Sami Zayn, Rusev and WWE Superstars in Biggest Need of a Title Push

Sami Zayn is wearing down his wrestling boots walking around in WWE purgatory.

He's neither a legit championship contender nor a bottom-feeding jobber. He follows a win with a loss and the pattern repeats. Zayn is a potential top-tier babyface being treated like a middle-of-the-road hand.

Be it the United States Championship or the WWE title, Zayn needs to be in the mix for one of SmackDown's prizes.

For Zayn, Rusev and a number of other WWE Superstars, a championship chase and title feud would be a career-changer. Going from the midcard (or in some cases the sidelines) to the championship scene would give these wrestlers a better stage on which to shine.

Zayn and Rusev rank among the most underutilized Superstars on the roster. That needs to change.

Fans are waiting to connect with them better, to cheer them, to see them in the hunt for gold. 

Rusev

A shoulder injury stalled Rusev's transition to SmackDown after April's Superstar Shakeup.

While recovering, The Bulgarian Brute threatened to not show up to the blue brand and said he wouldn't compete until he received a title shot. This was a smart setup for an intriguing storyline, one that would either send Rusev charging into the title scene right away or into a feud with SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon.

The tale never took off.

Rusev's threats stopped. He didn't arrive at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view as promised, but instead briefly reprised his foreigner-versus-patriot feud with John Cena ahead of Battleground.

Not going through with whatever WWE was cooking for Rusev was a missed opportunity.

The Bulgarian Brute has long been one of WWE's most promising young stars. His intensity pops on screen. His hard-hitting style thrills. He looked ready to lead the New Era until his momentum sputtered toward the end of his initial rivalry with Cena.

SmackDown needs to showcase Rusev big time moving forward.

The powerhouse should trek up the brand's mountain, be a compelling wrecking ball and work his way to the WWE Championship picture. Facing Randy Orton at SummerSlam is a hell of a start to that process. But only if he can take down The Viper more than he falls to the former world champ.

Luke Harper

WWE's positioning of Luke Harper is bewildering.

He's a 6'5", 275-pound beast who can dive out of the ring like a cruiserweight. He's a slugfest artist who can hang with high-flyers like The Usos. Harper boasts a commanding presence in the ring and is a unique, creepy, larger-than-life figure.

Yet he isn't even consistently on TV. Aiden English has more wins since the start of July than Harper has had total matches in that span, per CageMatch.net, if you can believe that.

A guy who should be in the title hunt is stuck hanging around catering. 

SmackDown general manager Daniel Bryan knows WWE is missing the boat with the big guy. He said of Harper in a June interview with Fox Sports' Nick Schwartz: "I think that he's somebody that we can utilize better. When he left the Wyatt Family, I thought the fans were really starting to get behind him."

At 37, it's not as if WWE can afford to be as patient with him as it can with some of the talent coming out of NXT. The time for Harper to be chasing titles is now.

Harper vs. AJ Styles for the U.S. title is a no-brainer move.

Mustafa Ali

The cruiserweight division has yet to see anyone emerge as a legit star other than Neville. That's bound to change thanks to Mustafa Ali.

He is a lightning bolt in wrestling boots. He's got magazine-cover looks. He's the kind of guy who it's hard not root for.

Matt Willis of ESPN.com wrote of him: "Ali continues to thrive whenever given a chance. He might be the best high-flyer in all of WWE right now."

Ali's skills were on display in a thrilling 2-out-of-3 Falls match on 205 Live against Drew Gulak in July.

WWE has to start giving him more long matches like that to showcase him, to make it a priority to give him airtime. A title chase and reign is the perfect means to do just that.

With his feud with Gulak now over, WWE needs to consider pushing Ali toward the top of the cruiserweight division to a showdown with the champion Neville. It's time to make full use of his appeal as a babyface.

Emma

Fans last saw Emma taking a pounding in a short, one-sided match against Nia Jax on July 24. Her appearances outside of that beating have been minimal.

WWE teased a gimmick change for her for months, the vignettes announcing her re-debut informing us that she would now be Emmalina, an apparent self-obsessed pretty girl. The company called an audible, though, and had her revert back to her evil, prowling self.

But she hasn't done anything since.

Emma is a strong in-ring worker and extremely comfortable as an egotistical villain. She has a ready-made storyline motivation seeing as she helped kickstart the women's revolution and is often not given her due for that. 

Plus, she would offer the Raw Women's Championship scene a fresh face.

When WWE is scheming who should steamroll their way to the top of the women's division next, Emma has to be at the top of that list. She would thrive against Bayley (who she has history with at NXT) or Sasha Banks, and seeing her tear apart her old ally Dana Brooke would be mighty fun, too.

Sami Zayn

Zayn is the everyman, the underdog, the gutsy warrior the audience wants to see overcome the odds. He churns up pathos like no else in WWE right now. He's a fan favorite extraordinaire.

Total Wrestling Magazine summed it up well in a tweet from May: "Zayn in the ring is just about the best sympathetic babyface on the #SDLive roster. Plays that part so well."

We don't get to see him play that role in the spotlight nearly enough, though.

Zayn has had rivalries with Samoa Joe and Baron Corbin end before reaching a true climax. And now he's taking on Mike Kanellis in a feud likely designed to put the new signee over.

At some point, WWE has to stop making Zayn the stepping stone and make him the heart and soul of a story centered around championship glory.

His rise to the NXT Championship in 2014 was an engrossing journey. Zayn led the way as fans were sucked in, cheering on his successes and cringing when it looked like another collapse was on that way. That story needs to be told on SmackDown and on PPV.

If WWE doesn't make Zayn a contender, a champion and the core of a marquee narrative, it's making a mistake.