5 WWE Stars Who Had An Underwhelming 2025

Fortunately, his alliance with Dragon Lee bore significant fruit. The duo of Styles and Lee won the World Tag Team Championships from the Judgment Day’s Finn Balor and JD McDonagh. They were fighting champions and lost their titles to the Usos in the final RAW of the year.

#4. Randy Orton

Randy Orton is one of the most recognizable and revered figures in pro wrestling today. A 14-time World Champion and 2-time Royal Rumble winner,  Orton is also among the most celebrated stars in WWE history. However, he has been misutilized since his return at Survivor Series 2023, and 2025 was no different.

The year started well as Orton continued his blood feud with Kevin Owens. Unfortunately, KO suffered an untimely neck injury, and their WrestleMania clash was canceled. Joe Hendry ended up being the Viper’s mystery opponent at The Show of Shows. While it was an entertaining segment, there was nothing particularly memorable about Orton’s outing at Mania.

The Viper then clashed with a heel John Cena at Backlash in St. Louis. The match was pretty good, but the ending was overbooked with R Truth’s interference, leading to a dirty Cena victory. Orton’s losing ways would continue as he lost in the King of the Ring finals to his protege, Cody Rhodes.

Over the summer, the 14-time World Champion was embroiled in a meaningless celebrity feud. At SummerSlam, Orton and his partner, Jelly Roll, lost to Logan Paul and Drew McIntyre. This was the last time the Apex Predator competed at a PLE, as he missed out on the previous 4 PLEs of the WWE calendar.

Orton still has a lot to offer in the ring. There is a ready-made feud with Cody Rhodes waiting for the WWE legend, but Triple H never delivered on the teases. 2025  was arguably one of his most underwhelming years as a pro wrestler.

#3. LA Knight

One of the chief complaints with Triple H’s booking in 2025 was his decision not to go all-in with LA Knight’s push. The Megastar has been over with the crowd for more than two years. Since the summer of 2023, Knight has been receiving the loudest reactions from the crowd, but Hunter has never committed to a sustained push.

After Knight dropped the US Championship to Jacob Fatu at WrestleMania, WWE should have launched him into the main event scene. Instead, they fumbled his push and used him as fodder for the Vision. For the third straight year, Knight failed to win the Men’s Money in the Bank match.

The former US Champion earned some big wins, including a massive victory over Seth Rollins at Saturday Night’s Main Event in July. However, despite a relentless and brave pursuit, the World Heavyweight Championship eluded him. Knight spent the entire summer and fall fighting the Vision, but Triple H, cluelessly, kept him out of the Men’s WarGames match.

WWE has not committed to LA Knight. The fans’ support speaks for itself: they see Knight as a main eventer who should be the World Champion. Hopefully, 2026 turns out better.

#2. Drew McIntyre

Coming out of 2024, Drew McIntyre was destined for greatness. McIntyre had participated in a brutal, career-defining feud with CM Punk and had begun a “Bloodline Hunter” gimmick. The Scottish Warrior was chasing members of the OG Bloodline, and fans were anticipating a clash between McIntyre and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 41.

However, WWE randomly dropped the “Bloodline Hunter” gimmick. There were no meaningful interactions between McIntyre and the Bloodline during the 2025 Men’s Royal Rumble match. Only Jey Uso and Sami Zayn were targeted. Instead, the Scottish Warrior entered a WrestleMania program with Damian Priest.

The build and eventual match were solid, but fans wanted better for the 2 time WWE Champion. McIntyre won at WrestleMania, but lost the decisive encounter inside the Steel Cage at Saturday Night’s Main Event. The Scottish Warrior regained momentum at SummerSlam, where he successfully teamed with Logan Paul to defeat Randy Orton and Jelly Roll.

Following SummerSlam, WWE began the long-awaited championship blood feud between Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes. However, despite enormous potential, the rivalry failed to captivate. McIntyre lost twice to Rhodes and never looked like a legitimate threat to the American Nightmare.

Much like Gunther is today, McIntyre could have also become a supervillain coming out of 2025. The fans loved his character, and he has a menacing presence. Unfortunately, Triple H didn’t do justice to his character.

#1. Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns is one of WWE’s biggest stars, and he was responsible for guiding the company through much of its commercial and mainstream success in the last 5 years. His record-setting World Title reign provided countless memories and created several new Superstars.

Unfortunately, 2025 wasn’t kind to the OTC. Reigns suffered an embarrassing defeat at WrestleMania 41. Paul Heyman betrayed the OTC and sided with Seth “Freakin” Rollins. Rollins gladly put his former Shield brethren away for the three-count. The Vision, led by Rollins, destroyed Reigns several times throughout the year.

The Tribal Chief’s losing ways continued as he lost to “Big” Bronson Reed at Crown Jewel in Australia. Reigns was also part of the losing team in the Men’s WarGames match. For a man who ruled WWE with an iron fist for 1316 days, the OTC’s downfall has been painful to witness.