10 Ups And 14 Downs For WWE In 2015 (So Far)

Great highs on the horizon, but rough roads ahead.

So, how is WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns doing fending off challengers? Is Intercontinental Champion Daniel Bryan tearing up the midcard? What about the company€™s prestigious 2015 King of the Ring King Barrett? If looking back at the first six months of 2015 has taught wrestling fans anything, it€™s that plans rarely turn out exactly how you envision them. When WWE entered 2015, Roman Reigns was the heir apparent, a man who would win the Royal Rumble right off the bat and presumably build up to a heroic conquering of the Beast, Brock Lesnar, at WrestleMania XXXI to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. But that and several other plans have been tossed aside as the first half of the year has worn on, whether due to injuries, fan reaction or just the whims of those in charge. Not all of these changes have been bad, but this year so far has been a pretty disappointing one on multiple fronts. Conversely, there are some things that have happened in 2015 that should give WWE fans reason to rejoice, much of which stems from a glimpse of the future. It has to be not unlike 1996 when you had relatively new WWF superstars Steve Austin, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, The Rock and Mankind hanging out just a step (or two) below established stars Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker. There are some exciting things on the horizon for WWE. With all of that said, let€™s take a collective look back at the first half of 2015 in WWE. While some context is provided from last year and some storylines have advanced in the two-plus weeks since June 30, this list attempts to stay within those first six months of the year. So let€™s find out what spiked the ratings and what tanked viewership. Let€™s get to it€

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.