Assessing Blame on These 10 Struggling WWE and AEW Stars
Anytime a professional wrestler in WWE or AEW struggles, there is a certain level of blame to be assigned, either to the performer themselves or the creative forces that have put them in that position.
Some are uber-talented individuals who have not received a push reflecting their talents, while others are world champions who, for any number of reasons, are struggling in that role.
Here is a look at 10 stars from both companies currently struggling for one reason or another and where the blame should fall.
Carmelo Hayes
1 of 10
The former NXT champion arrived on the main roster after a year in which he was the centerpiece of the developmental brand.
Fans had lofty expectations for the man known as "Him," but instead of high-profile feuds and title opportunities, he took part in a best-of-seven series with Andrade that felt more like the result of WWE Creative having nothing else for either to do.
Since that wrapped up, Hayes has wandered aimlessly on SmackDown, working with stars such as Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton in one-off matches before disappearing into the background.
A recent win in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal encouraged some hope among fans, but the 30-year-old was right back to tagging with The Miz in another thrown-together tandem with a limited ceiling.
The blame falls almost exclusively at the feet of Triple H and the creative team for Hayes' main roster struggles. He has repeatedly earned critical acclaim for his in-ring performances and while he stumbled a bit early in his backstage promo segments, he always bounced back.
The lack of creative direction or any real, substantive programs for a star who was the lead on NXT has severely hampered the momentum he had coming to the main roster.
Blame Assessment: WWE Creative (100%)
Christian Cage
2 of 10
Not all that long ago, Christian Cage was the most over heel in pro wrestling, a heartless villain who manipulated his opponents by taking blatant personal shots at their families, most notably their fathers.
Fans despised him and the artist formerly known as Captain Charisma appeared to be headed toward one last world title run, even more so after he secured a championship opportunity.
Things did not according to plan, though.
After failing to cash it in at least once, he finally did so in the main event of Revolution in March.
In what amounted to little more than an excuse to use up the title shot and eliminate that story thread, Cage cashed in and immediately was choked out by Jon Moxley, who retained his title in a Triple Threat also involving Adam Copeland.
It was a complete creative failure, one that did nothing to benefit anyone involved, least of all Cage, who has struggled to get back to the level he was at before the booking blunder.
Sure, he is a veteran of the game and has a long and Hall of Fame-worthy history of heating himself back up, but it took 14 years for him to rediscover the level of heel he was entering that pay-per-view, only for the flame to be extinguished in the name of continuing a championship run that had long outstayed its welcome.
The blame here is primarily on the creative that went into Cage's subpar cash-in, but also on the performer himself, who has the experience and pull behind the scenes to fight against bad choices such as the one that unfolded at Revolution.
Blame Assessment: Tony Khan (75%), Cage (25%)
Alexa Bliss
3 of 10
In no universe should Alexa Bliss have come back to the incredible fanfare that she did at the Royal Rumble on February 1, only to wrestle two matches before disappearing until the May 9 episode of SmackDown.
Even if her creative plans were tied to the Wyatt Sicks, who were taken off of television amid an injury to Bo Dallas/Uncle Howdy, there was plenty of time for Triple H and his team to find something for a star of her magnitude and popularity to do between the Rumble and WrestleMania 41.
They dropped the ball and created a scenario where a multi-time singles and tag team champion was left sitting on the bench, watching another road to WrestleMania rather than competing in her first since 2020.
Sure, the Wyatt Sicks thing hurt but the writing team's inability to shift plans, when they had proved adept at doing just that along the way to the biggest show of the year, earns them the blame for the disappointing first chapter in Bliss' return.
Blame Assessment: WWE Creative (100%)
Daniel Garcia
4 of 10
Daniel Garcia is an interesting case of a wrestler who has earned opportunities, made the most of them, then repeatedly watched as his most significant pushes stopped and started over and over again.
A supremely talented technical wrestler who has flashed signs of natural charisma but sometimes struggled to get fans completely invested on the mic, he is one of AEW's most talented young performers and proved his loyalty to the promotion by re-signing in 2024, despite interest from WWE.
Upon his return, though, the 26-year-old feuded with Jack Perry in a fairly high-profile program for the TNT Championship, continued to shine against top stars and in title defenses, only to lose the gold to Adam Cole in a feud that felt relatively flat.
Now, Garcia is involved in a relatively prominent program with FTR, but fans have no realistic expectation he will evolve from here because history suggests he will shine and then slink back into the midcard.
The definition of treadmill booking.
Blame Assessment: Creative (85%), Garcia's still slightly underdeveloped promo skills (15%)
Charlotte Flair
5 of 10
Anyone who has paid even a modicum of attention to the WWE product over the last decade could have told the company that bringing back Charlotte Flair from a serious knee injury and have her win the women's Royal Rumble immediately was not going to endear her to fans.
Not when there was already frustration over The Queen seemingly being inserted into the championship picture every time she comes back from a hiatus.
The fans booed her on night two of her return, and there was no real plan for her to go into her program with Tiffany Stratton as a heel, hence the mangled creative direction we got on the road to WrestleMania that resulted in shoot comments and hurt feelings.
She put Stratton over, but Flair's return was fumbled considerably and the company's failure to recover resulted in TV that only hurt its most decorated female star.
That she did not have enough foresight to recognize the history of her own character and how fans have (or have not) accepted it over time only accentuates the failures on both sides.
Blame Assessment: WWE Creative (50%), Flair (50%)
MJF
6 of 10
MJF is one of the rare professional wrestlers who can call himself a "generational talent" and actually be one.
He has proved it time and again, with show-stealing PPV performances, scathing promos and a devotion to his on-screen persona that we do not see often in today's wrestling world.
The 29-year-old is every bit as great as he professes, which makes his usage over the last year or so that much more questionable.
A former AEW world champion and a centerpiece of the company's television, he is currently advocating for inclusion in The Hurt Business.
Yes, the most selfish, vile villain on TV wants to be a part of the group after he swore he would not look for friends, associates, partners, etc. when he returned from injury last May, thanks to the turn his friendship with Adam Cole took in late 2023.
It is a creatively tone-deaf situation, and while it explores the character's desire to be accepted by others despite his brash bravado, it feels like a waste of a genuine star who should take up residency at the top of the card.
While sharing the screen with one of the most over acts in AEW makes this less egregious than some of the other names on this list, the context of the story he finds himself part of feels uncharacteristic of the MJF we love to hate.
Blame Assessment: Creative (60%), MJF (40%)
Solo Sikoa
7 of 10
It has been a year since WWE strapped a rocket to Solo Sikoa and pushed him to the moon as the leader of The Bloodline in the absence of Roman Reigns.
The 32-year-old received a ton of television time, wrestled in premium live event headliners and battled every top star in the company during that time.
However, his loss to Reigns on the January 6 debut of Raw on Netflix began his descent down the card. And while he is still in a relevant position and preparing to feud with cousin Jacob Fatu on SmackDown, one cannot help but recognize how much the former self-proclaimed Tribal Chief has fallen.
Sikoa is clearly in the shadow of Fatu, who is a freakish in-ring performer and arguably the most interesting worker on the roster. He is not as physically dynamic as his Bloodline teammate and does not have the natural charisma or the engaging promo ability, either.
Sikoa is essentially the generic bad guy who gets overshadowed by his more memorable minion. That cannot and should not be blamed entirely on WWE Creative, either. Sure, it put him in that position before he was ready for it, but he came out of his shell way too late in the game to maximize the opportunity in front of him and convince management he was still a main event guy beyond the inevitable blow-off with Reigns.
Blame Assessment: WWE Creative (50%), Sikoa (50%)
Deonna Purrazzo
8 of 10
Deonna Purrazzo arrived in AEW following an all-time great run with Impact Wrestling (TNA), in which she established herself as one of the greatest Knockouts in company history and one of the most gifted in-ring technicians in the industry.
She was one of the most coveted free agents at the time and a wrestler ready to help revolutionize the AEW women's division.
Instead, The Virtuosa has been shoved into the background with no real direction to speak of. She is a forgotten entity in the women's division at a time when it is finally realizing its potential, thanks to stars such as "Timeless" Toni Storm, Mercedes Mone, Jamie Hayter, Athena, Billie Starkz and Kris Statlander, among others.
Her partnership with Taya Valkyrie is fine, but there is little of substance for them to do and the woman once lauded as the best in the business is now firmly in the background, her talents essentially wasted amid a complete lack of opportunity.
Through no real fault of her own.
Tony Khan and his team's failure to have any creative direction ready for a performer of that stature by the time she first appeared is unfathomable, though it's also not the first time it has happened.
Blame Assessment: Creative (100%)
John Cena
9 of 10
It is difficult to convince anyone that the biggest star of the last 20 years and the undisputed WWE champion, fresh off a record 17th title win at WrestleMania 41, is somehow "struggling."
That may be too harsh a classification given his success, but it's obvious John Cena, in the middle of his retirement tour and amid his first heel run in 22 years, is not entirely comfortable in the role.
The content of his promos are fine, but the delivery feels very much like an actor reciting lines rather than a man turning his frustration on the fans. It does not come off as believably as one would have hoped for, nor does it feel like he particularly believes what he is saying.
That much is on Cena. There is undeniably a part of the guy who has heard the complaints about him winning all the time, for being the cookie-cutter good guy, for being Superman in a WWE that needed Batman. Instead of letting years of frustration out, he appears content to play an over-the-top version of what someone thinks a bad guy is.
Creatively, the middle portion of his story feels underdeveloped.
There was the turn at Elimination Chamber, and we know he will revert back to being a babyface before he leaves so he can ride off into the sunset as the hero the WWE Universe loves, but in between feels less defined.
There will be opponents set up for him, but it's as if the story is being written as we go along rather than the two working in unison.
That part is disappointing, especially considering Cena announced his retirement at last year's Money in the Bank and everyone involved had ample time to come up with that story.
Blame Assessment: WWE Creative (40%), Cena (60%)
The Death Riders
10 of 10
Like Cena, the idea that a top-tier, world title act is "struggling" is almost ludicrous but anyone who suggests The Death Riders are just fine at the top of AEW is not paying attention.
While the company rebuilds momentum and wins back fans after a subpar 2024 creatively, they remain a one-dimensional, uninteresting act.
Jon Moxley is the world champion who talks about beating people up, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta are the expressionless henchmen who interfere in his title matches and ensure his reign continues, and the result is something we have seen countless times throughout the long history of professional wrestling.
And quite frankly, it's boring. It's not engaging in the slightest and the disjointed narrative spun by Moxley, with quotes from movies and philosophies that are either half-baked at best or gibberish at worst, makes it even worse.
It feels like an excuse to portray Moxley as a badass at the expense of the rest of a roster that has spent the last six months or so losing matches to him amid incessant interference from a group not creatively strong enough to do so and still earn the fans' trust and attention like The Bloodline did in WWE.
It is an underwritten act and one that has not inspired excitement about the main event scene in AEW for months. That Khan and Moxley, from who the concept was devised, have stubbornly pushed forward with it rather than calling an audible and giving the audience something they want is only an indictment on them.
Blame Assessment: Creative (50%), Moxley (50%)
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