Brock Lesnar and the 7 Biggest Names Missing from WWE WrestleMania 37 Card

Despite the lackluster buildup, both nights of the WrestleMania 37 card have potential on paper. Most of the matches are almost guaranteed to deliver, and having a limited crowd in attendance will obviously add to the atmosphere.

Most importantly, WrestleMania 37 will feature the fewest number of part-timers in years. The only two set to compete are Shane McMahon and Edge—who tends to wrestle more than most part-timers, anyway.

Other than them, the entire lineup for this year's spring spectacle consists of Superstars from the active SmackDown and Raw rosters, and that can't be seen as anything but a positive. However, there are still a few notable names missing from 'Mania that haven't gone unnoticed.

Becky Lynch, for example, was a huge part of WrestleMania the last two years, including in the main event of WrestleMania 35. She won't be in action at WrestleMania 37 having just had her baby in December, though stranger things have happened.

Meanwhile, the chances of The Rock appearing at the event went out the window when Roman Reigns' plans for the pay-per-view changed. The Undertaker bid his final farewell to the WWE Universe in November, so he was never an actual option, either.

Everyone else's absence is definitely worth wondering about, whether it be because they aren't under contract or just aren't being used for whatever reason. A handful of Superstars, such as Rey Mysterio, will be involved in a pre-show of sorts on SmackDown the Friday before, and yet there will still be those who don't crack the card.

These are the biggest talents who are not expected to appear at WrestleMania 37 and will be watching The Show of Shows from the sidelines.

Brock Lesnar made his highly anticipated return to WWE the night after WrestleMania in 2012. Since then, he's competed at every installment, including three times in the main event.

He's competed against legends like Triple H, Goldberg and The Undertaker (whose undefeated streak he snapped in 2014) as well as up-and-comers such as Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre. He's been such a staple at The Show of Shows that for him to not be a part of it this year is jarring.

Lesnar's last match occurred at WrestleMania 36 when he lost the WWE Championship to Drew McIntyre. It was assumed that he'd be back either when fans returned or at least when WWE had something for him to do that made sense, and although a limited number of fans will return at WrestleMania 37, he's nowhere to be found on the 'Mania card.

In a way, it's been refreshing for him to be away from WWE for the last year. He hasn't held the title at all, which is wonderful, and there aren't many logical opponents left for him to face, anyway.

That said, his presence on the pay-per-view will certainly be missed this year. At last word (per ESPN's Marc Raimondi), he isn't under any sort of contract with the company, but there's always the possibility he pops up and kicks off his next program, perhaps with WWE champion Bobby Lashley.

At this time two years ago, Becky Lynch was undoubtedly the hottest star in all of WWE. She worked her way into the WrestleMania main event—that she likely wasn't expected to be a part of six months earlier—and emerged as both the Raw and SmackDown Women's champion.

Her momentum didn't peak there, though. She went on to reign as the Raw Women's champ for another year and even retained the title against all odds when she faced Shayna Baszler at WrestleMania 36.

Her pregnancy, which she announced on the May 11, 2020, edition of Raw, was the sole reason why she had to end her record-setting run. She and Seth Rollins welcomed their daughter Roux into the world on December 4.

Lynch teased a potential return to the ring at the Royal Rumble on Twitter, but otherwise, she's been completely off WWE TV for the past year. Her being back in time for WrestleMania 37 was always going to be a long shot, but enjoying motherhood is a pretty good reason for why she isn't around right now.

There's no update on when she'll return, but it may not be for another several months, if not for the rest of the year. However, a one-off appearance at WrestleMania wouldn't be entirely out of the question.

When Goldberg initially returned to WWE after 12 years away in 2004, it was never expected to be anything more than a one-off. The incredible shape he was still in, coupled with how he over he was with the audience, extended his run all the way through WrestleMania 33, where he lost the Universal Championship to Brock Lesnar.

That would have been the perfect final match for him, but WWE couldn't resist bringing him back for a match against The Undertaker at Super ShowDown in 2019. He's had a handful of matches since then, including against Braun Strowman last year at WrestleMania.

When he revealed last August that he's contracted to compete twice a year through 2022 or 2023, many fans assumed one of those dates would be at WrestleMania 37. WWE sped up the process by having him challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble, leaving him out of plans for The Show of Shows.

Unless he was taking on Randy Orton, the Legend Killer himself, there isn't anyone worth returning for. He still has some value to the company in an in-ring role, but it wasn't imperative he'd be in action at WrestleMania this year.

Expect to see him back around SummerSlam season or if WWE returns to Saudi Arabia for either Super ShowDown or Crown Jewel later in the year.

Unlike Brock Lesnar and Goldberg, Bayley isn't a part-time performer, and unlike Becky Lynch, she's been active for the entire year. In other words, there's no excuse for her not be a part of WrestleMania 37 in some form or fashion.

Her being left off the card is especially egregious when you consider that she reigned as SmackDown Women's champion for over a year from 2019 to 2020. She broke records and did her best character work in that role. Just recently, she helped put over Bianca Belair ahead of her Royal Rumble victory.

Following her feud with Belair, she was relegated to being a talk show host and hasn't been on TV a ton. She's made the most of it, and maybe hosting an installment of Ding Dong, Hello! will be how she gets on the show, but with how deep the women's division is right now, she should be wrestling.

Understandably, she wasn't going to be inserted right back into the SmackDown Women's Championship picture, but it seems not even the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is a priority for her. Unless she challenges either Banks or Belair coming out of WrestleMania, it doesn't appear WWE has anything of importance planned for her for the foreseeable future, and that's disappointing.

Before last year, Triple H hadn't missed a single WrestleMania in his 25 years with WWE other than in 2007 when he was out injured. He was perfectly healthy last year, and even before the start of the pandemic, there didn't appear to be any plans for him to compete at the event.

If there isn't an opponent who makes sense for him to face, then there's no reason for him to have a match, and that was the case last year. It's a similar situation this year as well because he hasn't been a part of the road to WrestleMania whatsoever, aside from his one-off appearance in January on Raw to fight Randy Orton.

AJ Styles was rumored to face The Game at WrestleMania this year, if only because Styles went on the record with TalkSport's Alex McCarthy months ago saying he wanted that match after getting his wish with The Undertaker last year. Evidently, he wasn't able to make that happen.

Instead, Styles finds himself challenging The New Day for the Raw Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania alongside Omos, while Triple H isn't on the card at all. It's more apparent than ever before that Triple H is essentially semi-retired as a wrestler to where he isn't even competing once a year anymore.

Again, it's nice to have the focus on the full-time roster for a change, but if WWE's first event back with fans in over a year wasn't enough for Triple H to lace up the boots again, it's worth wondering what the future holds for him in the ring and when his next match could be.

Charlotte Flair finds herself in a similar situation as Bayley in that she reportedly isn't hurt at the moment but has yet to be announced for a match at WrestleMania 37. Even more so than Bayley, she's been a part of The Show of Shows since 2016 and has had a marquee match at the event every year.

She returned to the ring following a long layoff at TLC in December and immediately became WWE Women's Tag Team champion with Asuka. They dropped those belts soon after, which kicked off a short-lived feud with Lacey Evans before Evans announced her pregnancy.

Asuka vs. Flair seemed to be the logical match to do for the Raw Women's Championship at WrestleMania, but Rhea Ripley arriving and stealing her spot instead makes for a fresher bout. It's worth noting that Flair announced on March 22 that she was recovering from COVID-19, which would explain why she's been off Raw recently.

One Raw remains before WrestleMania, and Flair could still be added to make it a Triple Threat. If not and WWE decides to hold her off until the night after WrestleMania, it will certainly be strange to not see her on The Grandest Stage of Them All this year.

John Cena's WrestleMania debut in 2004 saw him conquer Big Show for his first United States Championship. In the years that followed, he competed in many main events, won and defended world title matches, and stacked up victories over the legendary likes of Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Batista, among others.

For the last few years, however, his role at the event has been drastically curtailed as he becomes a bigger and bigger star in Hollywood. He was a mainstay in the midcard at 'Mania for a while with Bray Wyatt and Rusev, got squashed by The Undertaker at WrestleMania 34, and he appeared in a talking segment with Elias at WrestleMania 35.

He was involved in a bigger bout last year with Wyatt that took the cinematic approach, but he's since been completely away from the product because of other obligations. He's busy filming for HBO Max series Peacemaker, and in February, he told Sports Illustrated's Justin Barrasso that there was "no mathematical way" he could make WrestleMania this year as a result.

Needless to say, WrestleMania won't be the same without Cena, but his absence will make his eventual return mean that much more. When he does resurface, it should be for a prominent program, given his status as one of the most recognizable names of all time.

WrestleMania 37 will mark the first installment he will not be involved with whatsoever in his near-two-decade-long main roster run. Unless he appears via satellite or in a pre-taped segment, it will be the end of an era.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.