The 6 WWE heroes of the Pandemic Era

By Sid Pullar III (SP3)
Modified Jul 21, 2021 14:15 IST
WWE had several stars step up in a huge way throughout their pandemic era.
WWE had several stars step up in a huge way throughout their pandemic era.

WWE had a difficult challenge ahead of them when the global pandemic took hold and forced them to discontinue live events. Having to film their television and then WrestleMania 36 from the Performance Center was a huge hurdle for them to overcome. Superstars would have to push themselves like never before without the WWE Universe watching them live.

The transition from the Performance Center to the WWE ThunderDome helped alleviate some of the stress for the entire company. With the state-of-the-art arena, it added a new element and was a wonderful presentation that helped improve their weekly product. However, it was all on the performers who stepped up during this trying time and overachieved during this period.

For 16 months, the men and women of the WWE were able to perform at a peak level and achieve great things during the hardest period in company history. In this article, let's take a look at the six WWE heroes of the pandemic era.

#6 MVP - WWE RAW

MVP made his return to WWE at the Royal Rumble 2020. What was supposed to be a short-term stint in the company has gone on for over 18 months now. The former United States Champion was used to elevate Drew McIntyre on the road to WrestleMania 36, but he found a real role when he aligned himself with Bobby Lashley following The Grandest Stage of Them All.

MVP brought a new fire out of Lashley and separated him from his ex-wife Lana. This led to Lashley getting a WWE Championship shot at Backlash, which he came up short in. However, this was just the start of more opportunities for The All Mighty and others in the company.

Bobby Lashley went on a run of wins following his WWE Championship loss. This got the attention of Shelton Benjamin, who saw the impact that MVP had on Lashley's career. He quickly aligned himself with both men. The group became known as The Hurt Business and targeted United States Champion Apollo Crews. MVP helped Crews get some TV time and gave way to a brand new US Title.

At Payback 2020, Bobby Lashley defeated Apollo Crews to win the United States Championship. Following this victory, Cedric Alexander joined The Hurt Business, making them one of the dominant stables in WWE. Alexander and Benjamin would defeat The New Day to win the RAW Tag Team Championships at TLC 2020.

Upon losing the United States gold, Lashley set his sights on the top prize on RAW. Lashley would defeat The Miz on the March 1st edition of the Red brand to win the WWE Championship. This gave The Hurt Business all the gold and made them even more formidable.

In addition to his own group, MVP brought new focus to stars like Ricochet and Kofi Kingston along the way. His impact across many different superstars is why he has become a key contributor.

#5 Asuka - WWE RAW

From the very beginning of the pandemic era, Asuka became one of the must-watch superstars in the WWE. The empty-arena Performance Center period was rough viewing. Not all the performers were able to get used to this setting. However, Asuka became greater for some reason.

Her early antics on commentary and on the mic made her so loveable despite being a heel at the time. She oozed charisma and was immediately a valuable asset once again for WWE. Her Kabuki Warriors tag team with Kairi Sane delivered solid wrestling in the ring and found another good tag team to mesh with in the summer.

The Golden Role Models of Bayley and Sasha Banks were extremely entertaining in their quest to hold all the gold in WWE. With Bayley being the SmackDown Women's Champion and the two women winning the Women's Tag Team Championships, this gave Banks the opportunity to set her sights on Asuka's RAW Women's Championship.

The Empress of Tomorrow delivered quality bouts with both Bayley and Sasha Banks on television and pay-per-view. They were always the highlight of the weekly WWE output and furthered Asuka's stock in the company. She won the RAW Women's Championship on two occasions and would later win the Women's Tag Team Titles with Charlotte Flair.

Asuka was always dependable and whenever she was given a chance to succeed, she did. Despite WWE not always putting enough emphasis on her following this feud, her performance in the early months and into the summer deserve recognition for how she made the transition.

#4 Drew McIntyre - WWE RAW

Drew McIntyre might have been the No. 1 WWE Superstar who was robbed the most by this pandemic era. He defeated Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Championship for the first time at WrestleMania 36 in the empty Performance Center. Many fans felt for McIntyre, who had scratched and clawed to achieve this, but it was without the WWE Universe in attendance.

Drew McIntyre didn't let this deter him in the slightest. He consistently delivered some of the strongest in-ring output on pay-per-view throughout the pandemic era. His Money In The Bank 2020 WWE Championship match against Seth Rollins was one of the highlights of the early months of this period. He had one hell of banger against Bobby Lashley at Backlash 2020 as well.

Drew McIntyre's feud with Dolph Ziggler produced two solid WWE Championship matches at The Horror Show At Extreme Rules and on RAW. His rivalry with Randy Orton was one of the best feuds of 2020. After Orton's months of being a Legend Killer, McIntyre gave him a real challenge. Their matches at Summerslam, Clash of Champions and Hell In A Cell were all great.

The Scottish Warrior lost the WWE Championship at Hell In A Cell, but he quickly won it back three weeks later. McIntyre then had the match of the night at Survivor Series against Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Whatever Drew McIntyre was given, he knocked it out of the park. His consistency during the pandemic era was unquestionable and helped put Bobby Lashley over as the next WWE Champion.

#3 Sasha Banks - WWE SmackDown

Sasha Banks once again proved why she has been viewed as one of the greatest women's wrestlers in WWE history throughout the pandemic era. The Boss started this period at Bayley's side, helping her best friend retain the SmackDown Women's Championship against any and all challengers. The two women would then work together to achieve mutual success.

The Golden Role Models started their run of excellence by defeating Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships. After successful defenses at Backlash 2020, Banks set her sights on the RAW Women's Championship of Asuka. The two ladies had arguably their best match to date on The Horror Show At Extreme Rules.

Sasha Banks would get a disputed, controversial win against Asuka to walk out with the gold at the pay-per-view, but Stephanie McMahon made a rematch to have an undisputed winner. With the help of Bayley, Banks defeated Asuka to win the RAW Women's Championship. However, her streak of losing singles gold on her first defense continued at Summerslam when The Empress of Tomorrow regained the title.

At Payback 2020, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler defeated The Golden Role Models to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles. This led to the eventual betrayal of Sasha Banks by her best friend Bayley. The stage was set for the two ladies to settle their score inside Hell In A Cell weeks later.

Bayley and Banks put on an all-time classic at WWE Hell In A Cell 2020 with The Boss winning the SmackDown Women's Championship for the first time. Her reign would break that first defense streak when she beat The Role Model in a fun rematch. She then went on to have a good series of matches against Carmella at TLC and Royal Rumble, but her biggest challenge was yet to come.

At WrestleMania 37, Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair became the first African American women to main event The Show of Shows. Belair defeated Banks to win the SmackDown Women's Championship in a fantastic encounter. Although The Boss hasn't been seen since Mania, her work during this difficult time for WWE can't go without being praised.

#2 Roman Reigns - WWE SmackDown

Roman Reigns took a leave of absence from WWE before WrestleMania 36 that caught many fans by surprise. The months that he was away felt long due to the difficult time the company was facing in the pandemic. However, his return would spark a career run for The Big Dog.

Reigns returned at Summerslam 2020 to beat down WWE Universal Champion "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman. His surprise association with Paul Heyman signaled a change in attitude. Reigns showed this off by showing up minutes into the Triple Threat main event at Payback 2020 to spear Braun Strowman and win the Universal Championship.

Following the win, Roman Reigns would put in Shakespearean efforts in Universal Championship matches against his cousin Jey Uso. The level of storytelling in the buildup and during these encounters were off the charts. Their contest at Clash of Champions was tremendous and one of the best main events of the WWE ThunderDome era.

Their rematch at Hell In A Cell 2020 was just as compelling. Reigns choked out his injured cousin Jimmy Uso to make Jey Uso say "I Quit". Due to the pre-match stipulation, this led to Jey having to acknowledge Reigns as his Tribal Chief and do his bidding. He elevated his cousin to become "Main Event Jey Uso" and become his Right Hand Man.

Jey would assist Reigns in his battles with Kevin Owens at TLC and Royal Rumble, helping him retain the WWE Universal Championship at every turn. Roman Reigns put on an incredible set of matches against Daniel Bryan at Fastlane and in Bryan's final WWE match to date on the April 30th SmackDown. Reigns also beat Bryan and Edge in an outstanding Triple Threat at WrestleMania.

Along the way, Roman Reigns has also beaten Drew McIntyre, Cesaro and Rey Mysterio in very good to amazing contests. He has solidified his spot as the unquestionable top star in WWE. The Head of the Table has dominated the company and made it clear that everyone must acknowledge him during this pandemic era.

#1 Bayley - WWE SmackDown

Bayley came into the pandemic era as one of the most consistent superstars in WWE. As the reigning SmackDown Women's Champion, The Role Model had her best friend Sasha Banks by her side and was able to stave off multiple challengers over several months. At WrestleMania 36, she defeated five other competitors to retain her gold.

In the early months in the empty-arena Performance Center, Bayley quickly became the company's most entertaining WWE superstar. Her banter for her opponents and Michael Cole were hilarious and added a lot to her character. This felt like her finally getting used to her new skin as a heel during this period.

Bayley and Sasha Banks would go on a magical run into the summer when they become WWE Women's Tag Team Champions. This reign saw the two ladies appear on all three brands of RAW, SmackDown and NXT. This was awesome and showed how much confidence the company had in her.

The Golden Role Models' rivalry against Asuka and Kairi Sane was a consistent highlight of the weekly WWE television in the summer. Bayley would help Banks win the RAW Women's Championship. This allowed them to hold all the gold available to the women on the main roster. This was an unbelievable run that made them the most dominant force in the company.

Bayley became the longest-reigning SmackDown Women's Champion in WWE history, but all good things must come to an end. The Golden Role Models would first lose the RAW Women's Championship and then the Women's Tag Team Championships. Following their loss of tag gold, Bayley turned on Sasha Banks, setting up the feud of the year and a match of the year candidate.

Bayley and Banks put on a phenomenal encounter inside Hell In A Cell. This was innovative and had tremendous storytelling. Sasha Banks defeated Bayley to win the SmackDown Women's Championship to end her record-breaking reign at 380 days and beat her in a rematch two weeks later. This started a fall from grace for Bayley by WWE.

The Role Model was featured less following her loss of the SmackDown Women's Championship. She was used to elevate Bianca Belair on her way to winning the Women's Royal Rumble in a fun feud. However, she was rarely used consistently after that, including not having a match at WWE WrestleMania 37. She would once again reignite her rivalry with Belair after Mania.

Despite this misuse, Bayley must be looked back on as a key player that continuously stepped up when the company needed her. It makes her untimely injury prior to WWE getting back on the road that much sadder. With that said, it can't be denied that Bayley was the hero of WWE's pandemic era.