Wrestlers Who CANT Get Over In WWE

What's good y'all? It's your boy Ross back at it again with another video. So, we're going to check out can't get over wrestlers stuck in a rut. Not every wrestler is going to make it to the top of the card. We know this. There are some wrestlers that are just going to be in mid-card purgatory or even catering purgatory. I'm just being honest with you cuz if everyone was going to be at the top or supposed to be at the top, then it doesn't really make, you know, certain superstars superstars cuz everyone would be at the top. But, there's going to be some people in the mid-card. There's going to be some people uh you know, on the lower ending. There's going to be some people in catering. And no matter how much maybe the fans may want or whatever the case may be, for some people it's just hard for them to get out of that spot. Can things change? Sure. But, for some people, you know, especially depending on management, who's running the company, they may not view you more than just a uh talent enhancer in a sense or a jobber in a sense. So, we're going to check this out. Should be an interesting one. Appreciate all the love and support. Let's get right into it, man. >> There's all the skill required to be a star, but for whatever reason, they just can't get over. We've seen it happen time and time again over the years. And present-day WWE is no different in that respect. But, just who are the biggest [music] examples of performers who are stuck >> Yeah, Johnny. He's he's he's cooked, bro. They got him just planking in the back every single show. He's just planking, laying on [ __ ] Ever since Tommaso Ciampa has left and went to AEW, this is all they've had for him. How the mighty have fallen. He was a staple in NXT, and now this [ __ ] just laying on production crates every single weeks every single week for months. It's been about 6 months they've been doing this [ __ ] It's horrendous. Horrendous, bro. >> stuck in a rut in 2026? Well, that's exactly what we are going to be looking at right now. So, make sure to subscribe to the channel if you haven't already as we take a look at our first entry, Dragon Lee. >> Yeah. >> must be hard to be Dragon Lee in 2026 because he's undeniably a very talented wrestler. >> He is. >> That said, ever since signing with WWE in 2022, he's been stuck in a dead zone of doing very little of note. Sure, he did have that run with the LWO, but he was never exactly a focus of this group. And he did also win tag gold with AJ Styles, but unfortunately, those belts don't really get much focus on the show. >> They don't. >> And considering this is a man who built a name for himself prior to his WWE run killing it in places like CMLL, AAA, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and even AEW briefly, that has to sting as he knows he can be so much better than his position on the card suggests. >> Why has Dragon Lee found it so hard to get over in WWE then? Well, it's the same problem that someone like Mistico found himself struggling with back in the days when he was working under the name of Sin Cara. He may just be in the wrong system. So really, if he wants to get to that next level, the Mexican-born star needs to get away from Raw as quickly as possible. Where should he try his luck next? Well, if he wants to remain in WWE, then a more regular spot in AAA, somewhere he has appeared sporadically for the last year or so, would seem like the obvious choice. After all, Dragon Lee has found success in that company before. And his gimmick and style of wrestling would be far more likely to be a hit with this audience. >> Mhm. >> Until that happens, however, he will continue to be one of the more underutilized acts in WWE. Someone who, no matter what he tries, just can't get over to any significant degree. >> Which is unfortunate. I think the last time I was really invested in Dragon Lee is right after AJ Styles had retired. Um or was forced to retire and Dragon Lee was feuding with Gunther for a little bit. Y'all remember that infamous meme where Dragon Lee was being choked out on the ropes and his feet was dangling and then they kind of had a little mini feud there and you saw some intensity from Dragon Lee. I thought it was dope. And they had a pretty good match on on Monday Night Raw, but ultimately we knew Gunther was going to win there, but that was like the last time I was like really really invested in what Dragon Lee was doing, but I think it's fair to say, yeah, he would probably do maybe better or a lot better in AAA. I think he would get utilized more and effectively in AAA. I mean, look what happened to Lucha. I mean, aka El Grande Americano. He is like literally a star right now in AAA. He doesn't even need to be on the main roster. He went from the main roster to a mega star in AAA. >> [laughter] >> But at least Dragon Lee can rest easy knowing he's not the only one who struggled with this reality in WWE. No, there are plenty of others who have had to deal with the same thing and two of those people would be our next entries as it happens, Angel and Berto. >> I think they're super talented. >> and his real life cousin Humberto Carrillo did have some momentum when they first arrived in WWE during the latter days of the 2010s, primarily because back then they were on the NXT brand and able to shine in the cruiserweight division. But once they each got called up to the main roster soon thereafter, things started to fall apart as they became little more than background players who were treated with no degree of importance. Unsurprisingly then, given the way they were positioned as warm bodies above all else, fans had [music] little reason to care about the pair and that continued to be the case even after they partnered up together in 2021 to form Los Garza. Why was this? Well, even then they were still being portrayed as underlings to Santos Escobar, the leader of Legado del Fantasma. Truly then, this was a point where it felt like Angel and Humberto were never going to get over to any significant degree in the WWE system, and that if they'd been a victim of the next round of cuts, few fans would have been surprised. >> Yeah. >> Thankfully though, there has been a light at the end of the tunnel for Los Garza in recent weeks because like with Dragon Lee, they've been making some appearances on AAA. Hell, there they've become part of the revived version of the classic Lucha faction Los Perros del Mal alongside Daga, Bronco Nema, Carmen Petrovic. Sure, they're still henchmen here to some degree, but they are now actively involved in a feud with El Grande Americano, the hottest thing in the entire territory. [music] So, this represents the best chance they've ever had to get over in a WWE-owned property. >> Hey, man. Triple H may not use you well, but I think you're probably in better hands with The Undertaker. >> [laughter] >> I think you're in better hands with what The Undertaker can get out of you guys and on the main roster cuz they Y'all would literally just be catering generals. That's it, bro. >> property. Will this work out for the pair of cousins? >> it does. >> That remains to be seen, but we can say for sure that it's far more likely this leads to success than whatever they were doing on the main roster. >> Yeah, get it get it out of the way. >> luchadors out there in present-day WWE who, like with Dragon Lee, Angel and Humberto, are struggling to get main roster audiences to care about them? Unfortunately, there are, yes. And the next pair we want to look at might be the most egregious of all as they're the incredibly skilled pairing of Cruz del Toro and Joaquin Wilde. Yes, in Cruz del Toro and Joaquin Wilde, what you have are two of the most underutilized luchadors out there today. Seriously, this is a pair who, if in a different circumstance, could be thriving. But, that's not the way things have worked out for them in WWE, and this has been the case ever since they first arrived in the late 2010s. It doesn't matter if we're talking about their NXT runs, their time spent as founding members of Legado del Fantasma, or even their later moving over to the Latino World Order, Del Toro and Wilde >> What's crazy is WWE has some talented wrestlers, especially that they could utilize in a tag team, and they don't do it. The problem is, and it's very simple, they don't put in the time and effort to make you make us care about them. So, we see them on our TVs, yeah, they could go, but they barely give them any time in the ring, and they're usually in losing efforts or made to be jokes, not to be taken seriously. They have enough people out in the on the roster at one point to really elevate the tag team division if they really wanted to. But, guess what? They don't care, and that's the problem. Cuz if they don't care, why should us fans give a damn, either? We're not, unfortunately. No matter how talented they are, we won't care if management don't care. That's just really how it goes. >> have always struggled to get the fans invested, much in the same way that Dragon Lee, Angel, and Humberto have. Hell, so bad have things gotten for the pair, much of their increasingly rare TV appearances these days have found them appearing on shows like Main Event or being stuck in the dreaded speed division. Obviously, then, that's not a place anyone wants to be, as it signifies that management has all but given up on you. Even the odd AAA appearance doesn't appear to have done much to turn things around for either man. No, as things stand today, they're both ice cold in terms of their popularity with fans. And that truly is a crime considering what they're capable of doing when they can go at full tilt. Could things still turn around for Del Toro and Wilde? Sure, anything's possible. But, if they want this to be the case, then they're going to have to find something which will get them over with the fans, as their in-ring wrestling is clearly not doing this alone. What they need, like with other people we've talked about today already, is a more permanent move to AAA as that's almost certainly the audience who's going to be more receptive to seeing them as big stars. >> Yeah. >> Just think about what Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro could do with a true main event program against someone like Dominik Mysterio south of the border. >> It could be enough to really get them over that final hurdle and see them reach levels of stardom they've yet to achieve in the WWE system. But let's move away from luchadors for a moment and instead look at a Japanese star for a while. One who, back in a different life, was one of the biggest stars in his country. A man good enough to main event the Tokyo Dome for his home base of New Japan Pro Wrestling. >> Yep. >> Ever since joining WWE, however, he's found it increasingly difficult to get over. A shocking statement when we're talking about someone like Shinsuke Nakamura. >> Yes, it's not as if Japanese stars inherently can't get over in America. The success of the Great Muta back in 90s WCW or both Kazuchika Okada and Konosuke Takeshita in present day AEW is proof of this. Hell, in WWE, Joshi talent like Io Shirai and Asuka have proven that those from the land of the rising sun can be big stars indeed out west. >> He's just got to >> Why has the same not been the case for Shinsuke Nakamura? After all, there was an argument to be made that when he signed for WWE in 2016, he was still the best wrestler in the world. Well, the answer to that question appears to have more to do with him than it necessarily does his employer. You see, the New Japan main event style is very taxing on your body. And when your nickname is the King of Strong Style, it means you're going to have to go harder than most. So, when it came time to leave his old home behind and instead try his luck over in America, Shinsuke was very beat up. Thankfully for him then, the WWE style is a lot less punishing on the body and this meant he could take it a bit easier there when he was having matches either in NXT or on the main roster in the process giving himself a chance to heal up. The only problem with this though was that a certain point it became clear the former IWGP Intercontinental Champion wasn't wrestling like his old self that fans grew to love. And this led to those fans of the main roster not really getting into him in a big way. So it was then that following on from his early Royal Rumble victory the King of Strong Style would fall to the level of being a mid-card act who only occasionally showed up on TV. And that's the spot he remains in today. Has this mean we're never going [music] to see Tokyo Dome main event level Shinsuke Nakamura again? Probably yes. But at least fans of his can keep watching him pop up here and there on SmackDown where we do occasionally still see glimpses of greatness from him. And while they're doing that they can also watch another performer over on Raw who's in a similar spot of once feeling like a star but now feeling pretty much like a lower card act. That's right. It's time for us to talk about Rusev. Yes, it's easy to forget now but there was a time during the mid-2010s when Rusev was very over indeed with this starting when he arrived on the main roster with his initial gimmick of what basically amounted to a Rocky villain, a foreign powerhouse who was there to destroy everything American. But that wasn't the only thing which got the big man over during his initial run with WWE as once that gimmick petered out he'd be just as popular as a babyface when he caught fire with the whole Rusev Day character. Sadly though as time went on and Vince McMahon wasted more and more of Rusev's potential he was forced to go look elsewhere for work namely All Elite Wrestling. And we all know what happened there. What started out as a very strong run ended up going very badly when he would be inactive for large portions of his run there. So it was that come 2025 Rusev found himself out of Jacksonville and back in WWE again. Would things go differently this time? He certainly hoped so as this time Triple H is in charge of the book. But alas, even that wasn't enough to cause a turnaround of fortune >> I did enjoy his feud with Sheamus. I I I really did enjoy his feud. It was just a feud built off of beating each other's ass, man. They had history and they were just throwing hands. I really enjoyed that. Outside of that, they hadn't really done much with him. Enjoyed his matches that he's had with Jinder Mahal and I think, you know, they've been doing this little Ethan Page and Rusev mini alliance, but outside of that, they hadn't really done much. He's really the guy they use to get other people over. So. >> fortunes for the Bulgarian Brute. Now, as a result of him being away from WWE for so long, and partially because of the way his AEW run had ended, fans just stopped reacting to Rusev once he returned to his original stomping grounds. And that meant the game had little incentive to give him any kind of push, as if he wasn't over with the audience, going all in on the big man would just be a waste of precious TV time that could be used on someone else. Obviously then, this represents quite a fall for the former United States Champion. And while things could still turn around, as it stands today, it doesn't look good for his future prospects [music] in WWE. So, there must be a quiet motivation within the Bulgarian to turn things around before it all reaches the point of no return. >> [music] >> How can he do that? That's something we don't have the answer to. And we also don't have the answer on how to help our next subject, someone who has gone from heart and soul of NXT to guy who does nothing but plank on TV every week. Who are we talking about here? Why, Johnny Gargano, of course. Seriously, what happened to Johnny Gargano? This was a guy who, back during the peak years of black and gold era NXT, was very much the emotional core of that whole show. Just go back and watch the feud he had with Tommaso Ciampa, the one which spread out across several years. To this >> day, that probably still represents the high water mark of the developmental brand. >> Yeah. >> Obviously then, when he joined the main roster of WWE after Triple H took control of the book, big things were expected of the Ohio native. But despite everyone rooting for him, none of those big things would ever come to pass. No, all Johnny Wrestling ever seemed to do on Raw or SmackDown during the Paul Levesque era was play a warm body in the [music] tag team division alongside the Blackheart. Really then, it's not surprising main roster audiences never took to him. After all, there was nothing for them to latch onto here. Sure, Gargano was capable of getting over. His time in NXT is evidence of this. And even if he is a smaller guy, that doesn't mean he can't be a hit on a main roster show. >> But with the whole load of nothing he's been given to work with after his time in developmental, it's been impossible for WWE fans to care about Johnny at all. And that sense of indifference from the audience has only gotten worse in recent months as it's been here that Gargano has hit a new low with the gimmick of guy who planks in the background of backstage skits on SmackDown. >> This [ __ ] score. >> fans have responded with nothing, they can't exactly be blamed. And they won't be able to be blamed if they keep giving Johnny Wrestling crickets as the months go on from here. >> Yeah, bro. Just I don't know when his contract ends. He need to get the [ __ ] up out of there. Reunite with uh with um with Tomasso, bro. Get the [ __ ] up out of there, bro. They literally have him doing this for months. This is not entertaining. It was funny for a little bit, but now it's just sad cuz you know he can actually go if they give him opportunity. He literally is just getting a free check and free food from catering, basically, to not do nothing. Which, honestly, not a bad deal, but damn, bro. He's not he's not living to his full potential. He was the heart and soul of NXT black and gold only to be laying on some [ __ ] crates in the back is atrocious. >> Can anything rescue the former NXT champion at this point and get him over again? Yes, but it would require nothing less than a complete character overhaul, a [music] back-to-square-one rewrite of the entire thing. If he can do that, maybe there is still hope for Gargano yet. Of course, whether this happens or not remains very much up in the air, and we'll all have to see where things go for him during the remainder of 2026 before we call the time of death on his character. But we've talked a lot about the men of WWE so far today. Aren't there women who are also struggling to get over in 2026? Of course, there are. And one of those women would be our next subject as it happens, the one, the only, Nattie. What is it that stopped Nattie from truly getting over during all these years that she's been in the WWE? That's hard to say as she's always had the talent needed to be a player. >> Oh, for sure. >> Maybe you could argue that in her early days there, back during a period where women's wrestling was not taken as seriously, it was hard for any of the ladies to stand out. But that shouldn't have been a problem for the Canadian from about the mid-2010s onward, as after that point, there was very much a change in the air. Could it be then that fans just saw her in a certain role already by that stage in the game as a solid mid-card hand who was never going to rise any higher than that on the pecking order? Possibly. In fact, that might be the exact reason why Nattie has struggled to gain fans' attention in any meaningful way during the era of performers like Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Io Shirai. Once you've been around for too long, you just get typecast, and when that happens, it's very hard to break out of such a box. Really then, what the Hart family member needed was to come along a little later, as if she'd done this, then she might still have felt fresh during the rise of the Four Horsewomen. But alas, that's not the way things worked [music] out. No, instead, she'd already be in in legend phase by then, with this meaning audiences were never going to get as invested in her as they were in others on the roster. And that really hasn't changed in recent months with the debut of her new character, either, that of the low-key legend. Why hasn't this gotten Nattie more over? Well, even if it is a fresh coat of paint for her and a gimmick which treats her more seriously as a great in-ring performer, it can still only take her so far when we're fast approaching her 20th year in the main roster. >> Yeah, it's it It has the makings of something like with with some great potential, but it hasn't been sticking. It hasn't. I'm just being honest with you. It hasn't. It's It's still like, all right, this isn't Italia. She's more aggressive and supposed to be taken more seriously, but once again, it's Natalya. I think her days of being taken seriously and pushed to that to the main event level, that's that's done, bro. They're not doing that. They I mean, they care about Rhea. They care about Io. They care about Liv. They don't care about no Natalya, no matter how good she is. They don't give a damn. That's just That's just a unfortunate situation. >> To put it in perspective, back when Natalya was first getting started on SmackDown, The Dark Knight, Breaking Bad season 1, and Grand Theft Auto 4 had all just been released. >> That's crazy. >> if she remains great today, there is a sense we've all seen her so much over the years, it's hard to get excited about the Alberta native anymore to any real degree. But, being too much of a familiar face isn't the only thing which can cause fans to lose interest about a performer. No, sometimes you can be a part of the biggest angle the company has seen since the Attitude Era, and it's still not enough to get you over. Just ask our next subject, Jimmy Uso. Yes, ever since The Bloodline formed in 2020, it's served as the nucleus of the entire WWE, with it being a major reason why things got so hot for a few years there during the early to middle years of the decade. And it's probably no coincidence that things started cooling down around the time the whole thing came to an end for the first time. Needless to say then, pretty much everyone involved in the whole thing has been hugely elevated. Whether that be Roman Reigns being solidified as a top star, Jay Uso getting elevated to a main event level, Sami Zayn hitting a career high, or even Solo Sikoa getting firmly established on the main roster. Honestly, the only person who's come out of the Bloodline in a worse position is probably Jimmy Uso. As well before, he was considered a key part of one of WWE's top tag teams, today he very much feels like the Jannetty to his twin brother, largely on account of the fact that while Jay was very over for a while, Jimmy never managed to connect with fans on a solo level. Why is that? It's hard to say as he's probably the better in-ring performer of the Usos. Sure, he never had the catchphrase like Jay did. >> I think he's a better promo than Jay. He is, in my opinion. There's been like glimpses where I'm like, I'm all for it. Like y'all remember when Jimmy slapped the dog piss out of Gunther. And then ultimately he paid for it cuz Gunther made him bleed. I definitely enjoyed that angle of the story they were trying to tell leading into WrestleMania that year. But I think I've seen glimpses of it. Then we all know the brother versus brother, which didn't work. They didn't give them enough time. The feud wasn't built up properly like they should have. Um I think there's been moments where they could have literally given him like a solo run for the mid-card title. They did it for Jay. And I get why they did it for Jay cuz his catchphrase was getting over and stuff like that. But I feel like people would be invested and care if Jimmy had that opportunity, too. Uh but once again, comes sometimes comes down to management and if they don't really see Jimmy nothing more than just the Jannetty to Jay's, Shawn Michaels, like that's, you know, that's it's kind of crazy if you want to be honest. It's really unfortunate. >> But he should have had audiences behind him by a virtue of the fact that he was involved in such a hot angle. But for whatever reason, that's just not what happened and instead, as things stand today, the nine-time tag team champion feels like the weakest member of the group. What a weird situation that is for the San Francisco native then. Come on now, when it was revealed that the Bloodline had reformed not long ago on Raw, there was more excitement about what Jacob Fatu was going to do in this new version than there was about Jimmy Uso being there. Hell, in 2026, we're pretty sure the majority of fans would be asking about when Sami Zayn is going to return to the fold before they asked about the role the son of Rikishi was going to play. Could things still turn around for Jimmy? They could, but it's hard to see that happening now unless he does something which just catches fire for some reason. And just as it's hard to see Jimmy Uso catching fire in 2026, the same could be said for our next pair of entries, a tag team who arrived in WWE with a very strong pedigree only a few years ago, but who have since struggled big time when it comes to getting over with audiences. Who are we talking about this time? Who else but the Creed Brothers? That's right. When the Creed Brothers were signed to developmental contracts back in 2020 and initially placed on the NXT brand, a lot of people in WWE were very high on them. As with their amateur wrestling background, there was a hope that they could be a modern-day version of the world's greatest tag team. >> yep. >> Hell, such an obvious comparison was this. Once they were called up to Raw a few years later, they'd even be paired with Chad Gable, someone who, as an Olympic athlete himself, has drawn a lot of comparisons to Kurt Angle over the years. Sadly though, while Gable would manage to get over it at various points, primarily during his run as the original El Grande Americano, the same cannot be said of his American Made stablemates. No, even when they also went Lucha for a while by transforming into Los Americanos Hermanos, fans just never really took an interest in their act. Why is that? Well, a part of the reason for this is likely down to the fact that well, Julius and Brutus Creed are very good wrestlers, comparable to even the world's greatest tag team at points, they never had much in the way of character to get them over with fans. >> too. >> And then of course, there's the fact that when it comes to WWE, it's almost always going to be harder for a tag team to get over than it is for a singles act, as the former division has never, >> [music] >> outside of a few notable exceptions >> I think it's their their character is so bland and stale. It's it's not it's not working. So, yeah, they're great in the ring, but once again, I know some people are like, "Oh, in-ring work is, you know, the most important." No, I think it is a very important part, but I think your character a lot of times can carry your in-ring work not being the best. We've seen it where someone's character is so good, you can excuse their in-ring work not being the best, not being up to par to someone like that's, you know, an elite uh worker in the ring, an elite wrestler. But if your character is over, you got great charisma, you got something that the fans can latch onto via your character, oh, the sky's the limit. You could be not as good in the ring, but as long as that character's good, people will pay just to see you. >> exceptions over the years been a focus of the booking. Rather, it's almost always felt like a part of the show with very low importance, with this meaning any full-time teams on the roster usually have a feeling of low importance surrounding them, too. Combine that with the fact the Creed brothers have always struggled from a character point of view and it's easy to see why they've never gotten over with fans. Sure, there's the chance that things could turn around at some point before all is said and done. And if they do, then perhaps Julius and Brutus Creed can fulfill that early promise they showed during their days in NXT. Until that happens, however, they'll remain a prime example of an act in modern wrestling who just can't get over. But at least they're not alone in suffering from this fate as the same thing can be said about everyone else we've looked at in this video today as they each have the same issues connecting with fans. >> Yep, and that's the thing. At the end of the day, it's trying to be able to come up with something that the fans can get invested in. But but it also comes down to management wanting to push you, wanting to get you in a situation that you're seen more and try to get you over with whatever they can come up creatively. It's It's more than just oh, you have a great character, great in-ring. People in management got to want that. Want to put you out there, too. If people in management don't want you at the top, no matter how good you are, no matter how cold you are, no matter how great your character is, you won't get there because management don't want you there. They will stifle you or they can just simply not put you on TV, too. So, it's a combination of things. But hey, comment down below. Let me know some other wrestlers you feel like are just permanent JAG, permanently stuck in mid-card or maybe lower purgatory or permanently stuck in catering and they'll probably never get out of that as long as they're in, you know, WWE. Let me know down below, bro. I appreciate all the love and support. Road 2. 20K, appreciate y'all kicking with me. See y'all next one. Peace. >> Mhm.