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This year has seen a lot of huge changes in WWE, and the year still isn't over yet. There have been moments in 2020 that not even the biggest fan of WWE could have imagined happening at the start of the year.
So far, fans have seen the first-ever WrestleMania take place in an empty WWE Performance Centre, and the Money in the Bank ladder matches take place on the roof of WWE Global Headquarters. Apart from that, the fans saw Becky Lynch become the first champion to relinquish a championship due to pregnancy. There have also been huge returns this year, including Edge at the Royal Rumble and Roman Reigns making a comeback with Paul Heyman in tow.
The WWE Universe has also seen numerous different Superstars getting a much-deserved push. Some of these were expected, such as Shayna Baszler and Keith Lee's moves to RAW, Karrion Kross becoming NXT Champion, and Bayley continuing her domination on SmackDown.
In contrast to those expected pushes, here are that fans could never have predicted.
#5 Sami Zayn won his first title in WWE in five years
Sami Zayn being at the receiving end of a push in WWE may have been predictable a few years ago, but in 2019, the star was on the sidelines. Since moving to the RAW in 2016, Zayn had not managed to win a title in WWE. In 2019, Zayn had lost fifteen out of sixteen of his matches on RAW, before moving to SmackDown later in the year, acting as a manager for Shinsuke Nakamura.
Cesaro later joined Zayn's group, dubbed The Artists Collective. Fans praised Zayn for his work as a mouthpiece for Nakamura and Cesaro, and he often interfered in his allies' matches.
In an unexpected move, Sami Zayn, Cesaro, and Shinsuke Nakamura challenged Braun Strowman to a handicap match for the Intercontinental Championship. Fans were shocked when Zayn took to the ring and became the new champion, his first title win in five years.
Zayn took a step back from competition during the current pandemic. He made his return to SmackDown to challenge current Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy, claiming that he was actually the real champion, having never lost the title. The two are set to face off with AJ Styles in a ladder match for the title at Clash of Champions.
#4 Apollo Crews won his first title in WWE
In 2016, Apollo Crews defeated Tyler Breeze in his debut match on WWE RAW and went on to have an undefeated streak that stretched out over a few weeks. Crews later became a member of Titus Worldwide alongside Titus O'Neil and Dana Brooke. Crews had opportunities for the RAW Tag Team Championship and the Intercontinental Championship, but failed to get his hands on the gold.
Following the split of Titus Worldwide, Apollo Crews worked quietly on the RAW roster, unsuccessfully competing in multiple editions of the Andre the Giant Batlle Royal. Crews drifted around the WWE roster without becoming involved in a high profile feud for some time.
In 2020, however, things started to turn around for Apollo Crews. The Superstar was drafted back RAW in April this year following a stint on SmackDown. Following the trade across brands, Crews took part in one of his most highly-praised matches in his WWE career against Aleister Black.
Shortly after this, Crews become involved in a rivalry with Andrade, and defeated him for the United States Championship, which his first-ever title win in WWE. While champion, Crews began feuding with the MVP and his faction, The Hurt Business. Crews successfully defended the title one a few occasions, and eventually dropped it to Bobby Lashley at Payback.
#3 Breezango won their first tag team titles in WWE
It was never a doubt that the team of Tyler Breeze and Fandango are talented in-ring performers, but up until recently, they were bouncing around the WWE rosters, seemingly with little direction given to them. Both stars moved around the SmackDown and RAW rosters for a few years, both as singles stars before coming together in 2016 to form Breezango.
The pair began referring to themselves as the Fashion Police and engaged in feuds against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens and also The Bludgeon Brothers. Breezango were fan favorites at the time, but were often handed losses in their pay-per-view matches.
In 2019, Breezango moved back to WWE NXT. Fandango was unfortunately sidelined with a shoulder injury, leaving Breeze to briefly compete as a singles star.
Following on from Fandango's surprise return in June 2020, the pair quickly became one of the biggest tag teams on NXT, winning the #1 contender matches for the NXT Tag Team Championships on two separate occasions.
Over the past few months, the pair have entertained fans with their unique and comedic entrances, often dressing up as their opponents or characters such as astronauts. Breezango managed to defeat Imperium in August on NXT to become the new Tag Team Champions. This championship win was the first title in WWE for both members of Breezango.
#2 Otis was this year's surprise WWE Money in the Bank winner
Through his WWE career, Otis has been paired with Tucker in Heavy Machinery. The pair were dealt more losses than wins during their time on NXT before moving to SmackDown in early 2019.
Otis and Tucker were often depicted as comedy characters, and although they were involved in a handful of #1 contender matches for the SmackDown Championships, the pair weren't successful. Towards the end of 2019, however, Otis began a storyline with Mandy Rose.
The romantic story between Otis and Mandy built slowly towards their first date that was set to take place on Valentines Day 2020, which was sabotaged by Dolph Ziggler and Sonya Deville. The relationship brought Otis to the forefront of SmackDown as a fan favorite and turned the former villainous Mandy face.
Through the storyline, Otis competed in his first singles match at WrestleMania 36, where he defeated Ziggler and won over Mandy Rose. Following on from this, Otis became the surprise Money in the Bank winner.
Since this, he has become involved in a storyline where The Miz has used his influence to separate Otis from Mandy Rose by moving her to WWE RAW, and has been trying to take the Money in the Bank contract away from him.
#1 Zelina Vega is about to contend for her first-ever title in WWE
Since 2017, Zelina Vega had been more widely known as the manager of Andrade, accompanying the former WWE United States Champion to the ring. When working as the manager of Andrade, Vega only had occasional appearances in the ring, including a match where the pair teamed up against Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch.
During the pandemic era of WWE TV, more performers joined Vega's crew, including Angel Garza. When WWE were broadcasting from the Performance Centre, Zelina Vega was a prominent feature of RAW, engaging in heated promos against WWE Champion Drew McIntyre and often appearing on commentary.
Zelina Vega has received even more of a push in recent weeks. It seems like Vega is no more the manager of Andrade and Angel Garza. Even more surprisingly, Vega confronted RAW Women's Champion Asuka after The Empress of Tomorrow had defeated Mickie James.
It has since been confirmed that Zelina Vega will face Asuka at the upcoming Clash of Champions for the RAW Women's Championship. This is the first time in her WWE career that Vega has had a title opportunity, and hopefully, it will not be the last.
Bayley gives us a HUGE update on a top Superstar's upcoming return RIGHT HERE.
