10 Worst Booked Wrestlers Of 2017
Misused, mistreated, and miscast.
WWE's inability to make the most of their multi-talented roster is a constant bugbear.
The company have never had such a rich and diverse crop of wrestlers on their books, yet they only ever seem capable of painting a handful in a positive light at any given time. Granted, they can't push everyone at once, but their cack-handed booking has torpedoed countless world-class performers over the years, and 2017 has been no different.
The likes of AJ Styles, Braun Strowman, and Alexa Bliss are soaring. Even Elias, one of the most basic wrestlers in the company, has gotten over through smart, effective booking, but such performers are in the minority. Raw and SmackDown are crammed with performers who aren't half as over as they should be. The star-making machine isn't so much faulty as irreparably broken, and the wreckage can be found strewn across the talent pool.
Each of the names within will be glad to put 2017 in the rear-view. The bookers have let them down, and while 2018 offers the hope of a fresh start, they'll begin the new year with an uphill battle to regain that lost momentum.
10. Mike Kanellis
A colossal failure on every conceivable level, Mike Kanellis' main roster push only lasted a few weeks, but stands as a perfect example of how not to introduce a new main roster superstar.
The former ROH and TNA man debuted alongside wife Maria at Money In The Bank, with the duo proceeding to deliver one of the year's most robotic promos. Presented as a couple of overly-cheesy lovebirds, they entered to a ghastly '80s-style power ballad, spouted a batch of toe-curling lines on their relationship, and then went on their merry way, having already slaughtered their go-nowhere gimmick's chances of getting over.
Mike wouldn't wrestle until a full month later, when he defeated Sami Zayn. It looked like a feud was brewing, but the Kanellises vanished from TV soon after Sami took his win back at Battleground, with Mike working just one televised bout in the past three months.
With the pregnant Maria now inactive, it's hard to see Mike's fortunes improving anytime soon, as their relationship forms the basis of the entire act. He's admittedly a limited worker, but this debacle begs the question of why WWE signed Kanellis at all.