10 Things You Didn't Know About WWE In 2017
Paul Heyman & AJ Styles share a moment, WWE can't crack India and Kevin Owens goes long (and short)
In January 2017, an event occurred that would have seismic ramifications on the wrestling world and - though they'd not like to admit it now - major consequences for WWE.
Kenny Omega's loss to Kazuchika Okada at NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 11 brought forth two industry-wide conversations about 'The Cleaner'.
One was strictly to do with quality - the match was an instant classic and put both men over as two of the best (if not the two best) wrestlers in the world. The other related to the result - Omega had somewhat surprisingly lost, and did this mean that a WWE arrival for the out-of-contract star was imminent?
His answer was everything then, and even more now. Omega didn't show up as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble as his former Bullet Club colleague AJ Styles had one year prior, nor show up for the company at all.
Instead, he set about changing the world of wrestling with an expanding Elite, triggering a chain of electrifying events that gradually led to the formation of AEW as World Wrestling Entertainment's first serious competitor in nearly 20 years.
Everywhere but WWE for Kenny Omega, then, but that wasn't the case for another notable new arrival...
10. Bobby Roode Moves From NXT To WWE To...GFW?
A pro wrestling curio here, and one relatively lost to time because WWE didn't give a single sh*t enough to do anything about it.
Jeff Jarrett's short-lived Global Force Wrestling had worked with both New Japan Pro Wrestling and Impact Wrestling during the mid-2010s, but had also gone to the trouble of putting some television tapings in the can as part of a wider launch that never really happened.
It was in 2017 when they finally saw the light of day, but wrestling had moved on so rapidly between the recordings and airings that GFW had to be a little creative with the appearance of one star in particular.
Or, more specifically, in the case of Bobby Roode, they said he'd "jumped" back from his spot on NXT!
The 'Glorious' one was midway through his celebrated stint on the black-and-gold brand and would make the jump to the main roster later that year. The "GFW Amped" appearances fell right in between, with present day recorded commentary cheekily suggesting that he was thrilled to be working triple duty.