8 Key Victories In 2019 That WWE Never Followed Up On
Not striking while the iron is hot tends to be WWE's specialty.
From the highest of highs (an all-women's WrestleMania main event) to the lowest of lows (the Wild Card Rule), it's safe to say 2019 has been a really weird year for WWE.
The company's tendency to make questionable booking decisions is well documented, but a Superstar not getting their just due can be easily explained by Vince McMahon not seeing anything in them. What doesn't make sense, however, is when someone scores a career-defining victory and aren't on the receiving end of a significant push immediately afterward.
It's unknown whether McMahon quickly lost hope in that specific star or if there were never plans for that moment to be expanded upon in the first place. Regardless, the following athletes could have very well been on the brink of super stardom, but thanks to WWE's negligence, they were forced to either remain where they were or slowly drop back down the card.
To the company's credit, it can take time for certain Superstars to find their footing. For example, it was three months after beating The New Day on Raw that The Viking Raiders finally began building real momentum. Then again, it's been long enough in the cases of these eight competitors, and WWE's inability to properly follow up on their important wins has cost them greatly.
8. Sami Zayn Beats Braun Strowman (Raw, May 13)
It's no secret that Sami Zayn hasn't been booked to look too strong since returning from injury after WrestleMania 35, but his win-loss record in recent months is actually astonishing.
Zayn has lost every match he's competed in save for two: a tag team affair with Kevin Owens at Stomping Grounds and a Falls Count Anywhere main event on Raw in May. The latter was against Braun Strowman with the winner advancing to that Sunday's men's Money in the Bank Ladder matchup.
Of course, it was far from a truly competitive contest, as Strowman predictably dominated Zayn for most of it. It wasn't until Drew McIntyre and Baron Corbin (who were also set to compete in Money in the Bank) interfered that Zayn was able to keep Strowman down for the count and pin him for the victory.
Granted, Zayn didn't win clean, but that should have propelled him at least into the United States Championship picture. Instead, he failed to become Mr. Money in the Bank before being squashed by Strowman the very next week on Raw.
Serving as the hype man/mouthpiece for Shinsuke Nakamura for the past month has been a decent role for him, but it's also an incredible waste of his in-ring abilities.