12 Ups And 15 Downs For WWE In 2016

11. Sami Zayn Stalls

15 Kevin Owens Sami Zayn Battleground
WWE.com

After a debut that saw him continue a rivalry against former best friend Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn spent a good part of 2016 sputtering after the brand split, being called upon to have solid matches with various wrestlers, but not being given much in the way of a long-term feud.

During his first year on the roster, Sami has competed for the Intercontinental Championship numerous times (including at WrestleMania XXXII) and fought in the Money in the Bank ladder match. He closed out the year involved in a strange feud with Braun Strowman, standing up to the big man despite being told repeatedly that he couldn’t beat the monster. With Strowman now involved with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns as well, it’s anyone’s guess whether Zayn will continue that rivalry.

Overall, it wasn’t a terrible year for Sami – he’s still one of the more popular wrestlers on the Raw roster – but it was a disappointment in terms of what it could have been.

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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.