10 WWE Wrestlers Who NEED A Great 2018

Dealing with pressure is part and parcel of being a professional wrestler, or indeed anyone whose day-job consists of performing in front of a live crowd (especially one without compunction about shouting drunken obscenities).

But the pressures aren't necessarily the same for everyone. If John Cena or Brock Lesnar screw up in 2018, they can probably celebrate Christmas next year secure in the knowledge that their position on the WWE card won't be affected too much.

For others, the future is a lot more uncertain. There are one or two wrestlers who desperately need a strong showing over the coming 12 months - either because they performed below expectations this year, or simply because this could be their last chance saloon.

What makes this even more stressful is the fact that their fates are, to a large extent, outside of their own hands. It's one of wrestling's great truisms that you're only really as good as your booking, which is presided over by an often maligned creative team headed by Vince McMahon.

If you do get the chance to make amends, then, you really need to grab it with both hands...

As ever, WWE is keeping us in the dark over its plans for Dolph Ziggler, whose decision to vacate the United States Championship last week, 48 hours after one of his biggest wins in years, has baffled nearly everyone.

And yet, there is undeniably a lot of intrigue around the 37-year-old's career as a result. Is he actually going to retire? Is he being positioned for a main event push in the new year? Or - perhaps most likely - is he simply going to come back in a month or two as though nothing has changed?

If Ziggler is ever going to recapture some of that 2012-era magic, he needs a strong next 12 months. That doesn't necessarily mean winning (or even challenging for) the WWE Title - but meaningful storylines and an end to his frequent switching between face and heel are prerequisites.

Anything less than that and you really have to wonder what the point of this latest curveball is. Something of this magnitude really ought to represent a turning point in one's career - not simply a two-week stunt designed to generate a bit of short-term buzz.