16 Best WWE Debuts And Returns Of 2018

9. Andrade “Cien” Almas

Drew Galloway
WWE.com

If anyone’s ranking is based largely on potential, it has to be Andrade “Cien” Almas.

Almas debuted on SmackDown as part of the Superstar Shakeup in April to much fanfare. His heel turn and NXT Championship run reinvigorated his standing, and his matches as champ were stellar.

Unfortunately, while he’s had some high-profile, well-regarded matches against top-level stars like AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio and Daniel Bryan, Almas hasn’t had a signature feud on the main roster. His biggest rivalries to date have been with Sin Cara and Rusev & Lana. Neither of those produced a great moment for Almas.

But at the same time, there are plenty of reports that WWE brass is high on Almas, and his ringwork has been solid, so there’s reason to hold out hope for him.

Contributor
Contributor

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.