10 Wrestlers WWE Failed In 2022

7. Xia Li

Sasha Banks Failed
WWE.com

It might be the case that your writer here is a rose-tinted Xia Li fan who thinks there's plenty to be tapped into with the real-life badass, but it's hard to argue that Li hasn't been totally shafted by WWE since moving to the main roster at the end of 2021.

While Xia's first main roster appearance came on a December '21 episode of SmackDown, it wasn't until the following February that the star made her in-ring bow on the blue brand. Introduced as the Protector, Li was a sh*t-kicking babyface who looked to thwart the nefarious rogues of the Smackers women's division. With a legitimate background in various martial arts, the one-time Tian Sha talent was - and is - as believable as it gets when it comes to slapping people around.

Surprisingly, that SmackDown in-ring debut - where Li defeated Natalya - was followed by a couple of months off TV, which in turn was followed by a heel turn when Xia did return to SmackDown in April.

As of this writing, Xia Li has only had nine televised matches since that February bout, and only one of those - a two-minute June loss to Lacey Evans - has been a singles contest. Throw in several prolonged absences from TV, and it's been a rough year for the Chinese battler.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

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.