Every year, there’s a slew of WWE superstars who, for whatever reason, transcend to the next level of their careers. We saw it happen with the New Day a couple of years ago, and we saw it with Braun Strowman last year. It’s hard to really master the art of the “breakout,” but every now and then, you catch lightning in a bottle and run with it. Here’s my look at those who captured that magic in 2017.
WWE’s Breakout Stars of 2017
10. Mojo Rawley – Yeah….yeah, I’m putting this motherfucker here. You know why? Because he earned it! He won the 2017 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. I thought that, at the time, they were grooming him for a strong United States Championship run, but it never happened. Fast forward, and he gets a heel turn, and the company seems to have restored faith in the guy. Good for him. To be transparent, he’s not a guy I pegged for a singles push. But, he’s better than he was a year ago, plain and simple, and I’m eating crow for it now.
9. Jason Jordan – Jordan appeared to have the rocket strapped to his back coming out of the announcement that he was Kurt Angle’s son. But, it never really quite clicked, did it? Still, he’s pretty damn good. It’s not his fault that he’s been booked so oddly. There’s still hope for this run, but he’d be much higher on the list if everything went the way it was supposed to.
8. Carmella – Did anyone see “Ms. Money in the Bank” coming upon Carmella’s call up from NXT? No. The book on Carmella was that she wasn’t a good wrestler, and that she was only around to complement Enzo & Cass. WRONG. I think she’s done more than enough to prove the haters wrong, improving immensely in the ring and becoming one of the greatest heels in women’s wrestling today in the process.
7. Breezango – I’m always impressed by the guys who are handed shit turn it into gold. That’s exactly what Tyler Breeze and Fandango did this year. It looked like these guys were supposed to be a jobber team, but they’ve performed so well that Fashion Files is still a thing. In fact, it’s now one of the more anticipated segments on Smackdown.
6. Elias – Remember when the internet was mad and hated Elias Samson? They said his Drifter gimmick would never work? Not this guy. I actually felt that he was turning a corner before his injury in NXT. Now, he’s up on the main roster and the gimmick is clicking better than even I anticipated.
5. Andrade Cien Almas – Talk about a guy who felt listless in 2016, Almas felt like he was treading water in NXT last year. He revamped his character into a heel, they added Zelina Vega to his side, and everything started to click. The guy is a tremendous talent, so I was happy to see things come together in the form of the NXT Championship.
4. Johnny Gargano – They don’t call him Johnny Wrestling for nothing, amiright? Gargano has to be considered one of the five best wrestlers in the entire company, but after tagging with Tommaso Ciampa for so long, we forgot what a marketable sympathetic babyface the guy can be. Given the chance to shine on his own this year, the man put on some classic matches. The crowd wants to root for the guy, so good on him for stepping out on his own.
3. Naomi – This was Naomi’s year. She’s long sniffed a championship, but finally broke through and won one this year. Not only that, but she reinvented her character and transformed into something fresh and original.
2. Aleister Black – Talk about a guy coming from seemingly out of nowhere. Sure, the indy crowd knew about Tommy End, but for the WWE faithful, Black was something completely different – the style, the presentation, that kickass entrance. Plus, if we’re talking strictly body of work and quality of matches, I don’t think anyone has a better resume than Black. The guy is pound-for-pound one of the best in the world, and that really came across during his debut year with NXT.
1. Jinder Mahal – I don’t think it’s possible to have anyone else in this spot this year. This was a shocking, 2004 JBL-esque type of momentum swing. It carried Mahal from a veritable jobber to the WWE Championship, a title he held all Summer and well into Autumn. No one had the swing
Past Honors
2015 – New Day
2016 – Braun Strowman
More ‘Best of 2017’ WWE Coverage
WWE’s Top 10 Tag Teams of 2017
WWE’s Top 5 Rivalries of 2017 (coming soon)
The Top 10 WWE Superstars of 2017 (coming soon)
WWE’s Top 10 Matches of 2017 (coming soon)
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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