WWE Survivor Series 2017: Superstars Who Deserve Biggest Push Leading Up to PPV

We're on the road to Survivor Series. Which leads to the Royal Rumble. Which leads to WrestleMania. That makes it the ideal time to push the unsung superstars.

WWE has an ongoing problem with booking storylines in advance. Even so, some of the best, most classic storylines in WWE history had multi-month builds. For example, the Mickie James vs. Trish Stratus feud, which culminated at WrestleMania 22, simmered for eight months. And by the time James won the title, it was believable and relatable—so relatable, in fact, that fans cheered for her at WrestleMania even though she was the heel.

Here are the WWE Superstars in the greatest need of big pushes. They may not win titles before the year is out. But they need building now if they want their chances down the road.

Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable

Credit: WWE.com

This tag team has so much potential. On the left is a talented amateur wrestler and one half of an NXT Championship tag team. On the right is a veteran and former WWE Championship contender who is one of the most gifted athletes to come out of the OVW developmental territory.

They have excellent chemistry, which is especially fortunate for Gable; he must have feared his career was over when WWE Creative split up American Alpha.

The next step is for these two men is to start a program with The Usos and compete for the SmackDown Live tag team titles. No more programs with Breezango. No more potty-break matches against Epico and Primo. It's time to put these two in an angle befitting their talents.

Rusev

Credit: WWE.com

Rusev is booked to lose for the next several weeks. How do fans know this? Because he's in a tag team with Aiden English, whose gimmick is that he sings before he lays his shoulders on the mat, that's why.

This is the same guy who rode a tank into WrestleMania 31 with an undefeated streak. Clearly, he will never get back that level of villainous intimidation again. But what if he laid out English at the next possible opportunity and turned babyface? On social media and on Total Divas, Rusev seems like a funny, humble guy whose talents are being wasted by playing a stock Evil Foreigner with little to distinguish him from every other stock Evil Foreigner before him.

The Bulgarian Brute needs the chance to be more than just, well, a brute. And if he fails, then by all means let him be the hot tag in lower-card matches. But at least give him that opportunity.

The Bludgeon Brothers

Credit: WWE.com

In recent weeks, SmackDown has been running clips of Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, repackaged as the Bludgeon Brothers.

It's a new gimmick, at least on the surface. But Rowan still hasn't given up his mask. The beards are longer than ever. The two men still dress pretty much as they have always dressed. And the duo even spouts the same backwoods mumbo jumbo—only this time it's without any of Bray Wyatt's charisma.

Both men should leave The Wyatt Family gimmick entirely in their rearview mirrors. It's proved effective in the past; when Harper turned on Wyatt early last year, the crowd went wild.

There are incredible wrestlers buried underneath all that overgrown hair, and WWE is only utilizing a fraction of what Harper and Rowan—but particularly the former—are capable of. Harper may never be a world titleholder. But the Intercontinental title or the United States title is still within reach.

Braun Strowman

Credit: WWE.com

Braun Strowman lost to Brock Lesnar cleanly, which should have never happened. A monster's reputation is a fragile thing; once he's exposed as a normal guy who lost because of bad luck or inferior skill, it's hard to get that mystique back.

Between now and whenever his next loss is, Strowman needs to crush anyone who stands in his way. He needs to be durable as a tank and kick out of multiple finishers. One F-5 shouldn't cut it. And when he does lose, it needs to be under the most extenuating of circumstances. Most losses should be disqualifications because he ignores the referee's pleas to stop the beatdown.

Strowman has the rest of his career to lose cleanly. To do so now, when he's white-hot with the fans, is a miscalculation.

Asuka

Credit: WWE.com

It's shameful that The Empress of Tomorrow is on this list.

At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Asuka fought a competitive match against Emma. That, by itself, was forgivable; maybe Asuka was still shaking the ring rust off. Maybe WWE wanted to showcase her move set. Maybe WWE just needed to pad out the match because multiple wrestlers were out sick.

But the following night on Raw, Asuka fought another competitive match against Emma. And this time, the energy in the arena just died. This was the same woman who was promoted as undefeated and untouchable. And already, fans were losing interest in her because her past two matches made her seem more like hype than the real deal.

So yes. As ridiculous and sad as it sounds, Asuka, the latest, most exciting addition to the Raw roster, needs a push. And quickly. Before yet another NXT prospect is ruined by Raw's booking.