10 Unexpected WWE Standouts Of 2016
9. Bray Wyatt
The start of 2016 was the lowest point for Bray Wyatt, marking his first year in the company without a WrestleMania match, and a confrontation with The Rock and John Cena that ended with his family looking like chumps. Things looked promising with a tease at a face turn in April, but the injury bug caught Bray again, forcing him to lose all momentum from the angle. It seemed like WWE had once again squandered the potential of one of its brightest young stars.
That's when we get to the brand split, and Bray ended up on a shallow SmackDown Live roster, with the potential to get out of the shadow of Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, and others. While his initial feud with Randy Orton was bland and hokey, Orton joining the Wyatt Family has given them a breath of fresh air.
Suddenly, Wyatt pinned Roman Reigns in the 5-on-5 Survivor Series match to win the contest for SmackDown. Then he and Orton captured the SmackDown Tag Team Championships at TLC, giving The Eater of Worlds his first title in his four-year career. Now, his threats are no longer hollow. His promos are worth watching. He is being rebuilt into the unstoppable force he was when he came up from NXT. Bray Wyatt is scary again. That's something we couldn't say before this year.