10 WWE Stars We Expected To Be World Champion By Now
Nak To The Future
Roman Reigns' victory over Brock Lesnar was more of a liberation than a coronation.
'The Big Dog' has worn big belts before, with his 2015 and 2016 WWE Title reigns doing little to curb audience disdain towards him regardless of the McMahon-mandated stubbornness over his position as John Cena's natural replacement. His failure to win the Universal Title before Sunday's SummerSlam was earmarking him as the Lex Luger of his generation. A permanent choker, Luger lost major matches so often he became real sporting failure instead of a Sports Entertainment nearly man.
Perception is reality beyond the fabrication and fiction of professional wrestling. The old gag about men without pants fighting for a belt is cute, but the power of that belt remains the principle reason why all of them engage in such a gruelling line of work in the first place. It's why Brock Lesnar's reign became so damaging - those 504 days weren't so much about building a legacy as much as they were Brock's bank balance. A veritable cast of thousands crashed and burned in the lofty spectre Lesnar's shadow created. For Reigns to somehow emerge after his own failed attempts at 'The Beast' earlier this year speaks to McMahon's resilience rather than his own.
He was fortunate to have the Chairman's undying support. Brock's run torched Raw's other regulars; these careers were things lost in the fire. Even those escaping to SmackDown Live! haven't yet recovered...
10. Jeff Hardy
A 40-year-old man should not be smashing his back upside down on "THE HARDEST PART OF THE RING, COREY", but that's exactly what Jeff Hardy did to try and get people talking a little more about his dead spot SummerSlam snoozer with Shinsuke Nakamura.
The bone-crunching bump was more wince than wow, particularly considering the relative unimportance of the match on the pay-per-view and in the wider WWE picture. Nakamura's United States Championship simply isn't a prize worth maiming yourself for, and Hardy's brush with his own youthful insanity was an unseemly reminder of the risks somebody like him shouldn't be taking anymore.
It's bumps such as this that remind audiences how big a star Jeff could still be without doing quite as much damage to his weathered frame. He's kept hold of much of the support channeled towards his 2017 return, still bristling with many of the intangibles needed to be a headline act and boasting a relationship with the audience as pure now as it was back when he last held the company's top titles a decade ago.
Was the apron Swanton a senseless act of begging bravado from the 'Charismatic Enigma', or a cry for attention directed at a neglectful booking team?