10 Ways WWE Is Completely Unrecognisable From Just One Year Ago
8. A Former Buried Wrestler Is The Opposition's World Champion
Dean Ambrose was absolutely f*cked last year.
He was f*cked before then, in truth, and he knew it enough to elect not to sign a new WWE contract when talks came up following his 2018 return. A heel turn on Seth Rollins had been a disaster of concept and execution, all the way through to a tone deaf and impossibly poor Intercontinental Title match between the pair that freed 'The Kingslayer' up for a Royal Rumble victory and move back to the main events. It had failed in its efforts to tee him up, but succeeded in chasing Ambrose out of the door for good.
AEW's impending existence must have helped too.
The re-rechristened Jon Moxley returned to wrestling the day after his WWE release, announcing himself as a impending threat to New Japan Pro Wrestling, then heightened his visibility further with an All Elite Wrestling arrival that was literally - just look at his face when he hits the ropes - breathtaking.
An epic G1 Climax performance briefly presented him as perhaps the best all-rounder in the world, and taking the AEW Championship from Chris Jericho at February's Revolution confirmed similar status within that organisation too.
And he's not the only one that got away...