9 Wrestlers WWE Has BENCHED

5. Zoey Stark

Bo Dallas and Uncle Howdy - News June 25
WWE.com

Zoey Stark arrived on the main roster with the kind of momentum a current era-NXT call-up rarely receives.

A standout in developmental thanks to her athleticism, crisp in-ring work, and no-nonsense persona, Stark was poised to become a reliable force in WWE’s women’s division, and her debut alliance with Trish Stratus in 2023 gave her instant exposure, and a shot at the Women’s World Championship

From there, she was partnered up with Sonya Deville and Shayna Baszler as part of the Pure Fusion Collective, but in the wake of both stablemates getting released, she's all but vanished from television. WWE has struggled to carve out consistent midcard stories for its women's division despite the addition of secondary singles titles, and Stark has unfortunately become a casualty of that creative gap. It’s a puzzling move, especially considering her versatility; Stark could ostensibly thrive as a heel or babyface, elevate others in the ring, and cut solid promos when given time. She has the tools to be a workhorse akin to Natalya or a dark horse breakout like Rhea Ripley once was. Instead, she’s treading water in an increasingly crowded locker room, and left to try and fashion her own cult status with some middling X patter.

Stark may want to find what fits sooner rather than later - WWE hasn't shied away from cutting those they believe to be surplus, even if they haven't been given chance to show otherwise. 

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Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett