After seeing Raw become The Bobby Lashley Show on Monday night, it is obvious how a string of injuries – coupled with the departure of a number of main event stars over the past few years – has taken its toll on WWE’s depth at the top of the card.

The current disabled list reads like a who’s who of the biggest names in wrestling – The Undertaker, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio, King Booker and Mr. Kennedy. And I don’t want to jinx anybody, but Batista, one of the few healthy main-eventers, has a history of serious injuries.

Losing that many top guys is bad enough, but it’s even worse when you consider how many other big-name wrestlers are no longer on the roster.

It began three years ago when Brock Lesnar and Bill Goldberg both exited after WrestleMania XX. Since then, Kurt Angle, The Big Show, Chris Jericho and Christian have left the company, and Rob Van Dam reportedly is on his way out. Plus, there was the untimely death of Eddie Guerrero and JBL retiring from active competition because of injuries to become a color commentator.

In all, WWE has lost 14 former world champions (if you count Christian, who held the NWA title but never made it past high mid-card status in WWE) – as well as Mr. Kennedy, who was being groomed for the title – to injury or other circumstances.

Now, for the good news. First, the six injured wrestlers will all be back in action, some sooner than later. They will be fresh characters again when they return, and some will have ready-made angles.

Secondly, even with the staggering number of roster hits, WWE still has stars such as John Cena, Edge, Batista, Randy Orton and Lashley. Also, wrestlers such as Mark Henry, The Great Khali – and possibly Snitsky – are believable monster heels. Furthermore, WWE has several other talented performers who easily could be thrown into the main event mix.

At the top of the list is MVP, who has made huge strides over the past few months. I also think – if done properly – Ric Flair making one last run at the world title would be a compelling story line and a money angle. If Carlito ever really gets motivated and the WWE creative team gets behind him, he could enter the upper echelon, too.

If I had to pick one guy to immediately elevate, however, it would be Matt Hardy. He’s never been booked all that strongly as a singles wrestler, but I think fans would accept him in a higher spot if the angle was done well. I’ll play booker and offer one possible scenario in my next post.