6. Dolph Ziggler
He has been so monumentally buried by the company in the second half of 2013 you might forget just how big of a star Dolph Ziggler was in the first half of the year. He came into 2013 off the back of a December 2013 TLC main event win over John Cena. His status in the company at the start of 2013 was right up there with Cena and Punk. He was ahead of Daniel Bryan in terms of character and push, and was arguably the best worker on the roster. He contested many superb matches that got huge reactions in the early days of 2013. Singles bouts with John Cena started Ziggler's year, including a steel cage contest. From there he went on to a superb showing in the Royal Rumble, entering at number one and lasting nearly 50 minutes. A successful feud with Chris Jericho followed before a series of tag matches with Big E against Daniel Bryan and Kane. Needless to say, Bryan and Ziggler had some excellent exchanges. That feud culminated in a losing effort at Wrestlemania 29, but the next night on Raw Ziggler cashed in his money in the bank briefcase on Alberto Del Rio to win the world title. It was the biggest pop and sustained crowd reaction of 2013. A star was seemingly born. WWE had a new main eventer on their hands. Unfortunately things then went sour for Dolph. For unknown reasons his push was halted and he spent the rest of the year either doing jobs of not even being featured. All this may have been punishment for vocal criticism he had made of WWE creative, or something to do with Ziggler going out injured quickly after becoming champion. The burial of Dolph has been one of the strangest aspects of WWE in 2013. Despite being in the doghouse he remained a top performer when given the opportunity. His losing efforts to Alberto Del Rio were all very good, as were matches with Dean Ambrose and Damien Sandow. He is one of the most gifted athletes in WWE, working a ring style reminiscent of Shawn Michaels. When creative finally get back behind him, Ziggler will again challenge for the top spot of being the main man in the WWE.
Highlight of the year: Cashes in Money in the Bank to win World Title and get biggest crowd reaction of 2013