WWE SummerSlam 2013: Undervalued Stars Who Won't Get a Proper Spotlight

At WWE’s SummerSlam pay-per-view next month, wrestlers like Daniel Bryan, CM Punk and Brock Lesnar will undoubtedly be given ample time to shine. Their feuds have been heavily promoted on television, and the card itself is largely being built around them.

However, what about the under-utilized guys and girls on the roster? Let’s take a moment to examine their plights.

Natalya remains—by far—the best women’s wrestler in the company, but she hasn’t been in the Divas Championship main event scene in years.

Granted, her involvement in the WWE/E! reality show Total Divas has helped her stock somewhat, but it’s hardly been the boon to her career you would have thought it would be. The show is, for the most part, promoted and built around Nikki and Brie Bella. They're the "real" stars. All the other girls come off like supporting players solely there to make up the numbers.

To make matters worse, an unfortunate by-product of Total Divas is that Natalya has ended up hindered with an “ugly duckling” gimmick, with the twins teasing her for not being as beautiful as the rest of the Divas.

Even when we consider that Nikki and Brie are meant to be heels, this is still absolutely ridiculous, especially when Natalya has to act like she's genuinely upset by it because she thinks they are telling the truth.

Question to WWE: In what world is this woman unattractive?

Factor in that she got stuck with that dreadful “flatulence gimmick” too, and you have to wonder just who on the booking team has it out for this poor girl.

Will Natalya even get a match at SummerSlam? Probably not. She may be getting more attention these days, but she’s as mistreated as ever.

But, hey, at least Natalya is getting regular screen time, which is more than Wade Barrett can say.

It’s hard to believe that just a few years ago, Barrett was defeating John Cena on pay-per-view and being booked as the one of the top heels in the company.

He was, rightfully, thought of as one of the company’s youngest talents, too. He was a competent wrestler, a superb talker—does anyone in wrestling have a more distinctive-sounding voice?—and was a decent size.

What more could WWE have possibly wanted? Well, apparently, something else.

Fast forward to 2013, and where is the Englishman now? Well, he’s been pretty much forgotten about and only makes sporadic appearances on Raw, and even then it’s usually to lose to someone. 

He hasn’t had a worthwhile feud in months, and even when he appears in meaningful matches—he participated in the World Heavyweight Championship MITB bout earlier this month—his contributions are usually minimal.  

Ideally, he could be fighting for either the United States or Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam, but it simply doesn’t appear to be on the cards. Will he ever get his career back on track?

Of course, Natalya and Barrett aren’t the only glaring omissions on the card, but they are possibly two of the most prominent examples of how bad booking and general indifference from management can squander the careers of even the most promising talents.

For these two, SummerSlam is going to be just another show.