go down to NXT or split up into their separate ways or anything else, really, but that remains to be seen.
Zack Ryder
I feel bad that he was so unceremoniously ditched from the Intercontinental Championship picture after winning the title at WrestleMania. Considering the match we’re getting has four people involved, I maintain an argument I made in a previous post that it would have been nice to see Ryder get tossed into the mix as well and for the belt to be on the line in a Championship Scramble. That’s definitely not going to happen, so Long Island Iced Z is going to stay in the back yet again.
Enzo Amore, Colin Cassady and The Dudley Boyz
Make no mistake, if Enzo Amore was not injured, we would be getting a Tables Match between these two teams for sure. I’m 100% positive that the plan in place for Payback would have set this in motion rather than the current situation we have now. Without Enzo, Big Cass can’t really have that same match with The Dudley Boyz, and without that feud going on, everyone is somewhat left hanging.
Just for shits and giggles, and because I’m a fan, I would like to see maybe a quick backstage promo involving this foursome or some of its members in place of yet another recap of what went down between Shane and Stephanie or something along those lines that we’re for sure going to get to fill up some time.
Get well soon, Enzo. These three guys need something to do.
Apollo Crews
Why not just keep Crews down in NXT if you’re not going to put him in a feud with anybody or make him any bit of a priority?
That’s really all that needs to be said on the subject. Crews can be fun to watch, so put him on TV.
Dana Brooke vs. Becky Lynch
Assuming a second women’s match could take place with time constraints and such, it will undoubtedly involve Becky Lynch and Dana Brooke, as Emma is currently out with a back injury. While this hasn’t been exactly watercooler talk at the office, it’s been featured enough on television that it’s not out of the realm of possibility to justify giving these women a spot on the card. If there’s space to fill, why not, right?
Who else do you think should have made it onto the card in some fashion? Are you disappointed that John Cena, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton or anyone else who should be returning soon wasn’t booked?
Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
