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)

Paul Heyman AJ Styles
WWE

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?

Paul Heyman AJ Styles
ImpactWrestling

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.

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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