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2017 has been a great year for the underdogs in the WWE, the unexpected champions and the Superstars you'd never expect to be the ones standing in the spotlight. We, in the WWE Universe, all have our opinions on who should be at the top, who is actually talented and who isn't worth the television time they receive.
And it's that last group of Superstars we're looking at today, the WWE Superstars who people felt weren't good enough, should have been released, or just weren't working, because there's a fair share of these Superstars that have silenced their critics, ten of them in fact! Here are the 10 superstars who proved the critics wrong in 2017
10. Alexa Bliss
Alexa Bliss wasn't 'part' of the women's revolution despite being around the WWE at the time, she was never seen as being up there with the likes of Bayley, Charlotte, Sasha Banks or Becky Lynch and many couldn't understand why she'd even been called up to the main roster at all.
Jump to the end of 2017 and Alexa Bliss is the longest ever reigning RAW Women's Champion, the first woman in WWE history to win both the RAW and SmackDown LIVE Women's titles, a feat only matched by Charlotte, and she's heading into 2018 as the top woman in her respective division. Not too bad at all!
#9. Drew Gulak
Many people had written Drew Gulak off as one of the more throwaway 205 LIVE Superstars with a generic gimmick, an unexciting in-ring style and an apparent lack of charisma that saw him fall to the bottom of the Cruiserweight Division.
Then he changed up his look, and started presenting his Powerpoint Presentations for a 'Better 205 LIVE' and everything changed, it turned out the guy was superb at characterisation and absolutely oozed charisma and comic timing, quickly becoming one of the best, if not the best, things about 205 LIVE
#8. Enzo Amore
This brings me to Enzo Amore, arguably one of the best promos the company has, but not one that people like...at all. His wrestling ability is also not something that people admire, so much so, that during his breakup feud with former tag-team partner Big Cass, people were rooting for Cass even though he was the heel in the feud.
That hasn't actually changed much, but transferring Enzo from the main roster to 205 LIVE has worked wonders, not only for 'The Certified G' but for the entire 205 LIVE division as a whole, Enzo brought the best out of the bland heels like Noam Dar, Tony Nese and, of course, Drew Gulak, as well as elevated the Cruiserweight Division as a whole with his unlikable champion gimmick, proving his worth.
#7. Elias
Elias floundered in NXT, people hated the 'Drifter' gimmick and this led to the character failing to get anywhere on the yellow brand. This is why people were extremely confused when he was called up to the main roster, and assumed he was just going to tread water till his release.
Now Elias is in one of the better spots on Monday Night RAW, his concerts in the middle of the ring are incredibly over, with the Superstar superbly able to drift (see what I did there) between getting a face and heel reaction effortlessly. Elias has simply clicked with the main roster crowd in a way that he never did at Full Sail University.
#6. Dolph Ziggler
Dolph Ziggler has been with the WWE a long time, but many people thought his career with the company was winding down following a less than stellar year in the ring. Ziggler was put in the 'Gatekeeper' role, with NXT call-ups to the main roster going through him first. However, his feuds with the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura and Bobby Roode failed to set the world alight.
Now Ziggler is one of the more intriguing Superstars heading into 2018, having abandoned the United States Title in the middle of the ring after winning it at Clash of Champions, deeming the WWE Universe not worthy. Like has happened many times before, we seem to write Ziggler off, and he finds a way to become extremely relevant again.
#5. Aiden English
Following the breakup of the Vaudevillains, I'm sure there were many who wondered what Aiden English's place on SmackDown LIVE would be, with many wondering how long it would be until he was a contender for being feature endeavoured.
Now English has found himself solely responsible for one of the best things to come out of SmackDown LIVE in years, Rusev Day, and is in a tag-team with the 'Bulgarian Brute' that seems to be going from strength to strength.
#4. James Ellsworth
The story of James Ellsworth speaks for itself, he was enhancement talent brought in to put over Braun Strowman, but found himself impressing so much that the WWE kept him around, even having him beat AJ Styles more than once!
However once his programme with Styles ended and he paired up with Carmella, even I must admit that I thought he wouldn't be sticking around for much longer. But he was released almost a year later and the entire WWE Universe was upset about it because Ellsworth had proven his worth.
#3. Jason Jordan
The Kurt Angle's son storyline has had its ups and downs for Jason Jordan. There are those who think it should've been Chad Gable, those who think that Jordan simply isn't good enough to carry the weight of the angle (see what I did there as well...)
However in recent week's Jordan has found himself picking up a lot of heel heat as the whiny and entitled son of RAW General Manager, Kurt Angle but is also displaying an excellent in-ring ability. Already I've seen several people start getting on board for Jason Jordan as a top heel in the company, and I think 2018 will be a big year for this WWE Superstar.
#2. Paige
Paige's critics were less concerned with her in-ring ability because that's never been in question, Paige is clearly one of the best female in-ring workers the company has, and has always been consistently good in the ring.
No, Paige's critics were those questioning her place in the company in general, especially given the sheer amount of controversy surrounding her personal life. However, the WWE stuck by her and she recently made her triumphant return as the leader of a dominant female stable and she feels like she's right back where she belongs.
She would have lost her job back in March owing to private leaks had it not been for the Rock and his production house who recently completed the filming of the biopic on Paige's life titled, "Fighting With My Family".
#1. Jinder Mahal
I'll be honest, the jury is still out for Jinder Mahal, especially as it now seems his main event push is coming to an end. However, I think when the WWE Universe looks back on Mahal's title reign they won't be as negative about it as they are now.
I think Mahal has done his job perfectly, and those last two title matches with AJ Styles proved that, perhaps with the right person, Mahal is able to put on captivating performances inside the ring.
