10 Most Unthinkable WWE Changes In The Last 5 Years

10. Huge Roster Turnover

Five years ago, The Miz, Alex Riley, and Christian comprised the heel side of WWE’s absurdly thin main event scene. R-Truth competed against John Cena for the WWE Championship at Capitol Punishment, and elsewhere, the likes of Ezekiel Jackson, Wade Barrett, and Cody Rhodes were contesting the Intercontinental Championship.

None of WWE’s current main eventers were active on the main roster, and current world champions Kevin Owens and AJ Styles hadn’t even been signed yet. This time period has seen Brock Lesnar’s return, the rise and fall of Daniel Bryan and the Yes Movement, The Shield’s dominance and subsequent dissolution, Edge’s retirement, and a whole lot more.

WWE have always been plagued by high roster turnover, but they’ve taken it to new extremes in the past five years. Of the 132 workers they used on Raw, SmackDown, and FCW in 2011, only 32 are active performers in 2016: a figure that includes part-timers (The Undertaker), guys who’ve come and gone (Curt Hawkins, Jinder Mahal), and those who’ve largely transitioned to non-wrestling roles (Triple H, Maryse).

The company’s roster composition has never been so turbulent, and today’s roster is almost unrecognisable from 2011’s. While the company still struggles with building legitimate main eventers, they can’t be criticised for roster staleness any more. For better or worse, the past five years have seen WWE undergo a heavy duty roster facelift, and with NXT stars Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe, and Asuka knocking on the door, it looks set to continue.