10 WWE Stars in Danger of Being Buried During Road to WrestleMania 40

The Road to WrestleMania is the most important time in WWE. Everyone wants to find their spot at The Show of Shows, but not everyone succeeds.

While top stars rise up the ranks, other midcard names take the fall to put over the talent that will draw in the company's biggest audience of the year at The Show of Shows.

For each Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns, there is a Chad Gable and Solo Sikoa who seems to be forgotten along the way.

For each Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch, there is a Liv Morgan or Naomi who lacks clear direction.

The following Superstars are most at risk of being buried ahead of WrestleMania 40.

Chad Gable

In August, Chad Gable looked like a future champion. His rivalry with Gunther had fans invested in his quest to become the intercontinental champion.

However, the Olympian failed in his challenge and has struggled for television time since. Beyond a brief run in NXT where he competed for the Heritage Cup, he and Alpha Academy as a whole have lost steam.

There is still a great story to tell of the 37-year-old fighting for the right to challenge Gunther one more time. Appearing on The Battleground Podcast, he said that is still his end goal, but nothing on air has indicated that will be the direction.

While Gunther continues to rewrite the record book as IC champion, Gable has lost matches on Raw to Shinsuke Nakamura and Ivar. He has wrestled just twice on WWE television in 2024.

If the plan is for Gable to get a featured spot at WrestleMania 40, time is running out to rebuild his momentum.

It seems more likely he and Otis will compete on the show as a tag team in a losing effort if they make the card at all.

'Big' Bronson Reed

"Big" Bronson Reed has impressed on WWE Raw since his return near the end of 2022.

His matches with Gunther, Ivar and Bobby Lashley have been hard-hitting battles in which he has looked dangerous against top competition.

While WrestleMania is right around the corner, his biggest goal was to compete at Elimination Chamber in his home nation of Australia on Saturday.

Even that looks to be unlikely, though, after he failed to qualify for the men's same-titled match, and that is likely a strong indicator that he could miss The Showcase of the Immortals as well.

Not everyone is going to make that card in Philadelphia, and Mr. Nice Guy does not have the momentum to compete on that stage.

It's likely he will compete regularly on Raw in the coming months, but he seems to be set up to put over stars such as Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, The New Day and DIY.

Chelsea Green and Piper Niven

The former WWE women's tag team champions have lost significant steam since Katana Chance and Kayden Carter took the titles from them.

Those belts have already changed hands again, with Asuka and Kairi Sane winning them for the second time and looking unstoppable.

Chance and Carter, as well as Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark, could be the WrestleMania challengers to The Kabuki Warriors. If there is no other clear spot for top women like Bianca Belair and Naomi, they could team up as well to challenge the champions.

None of these options leaves a clear path for Chelsea Green and Piper Niven to find a role on the card. Even if they find a spot in a WrestleMania Showcase match or a possible Battle Royal, the division seems to be passing them by.

Green has grown into her role with WWE, becoming an ambassador for the company including helping unveil the WWE Experience in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but that kind of position may not lead her to immediate future success.

It will take a dramatic shift in direction with the division or the team to get back on track, and that isn't likely to come before April 6-7.

LWO (Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro)

Joaquin Wilde and Cruz del Toro have never matched the potential many hoped for them when they first joined the main roster alongside Santos Escobar.

While they can stand alongside Rey Mysterio and Carlito in the LWO, the immediate future of the stable is uncertain.

Escobar is building a new Legado del Fantasma with Elektra Lopez, while Wilde and Del Toro have been replaced by Angel and Berto.

At WrestleMania, it seems likely Mysterio and Escobar will face off one-on-one. This will leave the other members of this stable battle on the outside looking in.

Even on the Road to WrestleMania, it seems likely Angel and Berto will continue to get the better of Wilde and Del Toro, who are lacking serious credibility despite their talent.

Maybe later in 2024, the LWO duo will get a shot to compete for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships. It will just take a bit more time.

Liv Morgan

Liv Morgan had a difficult 2023 after her breakout year in 2022, and she could not get close to singles gold again.

She did find success as a tag team wrestler, winning the Women's Tag Team Championships with Raquel Rodriguez twice, but a pair of shoulder injuries cut both title reigns short.

Her return in the women's Royal Rumble match felt like a statement, lasting to the final three before Bayley took her and Jade Cargill out at the same time. It was a spot reserved for the top names in the business.

However, since then, Becky Lynch has clearly sold her intention to challenge Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania. While Morgan also has qualified for the women's Elimination Chamber match that will crown Mami's next challenger, she has stood in the background since her return.

If Morgan loses, it's unlikely she will find a strong spot on the Road to WrestleMania. Her only option would be teaming with Raquel Rodriguez, who returned to action on the February 19 edition of Monday Night Raw.

Even that seems uncertain as WWE has done nothing to build up the pairing or tension between Morgan, Rodriguez and Damage CTRL recently.

Hopefully, she will get a good run in the women's Elimination Chamber match and set herself up for a big story with Ripley after WrestleMania, but it's looking bleak for this year's Show of Shows

Andrade

Andrade is back, but it's hard to tell where he is going.

He returned with limited fanfare in the men's Royal Rumble match, picking up no eliminations and building no rivalries in his 22 minutes.

Every week counts on the Road to WrestleMania, yet El Idolo has yet to do anything on Raw since his WWE return.

He is coming back from an up-and-down run in All Elite Wrestling that finally featured some of his best work for the company on his way out. He remains a great in-ring wrestlers who can tell his story on the mat.

At this point, it seems unlikely he will find a place at Lincoln Financial Field. If there are plans for his WWE future building, they will come after The Show of Shows.

With Charlotte Flair recovering from successful surgery on her torn ACL, MCL and meniscus, her husband is likely going to spend significant time off the road to care for her.

This does not mean that El Idolo won't find success in WWE, but it looks likely that it will come after The Show of Shows. At the moment, he is just another star lost in the shuffle on a stacked Raw roster.

Naomi

Naomi finally got a chance to show what she can do outside the WWE system, and she made the most of it.

Her TNA Knockouts Championship reign was an important turning point in her career.

As she returns to WWE, she will need to keep that momentum going, but it seems unlikely that she will find her way back into a featured role quickly.

As Bayley vs. Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch are the likely featured 'Mania singles matches, The Glow is going to struggle to find her own role in April.

She will compete in the women's Elimination Chamber match where she could start a feud with Tiffany Stratton or Bianca Belair, but WWE is unlikely to feature those angles much on the Road to WrestleMania.

This may require Naomi to return to the tag team division, working with The EST of WWE or Michin in the coming months. She might even slip into The Bloodline storyline if WWE is ready to add more players to that angle.

Even so, none of this builds off her championship pedigree. Naomi should have returned with major hype, but she may have to take a backseat role for a while.

Solo Sikoa

The story of The Bloodline was always going to shift when The Rock arrived, but Solo Sikoa was struggling even before his return.

After a monumental victory over John Cena at Crown Jewel in November, Sikoa has lost repeatedly to top names. The Tribal Heir has looked like a mere goon for Roman Reigns.

What made Sikoa so successful early on the main roster was just how unstoppable he looked. Almost no one could beat him. When Cody Rhodes managed to do it just before WrestleMania 39, it felt like a monumental task.

At this point, it is hard to believe Sikoa can beat anyone challenging The Tribal Chief. That is a problem, especially with The Rock now taking on a lead role for The Bloodline. Sikoa and Jimmy Uso will look even more inferior.

While it can all turn around as The Bloodline story progresses, WrestleMania 40 will most certainly be a time when Sikoa takes a backseat. He will likely also lose again to Rhodes and possibly others on the Road to WrestleMania.