6 WWE Superstars who are currently AWOL without reason
WrestleMania season is the highlight of the wrestling calendar and WWE has now turned their biggest show of the year into a two-night extravaganza. This guarantees more matches and stars on the card, but there will always be a select few who miss out.
Recent releases have meant that WWE has a much smaller roster at present, but there were several familiar faces missing from the build-up to WrestleMania this year, stars who have yet to return.
The following list looks at just seven current WWE Superstars who are currently absent from the company's main TV shows without reason.
#6. Mustafa Ali hasn't been seen on TV since October 2021
i am requesting my release from wwe https://t.co/Q1QP8SA5zV
Mustafa Ali was last seen on WWE TV on October 29th when he was defeated by Drew McIntyre on an episode of SmackDown. The former RETRIBUTION leader was permitted some time away from the company to welcome his third child, but has failed to return to TV since.
On January 16th, Ali requested his release from WWE publicly as part of a message on Twitter. The company has since refused his request and Ali has confirmed that he has more than two years left on his contract.
Despite still being contracted to the company, Ali refused to be part of the annual Royal Rumble match and wasn't featured at all on the Road to WrestleMania. The star has now been absent for almost six months.
#5. Mace
Ready for the next battle. https://t.co/Pw84WgaaDL
T-Bar and Mace have retained their names from when they were called up to the main roster to be part of RETRIBUTION. The group split back in February 2021 and Mia Yim and Shane Thorne have since been released.
The two men were split as part of the WWE Draft back in 2021 but have failed to get pushed on their respective rosters.
Mace recently sent a cryptic message on his Twitter account but is yet to return to TV. His last notable appearance was in November 2021 when he competed in a SmackDown battle royal for the number one contendership for the Universal Championship, a bout won by Sami Zayn.
Whilst T-Bar has been used on SmackDown since his move over to the blue brand, much like Mace, he hasn't made many notable appearances and has been seen as an enhancement talent.
#4. WWE Superstar Doudrop
Doudrop was called up to the main roster last year and was part of an interesting storyline with Eva Marie ahead of her release.
The Scottish star most recently feuded with Becky Lynch and challenged her for the RAW Women's Championship at The Royal Rumble. After being unable to dethrone Big Time Becks, Doudrop has seemingly been forgotten and hasn't featured on RAW now for several weeks.
Following her most recent feud with Bianca Belair, the EST of WWE went on to challenge for the title at WrestleMania whilst Doudrop was seemingly written off TV and failed to compete at the biggest show of the year.
#3. Shotzi
The woman formerly known as Shotzi Blackheart was called up to the SmackDown brand back in 2021 alongside Tegan Nox. The Welsh star has since been released from the company. After turning heel and feuding with Sasha Banks, Shotzi has been lingering without any concrete stories.
This is somewhat strange considering Raquel Gonzalez was recently called up to SmackDown when the brand already has several women with nothing to do. Recent reports suggest that there is no heat on Shotzi and there is no real reason for her absence other than the fact that creative has nothing for her at present.
#2. Xia Li
Xia Li was called up to SmackDown back in October as The Protector and was pushed into the feud between Sonya Deville and Naomi. Despite having an incredible character and gimmick at the time, it's clear that the main roster creative team has no idea how to book her.
Li failed to appear in The Royal Rumble earlier this year and aside from several backstage appearances and a feud with Natalya, the former NXT Superstar has been wasted on SmackDown. Her last match on TV came back in February and she has since been waiting for a storyline to allow her to make her return.
#1. Aliyah
Aliyah was called up to the main roster after six years in NXT back in October 2021, following the WWE Draft. The star immediately became a familiar face on the brand and stepped into a feud with Natalya where she was able to set a record for the shortest match ever.
Aliyah 3:17 doesn't appear to have caught on the way that the company had hoped, and after being replaced at Survivor Series by Toni Storm, it's been a strange few months for the star.
After losing her "dungeon style" match to Natalya back in February, she appears to have become another overlooked female on the brand, which could be tough for her moving forward with NXT call-ups incoming.