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There were several forgettable WWE moments in 2020. As the year slowly heads towards a close, there are several WWE stars who will be happy that this year will make way for the new one in a few days. Whilst the likes of Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre have had stand out years, others haven't fared as well.
Not only that, but the COVID-19 pandemic has forced WWE into making several knee-jerk decisions with their creative team, which has led to a lot of scrapped storylines over the past 12 months.
This year has still been a memorable year for WWE. The company has made a profit despite the pandemic and still continued to put on weekly shows, despite the rest of the world being forced to come to a halt.
Whilst January's Royal Rumble feels like it was more than a year ago, here are just eight of the most forgettable WWE moments from the past 12 months.
#8. Lana and Bobby Lashley's marriage
WWE fans would be forgiven for forgetting that the year kicked off with Lana and Bobby Lashley as man and wife. This then led to a storyline between Liv and Lana which was later scrapped by WWE, as well as Lana and Bobby Lashley's marriage.
Just a few weeks after the couple had said their vows, Lashley realized that Lana wasn't good for him and asked her for a divorce, before moving on to a lucrative partnership with MVP. Lana has since worked alongside Natalya and developed a new relationship with the announce desk this year, before recently entering a team with Asuka.
WWE didn't even make it clear if the couple's divorce was finalized, and it was as though the company wanted that story in the rearview mirror as quickly as possible.
#7. WWE's RAW Underground
Remember the hype surrounding Shane McMahon's return earlier in the year when he announced a new concept of a show that would be part of the final hour of Monday Night RAW? It was a show that only managed to last a few weeks until the COVID-19 pandemic took it as one of its victims.
RAW Underground was filmed with several extras from NXT and because of the issues the COVID-19 pandemic was causing in the Performance Center, WWE decided to cancel RAW Underground for the time being. As of this writing, there is no update on the future of the show.
#6. WWE's shows at the beginning of the pandemic
When the worldwide lockdown began back in March, WWE was forced to find a new home inside their Performance Center and it was obvious that the company wasn't prepared to be there for the long haul. The first few shows were hard to sit through, as WWE replayed several pay-per-view matches from previous years and even gave away this year's Royal Rumble match for free.
Of course, a few months into the lockdown, WWE finally reached the point where they could pre-record the shows and were able to continue with various storylines. Fans who remember the lead up to this year's WrestleMania would probably rather forget it.
#5. Rob Gronkowski's WWE debut
Rob Gronkowski has been around WWE for several years now and is perhaps best remembered for being the star who helped Mojo Rawley win the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
This year he was part of WrestleMania and became 24/7 Champion after jumping off a balcony, something that Vince McMahon had to show him he could do first. It was a moment that was built up for a long time before falling flat. Gronkowski then stepped out of retirement to rejoin the NFL and was released by WWE.
Needless to say, he then lost his 24/7 Championship to R-Truth.
#4. WWE's trip to Saudi Arabia
It's hard to think back to the beginning of the year since the Royal Rumble seems as though it was years ago, but WWE actually traveled to Saudi Arabia before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Super ShowDown took place on February 27th and most fans will probably remember this as the location where Goldberg defeated The Fiend to become Universal Champion. This is perhaps the only moment that is memorable from this trip to Saudi Arabia and it's a moment that many WWE fans have decided to forget altogether. This still remains the only time The Fiend has been pinned in WWE.
#3. Braun Strowman's Universal Championship reign
Braun Strowman was the man who was called in to replace Roman Reigns at WrestleMania when the former World Champion was unable to be part of the show due to health reasons.
Strowman was able to defeat Goldberg to become Universal Champion before losing his title to The Fiend a few months later. Reigns was then able to make his return to the company at SummerSlam and later reclaim the Championship that he relinquished in 2018.
Strowman's Universal Championship reign was somewhat uneventful. There were few memorable matches and the Swamp Fight with Bray Wyatt was more of a highlight than an actual match. The WWE Universe is still confused as to what the ending of the match actually meant.
#2. Jinder Mahal's WWE return
Jinder Mahal was WWE Champion a few years ago but his career has taken something of a detour over the past few months since the Indian star has been struggling with his recovery from a knee injury.
Mahal underwent surgery on his knee and made his successful return to WWE back in April where he was able to defeat Akira Tozawa on an episode of RAW. Mahal was then set to step into a feud with WWE Champion Drew McIntyre, before he was forced onto the sidelines once again when it was revealed that he would need further surgery on his knee. This feud was then scrapped, but hopefully, this is one that the company decides to revisit in the future since the two former 3MB members could put on a fantastic feud.
Mahal hasn't appeared in another match in 2020 but reports now suggest that the Modern Day Maharaja is set to be the face of WWE's new NXT India show which is due to launch at the beginning of 2021.
#1. WWE star Erick Rowan's spider
Erick Rowan was released from WWE back in April alongside several other WWE stars when the company was forced to make budget cuts following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ahead of his WWE release, Rowan's final WWE storyline saw the star heading to the ring with a cage and then doing everything he could to protect whatever was inside, whilst keeping the contents as secret as possible. Many wrestlers tried to look inside the cage but were all met with a similar fate, which made for an interesting mystery story, until the former Wyatt Family member finally revealed that he was hiding a spider.
This was one of the most underwhelming reveals of the year which led to Drew McIntyre destroying Rowan's cage and obviously his spider at the same time, which finally put an end to the bizarre story.
Merely a month after Rowan's spider was destroyed, the star was released from the company and, unlike many other stars in the months that have followed, Rowan is yet to announce his future plans.
