10 Times WWE Totally Dropped The Ball On Something Hot

8. Shayna Baszler On The Main Roster

WWE Elimination Chamber 2023 Sami Zayn
WWE.com

Few acts in NXT history have been as dominant as Shayna Baszler was during her time in WWE's developmental arm, and likewise few NXT acts have had the ball dropped with them as badly as the Queen of Spades upon moving to the main roster.

Having made a handful of appearances on Raw and SmackDown as part of 'brand wars', Baszler officially departed NXT in February 2020. Despite bizarrely debuting Shayna as a pseudo-vampire who took a bloody bite out of Becky Lynch, at least the former UFC star was paired up against a major player in the form of the Man.

The following month saw Baszler presented as an utter beast in the titular women's bout at the Elimination Chamber. Sarah Logan, Ruby Riott, Natalya, Liv Morgan and most impressively Asuka all tapped out or passed out at the hands of Shayna as she earned herself a shot at Lynch's Raw Women's Title at WrestleMania 36.

Many presumed that Shayna Baszler would topple Becky at that edition of the Showcase of the Immortals, and when she somewhat surprisingly came up short against Lynch, it didn't take long for the former NXT Women's Champion to fall out of the spotlight.

If Baszler had bested Becky Lynch at 'Mania 36, WWE would've had a killer heel at the top of its red brand's women's division; a killer heel with incredible believability and legitimacy. Instead, that opportunity was wasted, and we now find a Shayna Baszler who, now three years removed, has yet to hold singles gold on the main roster.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.