10 Wrestlers That Have Soared Since WWE WrestleMania 35

2. Paul Heyman

King Corbin
WWE

Paul Heyman opened WrestleMania 35 alongside Brock Lesnar before 'The Beast' fell to Seth Rollins in a high-octane opener, but his assertion that the two were about to bail for Las Vegas proved to be little more than false posturing for both.

'The Beast' was back by May, controversially winning the Money In The Bank match to claim a shot at the supposed 'Beastslayer' in which he briefly regained his Universal Title before another SummerSlam switch. Heyman, meanwhile, assumed the most power he'd had in the company since a 2002-03 run as SmackDown's head writer. Taking up the role of Raw's Executive Director, the former ECW gaffer (and SmackDown contemporary Eric Bischoff) being brought back to such high-ranking positions shocked the wrestling world, but Heyman's hiring in particular already appears to be paying off.

Raw's been the most consistent it's been for years (perhaps even all of the 2010s), and whilst not everything is hitting, the second half of 2019 will be remembered for some joined up storytelling and some admirable attempts to get a host of underutilised talents over.

One in particular has been reborn in the Heyman era...

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 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 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, 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