7 WWE Superstars You Probably Haven’t Seen In A Bit (Heath Slater, Christian + 5 more!)

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When you watch a week of “RAW” and “Smackdown,” you expect to see the usual main event talent like John Cena, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt and Kane. When you watch secondary programming like “Main Event” and “Superstars,” you know to anticipate folks like Los Matadores, Sin Cara, Titus O’Neil and R-Truth. But at any given time, there are a number of WWE superstars who fall under the radar, for one reason or another.

Randy Orton and Sheamus haven’t been seen much of television due to injuries as of late, but here are 7 members of the active roster that you may have been forgotten about:

1) Heath Slater – He took a leave from WWE to deal with a court case that was dismissed, which I believe was explained via a “vicious” beat-down from Rusev. Supposedly he was backstage and ready to enter the 2015 Royal Rumble. Even if Slater Gator is a thing of the past, I eagerly await a return of the “One Man Band” and former tag team champ.

2) Bo Dallas – Like Slater, Bo Dallas was rumored to be a Royal Rumble entrant this year, but wound up as a last minute omission. Dallas has been out of action due to a foot injury, which is said to have healed. The “Bo-lieve!” concept is polarizing to fans — although any kind of strong reaction tends to be a good thing — but at the very least, Dallas is a unique character and a capable worker.

3) Christian – Christian was prominently featured in a “retirement” angle in December, yet when a fan approached him last month at an appearance, he denied that he had retired. Christian is still under contract and it would be a creative misstep to not at least feature him in a farewell tag match.

4) David Otunga – Last month, David Otunga popped up on a house show. Prior to that, he was last seen in a ring at Wrestlemania in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Not counting last week’s appearance on the “RAW” pre-show — presumably filling in for the also-not-in-a-ring-much Alex Riley — we haven’t seen Otunga on a proper broadcast in a while. In-ring work aside, couldn’t The Authority use a legal advisor?

5) Rey Mysterio – Rey Mysterio had a very quiet 2014 and has not yet been seen on-screen in 2015. For over a year, rumors have painted him being in a long-standing WWE contract dispute and trying to get his release. But what’s unclear is if he wants to continue as a wrestler and is headed to Lucha Underground, or if he owes WWE a few more matches before departing.

6) Zeb Coulter – Uncle Zeb was brought into the WWE as a mouthpiece for the promo-challenged Jack Swagger. He’s done great work as both a babyface manager and a heel manager, since Swagger has endorsed both America and ‘Murica over the past few years. We last saw Zeb back in December when Rusev “viciously” attacked him (see a pattern here?), which then wrote him off TV. As a legend with over 40 years in the business, it would be surprising if he did not pop up soon in some capacity.

7) Layla – Layla has been on the main roster in some form or another since 2007. She’s been a valet, a champion, and well, a co-champion. Her feud with Summer Rae over being Fandango’s valet had its moments, but resolved without much of an explanation. Layla is said to have had surgery last month, but given the thin pool of main roster divas with more than a few years of in-ring experience, she would be useful for one of those 8-diva elimination matches.

And that’s without acknowledging Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville and Charlotte being on “RAW” and plenty of house shows last year…or The Bunny…

-Darren Paltrowitz