State of the WWE roster: The babyfaces

It's been a while since we last took inventory of the WWE roster and assessed its current standing. The quality of wrestling in the ring over the past year or so has been stellar, no doubt about that, and with the rise of acts like The Shield, The Wyatt Family, and others, one could argue the roster is as deep as its ever been.

But is that really the case?

Here, we will run down each member of the roster (based on the Superstar listing at WWE.com, which means some names will not appear, like Brie Bella and Batista). We'll break them down into three tiers, list them alphabetically, then assess whether they're hurting or healthy.

To see our breakdown of the heels click here.

Now, it's on to the babyfaces!

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Main players

Big Show: Somehow manages to find himself in the main event picture, even when he's not wanted and it makes no sense for him to be there. He'll be taking time off to film a movie soon.

CM Punk: Listed here due to his being listed on the WWE.com roster page to this day, Punk has said he's retired and there are zero indications that will be changing anytime soon. He recently married AJ Lee and the two may be having a child together if recent rumors are to be believed.

Daniel Bryan: He's been the focus of the promotion for almost the entire year, and especially after Punk left in late January. After wining the WWE world heavyweight championship, he suffered a neck injury and was forced to relinquish the title. He's currently out with August or September a target return date.

Dean Ambrose: He's been given a major boost of late thanks to Seth Rollins turning heel and aligning himself with Triple H. Rollins targeted Ambrose instead of Roman Reigns, and now the two are embroiled in a blood feud.

The Rock: Like Punk, he's still listed on the WWE roster page although obviously he's not active. Unlike Punk, however, he may actually return someday for a big money match-up at WrestleMania. If he does, expect him to be the main event and treated like the major star he's always been.

John Cena: He is, to be blunt, the franchise. He is the star quarterback who, even when taking a backseat and allowing others the chance to shine, is the main focus of the promotion. All roads lead to him but he's been in this spot for damn near a full decade and the time to start slowing him down a bit is fast approaching.

Roman Reigns: Widely considered the lead member of The Shield, he tore ass with his team throughout the year until Seth Rollins turned. Now he's working as a singles star and quite obviously being groomed to be the next big thing. His first WWE world heavyweight championship match occurs in less than one week at Money in the Bank.

Assessment:

As stated, Punk and Rock are listed only because they're listed at WWE.com. If they were here, this would be a ridiculously strong group. But they're not, and it's entirely possible we don't see either of them ever again. Big Show is here but should be in the mid-card at this point. Either way, he's leaving to film a movie for WWE Studios. Bryan was hot as could be this year but suffered an injury that required neck surgery and now his future is up in the air. That leaves Ambrose, Reigns, and Cena. Ambrose is a main player because he's been in main storylines but how long will he stay here? What happens when the Rollins feud ends? Reigns is being groomed to become "The Guy", or at least it appears that way. He's over as hell and has all the tools. Finally, Cena is Cena and whether you enjoy his character or not, he's hugely successful for the company. Were he not on this list, it would be situation critical.

Grade: Hurting

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Mid-card

Adam Rose: A recent call up from NXT, he was pushed hard initially but has since fallen off a bit amidst reports that those in power haven't been sold on his potential.

Big E: He started the year winning the Intercontinental title and is a mainstay in rumors that include his working a program with John Cena. It just hasn't happened and he's slowly fallen further down the card as the year has gone on. He's running dangerously close to the lower tier status.

Cameron: One half of the Funkadactyls, her role is secure thanks to her being a cast member on Total Divas. Of late, she's been pushed as a title contender who may be turning heel soon.

Christian: He was set to challenge for the Intercontinental championship earlier in the year but he was injured and hasn't been seen on WWE television ever since. His career may, in fact, be over.

Dolph Ziggler: A perennial mid-card act, Ziggler is always knocking on the door of the main event but, for various reasons, fails to break through. He went through a rough stint to start the year, as he was put on the backburner, but he's been picking up some steam as of late.

Goldust: He's been teaming with his brother Cody Rhodes all year and while things were bright at one point, they cooled off considerably. Recently, Cody was replaced by Stardust and the two are getting another push with a fresh coat of paint.

Kofi Kingston: Although he does a lot of jobs, he's still treated as a potential threat to mid-card titles at any given moment.

Mark Henry: He's only been seen sporadically throughout the year, a few times as the victim of a Brock Lesnar attack and the others as a challenger for the U.S. title when it was held by Dean Ambrose. He's getting long in the tooth and nearly the end of his storied career.

Naomi: A key cast member on Total Divas, she's been hovering near the top of the Divas division for much of the year when healthy. She suffered an injury and was removed from the title picture but just recently got back into it. She may be breaking away from Cameron soon.

Natalya: A mainstay of the Divas division, she can always be counted on to deliver when needed in any women's match she's asked.

Nikki Bella: She started a tag team with Eva Marie but that went away rather quickly and now she's wondering around aimless since her sister was fired. One of the main cast members on Total Divas, she's sure to end up featured again soon enough.

Paige: The current Divas champion, she's been featured as the top female wrestler since winning the title from AJ Lee the night after WrestleMania. She hasn't been given as much time as of late, reportedly due to a lack of support from the powers that be.

Rey Mysterio: He's spent most of the year out injured, only working a number of matches, including the Royal Rumble and the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 30.

Rob Van Dam: He missed the start of the year but returned the night after WrestleMania to jump into mid-card feuds with the likes of Cesaro and Jack Swagger.

Sheamus: The United States champion, Sheamus has been pushed out of the main event scene by bigger and better stories after returning from injury early in the year. A heel turn to freshen him up could be coming.

Stardust: Just recently introduced to team with Goldust, the artist formerly known as Cody Rhodes is getting a chance to shine with a new character.

The Usos: Currently the tag team champions, they've spent much of the year tearing it up on that scene and delivering exciting matches when asked.

Assessment:

There are two solid tag teams here in GoldStar and The Usos. Paige has a great deal of potential as Divas champion. Big E was headed for big things at one point but fell off a bit and is slowly regaining footing with a lot of possibilities for his future. Dolph Ziggler is consistently hovering in that weird purgatory between breaking through to the top level and remaining stuck in the mid-card. Sheamus is a guy who can move up to the main event title picture and not miss a beat. He's a strong U.S. champion for now. After that, it gets rough. RVD is long in the tooth. Rey Mysterio is out injured and there's no telling if or when he'll be back. Same for Christian. Same for Mark Henry. Kofi Kingston has become the "title contender when needed who does big spots in elimination matches". Then you've got the cast of Total Divas, for what that's worth, which is plenty for the E! channel but not so much for WWE programming like Raw and SmackDown. Then there's Adam Rose. Yeah.

Grade: Hurting

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Lower tier

Darren Young: Currently out injured after surgery to repair a torn ACL, he had a feud with Titus O'Neil when the two split but didn't have much creatively after.

Emma: A fine wrestler with talent she's so far been unable to showcase, Emma has toiled away in a comedy team with Santino Marella. They've been given less and less time on television of late with no clear indication that that will be changing anytime soon.

Eva Marie: After a brief push in a tag team with Nikki Bella and feud with Summer Rae, she's been put on the back burner once again.

Great Khali: He hasn't been on WWE television for some time and even when he was it was as part of a weird romance with Natalya that never went anywhere.

Justin Gabriel: Not even a jobber, Gabriel has simply disappeared from television with no signs of a return anytime soon. He's been used in NXT this year and wrestled at WrestleMania, but that's it.

Los Matadores (& El Torito): A tag team that hasn't quite been able to find proper footing outside of a joke feud with 3MB that is now dead thanks to recent budget cuts.

R-Truth: He may pick up a win here or there but he's mostly a jobber at this point following the failure of his tag team with Xavier Woods.

Santino Marella: He's still a comedy act who does a lot of jobs, only now he has a woman he runs around with in Emma. They've been used but only sporadically and for short spurts in meaningless programs that never seem to go anywhere.

Sin Cara: The original left the company and the artist formerly known as Hunico now dons the mask. Although there has been hope to revitalize his career, he hasn't seen much action on main television shows.

Xavier Woods: Was called up to the main roster to steal Brodus Clay's music and the Funkadactyls but that fizzled and died out. A tag team with R-Truth did the same and he's become a jobber.

Zack Ryder: A jobber who survived recent budget cuts but is rarely used and has very few prospects as it stands right now.

Assessment:

Quite frankly, this is a sad group that doesn't have many prospects. Emma is a real talent who is being utilized poorly while the guy she's with, Santino, is stuck in neutral and likely always will be. Young, Khali, and Gabriel are all off television. Eva is Eva. One half of Los Matadores reportedly suffered a knee injury at a recent house show and with 3MB gone, there wasn't anything in the pipeline for them. R-Truth has fallen from the main event scene all the way down to the lower tier and changing that at his age and this far in would prove difficult. The Sin Cara and Zack Ryder brands may be damaged beyond repair but we may never find out if only because WWE has steadfastly refused to get behind them in any meaningful way.

Grade: Hurting badly

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When broken down into tiers like this, the babyface side of the roster appears to be hurting badly. Take them all together and it's not so bleak but it's clear WWE is counting on guy's like Reigns to really hit big.

That does it for our look at the WWE roster. Your thoughts, Cagesiders?