10 WWE Wrestlers That Went From The Top To The Bottom Then Back Again

Nobody thought about this at Money In The Bank, but WWE's elevators go both ways...

Asuka Money In The Bank 2020
WWE.com

Seth Rollins has had a productive year.

Or should that be reproductive, eh? Based on how many people supposedly p*ssed themselves at some of the gags in the Money In The Bank ladder match, that's enough to extract a cry-laugh emoji or two in These Trying Times™. But anyway, while the impending birth of his first child with Becky Lynch will surely be a welcome distraction from the world's other ills for the both of them, it also comes right as 'The Monday Night Messiah' has locked into yet another intriguing new element of a persona that took shape in the shadow of one of the company's biggest disasters in years.

Turning heel in November 2019 after the company (and his own Twitter fingers) booked him into oblivion as a babyface, Rollins' cult leader shtick was a bit milquetoast CM Punk at first, but gradually gathered steam to the point where his empty arena WrestleMania match was one of the few without bells and whistles to actually work really well.

In what played like a rib due to 'The Man' becoming 'The Ma' earlier in the broadcast, Rollins' latest repackaging saw him emerge in a total trance following his title match loss to Drew McIntyre one night earlier, before snapping on Fatherhood well-wisher Rey Mysterio.

That they've rebuilt 'The Architect' after burning him all the way down last year is a testament to their patience with this particular turn, and tragically, just how it works anyway now...

10. Asuka

Asuka Money In The Bank 2020
WWE.com

Asuka's Raw Women's Title victory coming without her even realising she was fighting for it was rather in keeping with her scattershot trajectory on the main roster, but it was at least acknowledgement of just how vital she's been to the company in the empty arena era.

Wrestling might have declared itself immune to having to stop altogether, but it hasn't managed to mask the misery outside everybody's windows. That Performance Center is stuffy no matter the size of the ceiling fan, with the crickets in attendance doing little for anybody outside of 'The Empress Of Tomorrow'.

How she's managed to extract pops online so loud that they can be heard by other fans staring into the same void is remarkable, and now she's been set up to lead a division accordingly. It'll likely never match the magic of her truly transcendent NXT run, but will surely banish the low ebbs of the Carmella/James Ellsworth catastrophes too. To be impervious to these calamities may be the most important attribute of any main roster star now anyway...

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett