10 WWE Star Making Moments That Changed Nothing
9. Tye Dillinger's Royal Rumble Entrance (2017)
Tye Dillinger successfully carved out something of a career resurgence during his time on NXT.
Going from developmental talent to finding his footing on the independent scene, Dillinger eventually morphed himself into a crowd favourite on the black and gold brand - with his 'Perfect 10' gimmick proving to be a masterstroke in crowd engagement.
This all led to a Royal Rumble moment that - although expected - nearly blew the roof off the Alamodome in 2017. Entering the match at his signature number ten, Dillinger strutted down to the ring to the approval of 50,000 strong and it looked as though WWE had a new main roster star on their hands.
Four months later, Dillinger arrived on SmackDown Live and fans were eager to see what the fuss was all about after his breakout moment in the legendary over-the-top-rope match.
He would conquer Aiden English in his first feud on the brand before challenging AJ Styles for the United States Championship, and followed up these matches by spending the next few months floating around the mid-card title picture.
His initial main roster momentum was finally stunted a year after his initial crowd-popping appearance, when Sami Zayn jumped Dillinger on his way to the 2018 Rumble match and killed off any hope of Dillinger being considered as a marketable talent for the rest of his WWE tenure.
After an exciting arrival onto the scene, Dillinger's absence from the SmackDown Live mid-card was barely even noticed following his departure from the company in February 2019.