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There were several memorable moments for WWE in 2020, but plenty of headlines focused on the company's attempt to work around COVID-19. Still, there are several WWE stars had a year worth remembering.
Bayley and Sasha Banks have been the highlights of SmackDown in recent months and Roman Reigns has dominated the company since his return. But they are not the only stars who have stood out. Several statistics from the past 12 months show that even a few absent WWE stars have made this year count.
The following list looks at just five of the most impressive statistics coming out of 2020 for some surprising WWE Superstars.
#5. Triple H hasn't competed for WWE for a whole year
In 2020, Triple H celebrated 25 years with WWE, but he was forced to do it in an empty arena due to the pandemic. "The Game" has made several WWE appearances this year, but the 14-time world champion didn't perform at WrestleMania last year.
Triple H's last WWE match came back in June 2019, when he traveled to Saudi Arabia and defeated Randy Orton. Interestingly, "The Viper" later went on to tie Triple H's number of world championship reigns.
2020 will be a memorable one in Triple H's career because it was the first time that "The Cerebral Assassin" went an entire calendar year without competing in a single match.
The "Godfather of NXT" could be beginning his transition into a full-time role backstage. There has been talk of retirement matches for "The Game" in recent months, so his final in-ring contest could be right around the corner.
Triple H has been at the forefront of the company for more than two decades, and it could now be time for "The King of Kings" to think about who he wants to face in his final WWE match. Could WrestleMania 37 be the perfect location for Triple H to announce his retirement and pass the torch on to a rising star? Only time will tell.
#4. Roman Reigns hasn't been pinned in a WWE ring in 2020
Roman Reigns has dominated WWE in recent months. Since "The Big Dog" made his return to the company at SummerSlam, he's been unstoppable. The current WWE Universal Champion went on hiatus in late March when the lockdown was announced because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the time, Reigns' match with Goldberg was cancelled. But it appears that this match could take place in the near future. The former WCW legend has publicly called Reigns out, so he has planted the seeds for a clash between the two stars. Regardless, in 2020, Reigns had one of the best years of his career. "The Tribal Chief" only lost a few matches throughout the whole year.
It's interesting to note that Reigns was never pinned in 2020. That accomplishment marks the first time that his win percentage for a year has been above 90%. According to Cagematch.net, Reigns won 90.6% of his matches in 2020 with 32 matches, 29 wins, 2 losses, and just one no contest.
#3. 2020 was the first year without a WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
The Hall of Fame has become a staple of the WWE calendar and the Induction Ceremony has been seen as a highlight of WrestleMania weekend. Of course, this pattern has been a tradition for the past 15 years since WWE made the ceremony part of the weekend in 2005.
The Hall of Fame was first introduced in 1993 when Andre The Giant became the inaugural inductee following his death. The subsequent ceremonies were held at The King of the Ring pay-per-view. In 1996, the Hall of Fame Ceremony took place at WWE Survivor Series, and it was held in front of a paying audience for the first time.
The ceremony wasn't held for eight years, but the ceremony made its return in 2004. This show was not broadcast on television, but it was available on DVD in conjunction with WrestleMania 20.
In 2020, several notable names added to the class, like JBL, The Bella Twins, and Batista. But the ceremony didn't take place, as the pandemic forced WWE to change its plans. As a result, WWE was forced to break tradition for the first time in 15 years, and now these stars will be inducted in 2021.
#2. WWE Champion Drew McIntyre's impressive turn around of form
What a difference a year makes. This time in 2019, current WWE Champion Drew McIntyre had failed to win a single match on pay-per-view. In many ways, The Royal Rumble in 2020 was a lifeline for his career.
In 2019, McIntyre lost to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, and he dropped another match to The Undertaker and Reigns at WWE Extreme Rules. But he turned his career around in 2020. McIntyre went on to win the annual Royal Rumble match before he defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36 to win the WWE Championship.
McIntyre then successfully defended his WWE Championship against Seth Rollins at Money in the Bank, Bobby Lashley at Backlash, and Dolph Ziggler at Extreme Rules. Randy Orton was his next obstacle at both SummerSlam and Clash of Champions. McIntyre suffered his first loss on a 2020 pay-per-view at Hell in a Cell, where he lost the WWE Championship to "The Viper."
McIntyre also fell to Reigns at WWE Survivor Series. But he ended the year with a victory in the Triple Threat TLC match at Tables, Ladders, and Chairs last month. It truly was quite an incredible year for McIntyre.
#1. 2020 was the first year of John Cena's WWE career in which he didn't wrestle on WWE RAW
Fans of John Cena know that the 16-time world champion has transitioned into a role as a part-time star with WWE in recent years. Cena's only wrestling appearance in 2020 came when he took on The Fiend in a Firefly Fun House Match at WrestleMania 36.
Though Cena appeared on SmackDown in February to announce his retirement and the fact that he wouldn't wrestle at WrestleMania this year, he was confronted by The Fiend. This clash set the stage for their match.
John Cena has appeared on RAW several times over the past two years, but it's interesting to note that the last time the former world champion wrestled on WWE's flagship show was on January 14th, 2019. There, he took on Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre and Baron Corbin in a fatal four-way match.
So 2020 was the first calendar year in John Cena's career since his WWE debut almost 18 years ago in which the star failed to wrestle a single match on RAW.
