Jacob Fatu and 7 WWE Superstars Primed for Post-WrestleMania 41 Bump

WrestleMania season is prime time for WWE Superstars to sink or swim and make an impact during the company's most pivotal period, potentially earning themselves a spot on the loaded lineup for The Show of Shows in the process.

However, it's an unfortunate reality for certain competitors to be left off in favor of the more notable names and bigger bouts. Despite being overlooked, they have the potential to bounce back in a major way post-WrestleMania.

That may not currently be the case with Jacob Fatu, who is set to challenge LA Knight for the United States Championship at the event, but even he isn't as much of a focal point on SmackDown at the moment as he should be given how high his ceiling is as a singles star.

There are plenty of others who are nowhere near as prominently featured on WWE TV heading into WrestleMania yet appear to be primed for pushes coming out of it. A turnover in talent combined with the right booking should make for an interesting spring season in WWE filled with fresh faces and opportunities.

Jacob Fatu

WWE has done virtually everything right with Jacob Fatu from the moment he arrived on the main roster last June, including highlighting him on his own so far in 2025.

His involvement in the heavily-touted Bloodline storyline last year should have culminated in a WrestleMania match against Roman Reigns. Instead, Fatu will face off with LA Knight for the United States Championship, which likely be used as a vehicle to further the feud between him and Solo Sikoa.

The former Bloodline members are well overdue for a split to allow Fatu to shine in singles competition. Eventually, that should lead him back to winning the star-spangled prize if it doesn't happen on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

WWE is clearly aware of Fatu being a world champion-caliber competitor based on how he's been booked up to this point. Now it's time for him to be put on the fast track to super stardom and be one of the top talents the blue brand is built around.

Even if he suffers his first one-on-one defeat at WrestleMania thanks to inadvertent interference, Fatu should still soon rise above the midcard scene and escape the alliance with Sikoa that he's officially outgrown.

Rey Fenix

The April 4 edition of SmackDown saw Rey Fenix make his highly-anticipated WWE debut and make an immediate impression with a win over NXT's Nathan Frazer. His post-match promo was also effective in establishing who he is and why the audience should take notice.

As of now, there's no obvious 'Mania match for him. He's been separated from his brother Penta on the Raw roster because WWE evidently doesn't plan to put them together anytime soon and rightfully so, but that doesn't explain why officials opted to bring him in before WrestleMania.

It's entirely possible his arrival was rushed to capitalize on his departure from AEW and get fans familiar with him before he makes even more of a splash post-WrestleMania.

SmackDown needs a significant boost in the worst way and Fenix is a fantastic addition that can seriously shake things up, starting with a rumored rivalry with Andrade, per Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

His hot debut was simply a small taste of what he'll have in store for SmackDown in the months ahead.

Roxanne Perez

The curious case of Roxanne Perez on the Road to WrestleMania 41 has been almost impossible for fans to make sense of.

The two-time NXT Women's champion slowly started appearing on WWE's main roster fairly consistently at the turn of the year as part of a program with Bayley. The storyline spanned SmackDown, Raw and NXT, but it never had a definitive payoff before being abruptly dropped after Elimination Chamber.

Bayley has since set her sights on the Women's Intercontinental Championship while Perez has been absent from WWE TV all together outside of the occasional cameo in NXT. Her failure to qualify for the NXT Women's North American Championship Ladder match at Stand & Deliver suggest she won't have a presence at WrestleMania weekend this year.

It's imperative she and Bayley rekindle their rivalry as soon as WrestleMania season is over as there's no need for her to remain in NXT any longer. Although she can be a real asset on the Raw roster right now, it might be wise to wait until after The Show of Shows to call her up to ensure she doesn't get lost in the shuffle.

Chad Gable

Fans have all but given up on the idea of Chad Gable ever being utilized higher on the card, especially after he came close to capturing the Intercontinental Championship shortly following WrestleMania last year before being relegated to enhancement status.

Ditching Alpha Academy for American Made hardly changed how he's been booked, but the introduction of his alter-ego El Grande Americano recently has resulted in a renewed push of sorts for him.

Unless he's involved in some sort of multi-man tag team match at 'Mania, he's bound to be excluded from the lineup again, but he should continue to have a recurring role on Raw in the immediate aftermath of the event.

El Grande Americano will ultimately have a short shelf life, but the gimmick will give him a chance to showcase his skills and remind the world what he's capable of. From there, he must take advantage of any opportunities that come his way to prevent suffering the same fate he did last spring and falling back in obscurity.

Karrion Kross

WWE gave up on Karrion Kross way too quickly when he was initially called up from NXT to the main roster in 2021, but since he was brought back the subsequent summer, it feels as if the new regime has taken too long to elevate him to that next level.

His time leading The Final Testament accomplished very little, but him and Scarlett being the only ones of the group to not be released in February indicates there are plans in place to push Kross sooner rather than later.

He's grown into his role as WWE's master manipulator, playing mind games with the roster in an attempt to further his own agenda. It hasn't exactly translated to a winning record for him inside the squared circle, but he's undoubtedly benefited from his increased exposure on Raw compared to where he was on the card even a year ago.

His run-ins with Sami Zayn at the beginning of the year seemed to be a sign that those two were on a collision course. It's too late for them to return to that rivalry, but it would be a good use of them both following WrestleMania 41 when they can really bring the best out of each other.

Zelina Vega

Zelina Vega experienced the biggest push of her career when she challenged Rhea Ripley for the then-SmackDown Women's Championship at Backlash 2023. Despite the strong showing she had that night, she primarily used as a The LWO's manager from that point forward and wasn't afforded many opportunities to stand out on her own.

Recently branching away from the Rey Mysterio-led stable and leaving Raw for SmackDown has given her a new lease on life, and it's no coincidence that she's made a handful of appearances with a clear intention to target Women's United States champion Chelsea Green.

Vega may never hold either of Raw or SmackDown's top titles for the women, but she would be a perfect fit for the Intercontinental or United States titles once she racks up more wins. Her loss to Piper Niven on the March 21 SmackDown proved that she'll need more backup before getting a fair shot at Green's gold.

While Green vs. Vega isn't a WrestleMania-worthy match on such short noticed, it does have the potential to be a solid feud for the spring, and as she builds more momentum, Vega could be the one to eventually dethrone her.

Ludwig Kaiser

WWE's efforts to make Ludwig Kaiser a breakout singles star this past year haven't gone unnoticed and are about to amount to considerable success for him in the not-too-distant future.

He and Giovanni Vinci made for a terrific tag team prior to their unceremonious split in the spring of 2024. Vinci was later released while Kaiser was given the solo spotlight, quickly transitioning into a feud with Sheamus on Raw.

Although he has yet to win when it has mattered most, Kaiser has made already quite the name for himself on his own and just needs an extra boost to get beyond midcard purgatory.

A feud with his Imperium partner Gunther would certainly accomplish that.

For many months, it appeared tension was being teased between the two with Gunther scolding Kaiser for his shortcomings. It's been some time since they had their last important interaction due to Gunther being firmly focused on his WrestleMania opponent Jey Uso, but all of their animosity must culminate in a post-WrestleMania program.

It would not only keep The Ring General busy upon losing the World Heavyweight Championship but also launch Kaiser into a prominent position on Raw where a stellar performance would do wonders for his promising career.