10 Worst Wrestlers To Main Event WWE Raw In The 2010s

The 2010s was an interesting decade for Vince McMahon and the WWE. It almost felt like the passing of the torch in a way, as names such as Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, Triple H, and more all wrestled their final matches in the decade. Meanwhile, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and others quickly rose to replace them in the main event.

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However, as the company attempted to navigate the 2010s, it had some misses. Monday Night Raw itself had a lot of misses, as the show was straight-up bad for years at a time. A lot of that had to deal with their poor main event scene.

10 Vladimir Kozlov

It's easy to forget, partially because a lot of fans have tried, but Vladimir Kozlov was pushed as the next big thing. In the late 2000s, and the early 2010s, he was used as this massive Russian monster that was used in rivalries with names such as The Undertaker and Triple H.

Luckily, WWE eventually realized the error of their ways and began pushing him down the card until his release in late 2011. That being said, it was still a bit late, as he was used in the main event scene for longer than he should have.

9 Curtis Axel

Curtis Axel wasn't a bad wrestler, he just wasn't as good as the WWE had hoped. In 2010, he debuted in the company as a part of the first season of NXT, later becoming a member of the Nexus. By 2013, he had a new name and was paired with Paul Heyman.

The company tried its best to get Axel over, giving him a relatively memorable run with the Intercontinental championship. Sadly, he never did, ultimately being released in 2020, having been at the bottom of the card for years.

8 Big Show

To be fair, Big Show was still a solid big man in the early 2010s. While he was clearly slowing down, he was capable of putting on solid matches until the mid-point of the decade. Sadly, while most fans realized Show was slowing down, the WWE didn't.

Instead, he was in high-profile storylines for the entire decade, later becoming a key member of The Authority. Show would make noteworthy appearances for the company until his early 2021 release, later signing with AEW.

7 Bret Hart

Yes, Bret Hart is a legend and one of the greatest wrestlers to ever step into the ring. That being said, while that is true, he also didn't need to be anywhere near the ring in the early 2010s. However, Hart was, as he made a comeback.

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Due to prior concussion issues, Hart could barely take a bump, which was noticeable in matches. The issue is that WWE pushed the Canadian like he was still able to, which led to him headlining Raw alongside John Cena, having a WrestleMania match, and even a brief United States Title run.

6 Mason Ryan

Mason Ryan was yet another big man that Vince McMahon seemingly had an interest in. In early 2011, he debuted as a member of the New Nexus alongside CM Punk, becoming the star's muscle of the group.

That year, Ryan had a couple of big moments, even being on Team Randy Orton at that year's Survivor Series. However, by June of the following year, he was out of the WWE, never appearing in the company again.

5 The Ascension

It's easy to forget, but The Ascension was actually viewed positively at a certain point in time. They still hold the record for the longest NXT Tag Team Championship run ever and debuted on Raw in late 2014 with high hopes.

They were even inserted into a feud with The New Age Outlaws, but the success didn't last. Within just a few months, they were squashed, including having older tag teams even destroy them in backstage segments.

4 Aksana

Yes, Aksana did somehow main event an episode of Raw during her brief career with the WWE. In April 2013, she came out on the losing end of a fatal-five-way number one contender's match with AJ Lee, Layla, Naomi, and Tamina.

Simply put, Aksana just didn't have the ability to be a professional wrestler. It's fine, but it just wasn't for her, which is likely why she hasn't had a single match since her release in late 2014.

3 Nia Jax

Nia Jax debuted on the WWE roster in 2016, with high hopes. She had a unique look, was seemingly active and fluid in the ring for her size, and had legacy roots, as she's related to The Rock.

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That being said, while Jax had good moments, she also had a lot of bad ones. She had many botches in her WWE run, causing several injuries to names such as Becky Lynch. It's impossible to be a good main eventer when you hurt the people in the ring you're supposed to keep safe.

2 Ted DiBiase Jr.

Speaking of high hopes, Ted DiBiase Jr. looked to be the real deal in the early 2010s. He was put into high-profile spots early, forming Legacy alongside Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton. To his credit, DiBiase Jr. did well in that role.

However, after the end of Legacy, he floundered, eventually leaving the WWE in 2013. Given the later success of Cody Rhodes, DiBiase Jr.'s lack of success in wrestling is hard to overlook.

1 Hornswoggle

Hornswoggle's main event of Raw perfectly encapsulated everything wrong with the WWE in 2010. That January, he headlined an edition of the weekly show that was hosted by Jon Heder. Yes, this was during the horrific guest-host era.

Heder worked himself into a storyline with D-Generation X, losing in the main event in a tag team match with the Big Show and The Miz. Hornswoggle picked up the win for his team, in a match and era that is best left forgotten.