WWE Superstars to Watch In 2017
Billie Kay
So we are kick-starting this blog post off with an NXT talent and someone I have spoken about a lot over the past year or so, Billie Kay. Now, I remember when Billie was first signed to WWE and my reaction was pretty crazy. I had heard of her and seen some of her work before she had been signed and so her arrival to NXT was one I was really looking forward too. The Australian superstar has been on the scene since the age of eighteen and so it's safe to say she has tons of experience. Since her debut for NXT, she has continued to impress those backstage and the fans with her fantastic in-ring capability and character development. Talking of her character, I have to admit that I wasn't the biggest fan of her character when it first debuted but the more we have seen of her in the ring and backstage the more it has grown on me and the more I've actually begun to like and enjoy it. She manages to work her character perfectly and her alliance with fellow Australian Peyton Royce is something I definitely jumped on board with. The two girls have been practically inseparable since their arrival in NXT. The WWE has continued to keep them working together while I didn't feel it worked at the beginning because of how forced it felt the alliance now seems to be a perfect. Both girls are able to elevate one another and the potential storyline's for them look strong. They have fantastic chemistry and have always worked well together, only now that they are both established stars and have their character nailed it works ten times better. Now, Billie Kay really has had to wait for her moment in the spotlight and it was only in the Summer of last year that we finally began to see more of her. Prior to NXT Takeover Brooklyn, we had only seen little matches from her here and there that did manage to make her look incredibly strong and showcased her potential but it just wasn't enough. Now that we have started seeing more of her in-ring work and her character she is someone that is slowly building a strong following and we can sure expect her to be one of the standout stars of twenty seventeen. Kay is someone who has so much potential, so much to show and with the NXT women's division forever getting stronger she is talent we can be sure will stand out this year.
Finn Balor
This time last year former NXT Champion, Finn Balor was the man we were all talking about. At the top of his game, he was one of the most must-see talents in the WWE and with his main roster debut one of the most anticipating things of twenty sixteen he was the star we all had our eyes on. In the Summer he did finally arrive on the main roster when he was one of the first men drafted to Monday night RAW and in the weeks that followed he would soon get in the runnings to become the first ever WWE Universal champion. At the SummerSlam pay per view he would go on to face Seth Rollins and after what was a fantastic match and a true standout of the year he walked away as the first WWE Universal Champion. However, twenty-four hours later Balor announced to the world that he wouldn't be able to keep hold of that championship as during his match with Rollins he suffered an injury that would require several months of recovery time. So far Balor has been gone for around five months and as he looks to make his return we can all be sure that he will be back with a bang! His return is something I and every other wrestling fan cannot wait for and with Wrestlemania season up and going we're all hoping he will be back in time. However, regardless of when exactly he will be back he will sure be entering a huge program and with so so many potential storyline's we can ensure that twenty seventeen will be a big year for the former champion. He is bound to chase after the title he never lost and with the Club still around (more on this later) there is so so much the WWE can do with him and I cannot wait to see what we're gonna get from him this year.
Cedric Alexander
One of the best things to come out of two thousand and sixteen was without a shadow of a doubt the cruiserweight classic. During the summer of last year, some of the best cruiserweights from around the world arrived and returned to the WWE as they all took part in what turned out to be a fantastic tournament with every man looking to becoming the first WWE Cruiserweight champion. Many huge names stood out throughout the course of the classic including the likes of Johnny Gargano, Kota Ibushi, Zack Saebre Jr and winner of the cruiserweight classic himself, TJ Perkins. However, there was one man who got us all talking and one who stood out more than any other, Cedric Alexander. Now, for anyone that has been reading my blog for long enough you're probably sick and tired of hearing me talk about this man but let's face it, he sure is one heck of a talent. He was one of the top names to come out of the Cruiserweight classic and had everyone in the wrestling world talking. As he set out to face Kota Ibushi everyone was set to believe this was going to be a slightly more easy task for Kota. He was the bigger star of the two and no one could deny his brilliant talent, Cedric, however, would soon make a huge statement proving to be a real challenge for the fan favourite. Holding his own perfectly throughout the match Cedric Alexander went to battle with Ibushi and delivered one of the best matches/performances of the year. While he didn't walk away the win he sure walked away with the respect of the WWE universe who chanted "please sign Cedric" which would soon grab the attention of Triple H and soon we got the news that Alexander had to be signed to an NXT contract. Throughout the rest of the year, we saw him continue to impress and has become one of the most over men in the cruiserweight division. Now, it's no secret that Cedric Alexander is popular both with the fans and the WWE. His win/loss record continues to look strong and his popularity is only growing amongst the WWE universe. Now, I strongly believe that Alexander is going to be a huge standout star of twenty seventeen. He has everything you could want in a WWE superstar and I don't doubt for a single second that we will be sitting here at the end of the year talking about several matches he has been a part of that we believe to be some of the best matches of the year. I don't doubt that at some point we will see him with that Cruiserweight title around his waist. While the division still has a long way to go, Cedric Alexander is a man to sure keep your eyes on over the next twelve months.
Aliyah
Up next we have a girl I have spoken about quite a bit here on my blog, Aliyah. Now, Aliyah is someone I really have changed my mind on plenty of times since I first saw her. Most of you would have seen her feature as part of Breaking Ground where we got to learn more about her and her upbringing as well as her journey in NXT. As one of the youngest talents currently on the NXT roster and working in the performance centre Aliyah really has struggled to find her way. Having clear issues working on her character and connecting with the fans but once you take that out and focus on her wrestling ability Aliyah really is one of the most promising talents in the WWE today. So far we haven't seen all too much of her but with the women's division in NXT forever changing and with so many more women getting opportunities we have started to see more and more of her over the past few months. We can tell that she does still have some improvements to make with her character, mic skills and connecting with fans but she really does have something special. Her move set looks to be very interesting and she continues to impress me with what she is capable of doing in the ring. Her transitions are clean and neat and come across on TV very well. She's confident in the ring show a great deal of attitude and skill. It's clear when you watch her compete that she has plenty of potential and has it in her to be a big star in NXT and someone who really could end up delivering and putting on some truly amazing matches. I'm confident however that the more we see of her and the more opportunities she is given the more she is going to impress and I strongly believe that over the next year Aliyah really is going to grow to become one of the standout stars in the NXT women's division and a couple of strong matches are set to come her way without a doubt.
Sanity
Now, this one I'm excited about. Again, if you have been following me over the past few months you will know all too well that I have been literally obsessed with NXT faction, Sanity. I have not stopped talking about these four amazing talents and I have had nothing but positive things to say throughout the past few months about these guys, Nikki Cross, Sawyer Fulton, Alexander Wolf, and Eric Young have come together to create something truly amazing! Honestly, I could talk about these guys all day long. Personally, I have been a big fan of all four of these superstars. You would have seen me talk about these guys throughout the past couple of years here on my blog and over on my twitter, especially Sawyer Fulton. Over the past two years or so I have sat here and talked about how much I want to see more of him, however, the WWE have always struggled to get things right with his character and so it's only until now that we have really got to see a lot of his work and I could not be any happier for him. I have been so massively impressed with what we have seen from him so far. He along with the rest of Sanity have been complete standouts since their arrival and their portrayal of their characters have been fantastic. How amazing do these guys play crazy? There is still so much to learn about this faction and what they are all about but they have so easily and so quickly captivated the NXT Universe. I know I've mentioned this before but I would love to see all four members of Sanity holding a title at the same time at some point this year and I honestly do believe this could be the first time we see that happen. These guys have the potential to be huge stars and their potential storyline's and matches for the next year look to be insane. I cannot wait to see more of Sanity in twenty seventeen. (This post was written before Sawyer suffered his injury. I still believe Sanity along with Big Damo are superstars to watch this year)
Alexa Bliss
I'm pretty sure I have included Alexa Bliss in every single one of my "superstars to watch" blog posts. She continues to be someone I am a huge fan of and someone who continues to improve and make an impact and so there is every reason to include her in this blog post. If you read my of the year season blog posts (all links will be bellow) you will know that Alexa did feature in my top five female superstars of the year after having a fantastic twenty sixteen however I am expecting her to have an even bigger and better two thousand and seventeen. As she continues to work as one of the best-performing women on the Smackdown LIVE roster Alexa is a talent we're all talking about. Her captivating character and facial expressions along with her clear in ring potential she is someone we should all be keeping an eye on. Last year saw Alexa prove she deserves to be included in the list of some of the best performers in the WWE women's today and with several solid matches behind her she looks to go even bigger and better this year. I'm expecting stronger storylines, stronger matches and even more from Alexa in twenty seventeen.
Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows
It;s safe to say that the arrival of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in the WWE last year was one of the most exciting things to happen however their treatment was one of the most disappointing. While we all expected to see them make a huge impact, causing havoc and work towards very quickly dominating the tag team division the WWE had other plans and yes they did have a couple of strong months when they first arrived on the scene but it wouldn't take long for the WWE to really these guys over. After falling to the New Day a number of times throughout the year, as well as terrible storyline's and pointless victories that went nowhere the pair, were left near the bottom of the division and nowhere near where we all expected them to be. I personally was very surprised to see them not take those Tag team titles from the New Day months after their debut and while I understand that the WWE wanted to make history with the New Day they easily could have continued to give Anderson and Gallows strong work and make them look like that dominate, intimidating, trouble causing duo we have seen them be throughout their careers. Now, their brief work with AJ Styles before the brand split did feel like they were heading in the right direction and things did pick back up again with the main roster arrival of Finn Balor. We all believed it was only a matter of time before they aligned themselves with the former NXT champion but with Balor's injury plans changed and Anderson and Gallows found themselves struggling in the division yet again. Now, this year we are set to see the return of Finn Balor and I really am hoping that we see a change int he way Anderson and Gallows are booked. I would love nothing more than to see the Club takeover in twenty seventeen. With Balor working with Anderson and Gallows once again we could really get something fun and exciting going. It's what the fans want to see, it's what works and once again the storyline's we could get are just endless! I really would love to see Anderson and Gallows finally show what they can do this year and I really do beleive that they will get the year we expected to see from them last year. However, is it too late?
Bayley
Bayley is someone I'm sure you were all expecting to feature in this blog post and so here she is up next! Again, Bayley is someone I have spent a great deal of time talking about since I kick started my blog. She is someone that I have grown to become a huge fan of over the years after winning me over during her time in NXT. In twenty sixteen the leader of the hug nation finally arrived on the main roster when she joined Monday night RAW. Her main roster debut was teased throughout the year and us fans really did have to wait a long time before we got to see her finally make an impact up on the big stage. She did have a great year and so far has made sure she has become one of the standout stars on the main roster women's division. There is no denying that she is a fantastic talent and extremely over superstar with the fans and the backstage love Bayley is proving to be very high. She has always found herself in the best storyline's she can get herself in and this year I'm predicting huge things for the former NXT champion. Fans have wanted nothing more than to see Bayley and Sasha Banks bring their rivalry to the main roster and since both women have been working up on RAW the WWE have been teasing a feud between the two. While they are shown to be extremely good friends we can all expect to see these two amazing women collide at Wrestlemania and for anyone that has
seen their previous matches you know it's safe to expect the very best. If this match is booked for Mania I'm pretty confident regardless of how strong the card is these two could steal the show and put on a match that will have us all talking for many many years. So far we have seen some decent work from Bayley but in twenty seventeen we can expect some phenomenal work.
Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe has had a fantastic year. He was named my NXT Superstar of the year back in December after what was an amazing twelve months for the former TNA star. Several standout matches, he's brilliant feuds with Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura along with becoming the first ever two-time NXT Champion in history all contributed to the decision that was made for him to be my NXT superstar of the year. It's going to be pretty tough for Joe to top what we saw from him in two thousand and sixteen but with so much coming his way I don't doubt for a single second that we will be seeing Joe have an even stronger year than what we saw from him last. With the end of his NXT career approaching, he is set to finally make his main roster debut and what better place than the Royal Rumble. Something we are all expecting to see nothing would make me happier than seeing Joe make his way to main roster and make a huge impact later this month at the Royal rumble pay per view. Now, personally, I would love to see Joe go to Smackdown LIVE. I would love to see him and Styles go head to head at Wrestlemania but he really is someone that the roster could do with. There is so much coming up for Joe where ever he goes to Smackdown live or Monday night RAW and Him, after all his NXT run really was epic!
Oney Lorcan
And finally, we have a name you might not be aware of or know much about, Oney Lorcan. Now, over the past year or so we have seen small little snippets of Lorcan but what we have seen truly has been impressive. I will admit that I don't know very much about him myself but I'm sure interested. He's performances down in NXT really have been standout and they have left me wanting to see so much more. He's move set is incredible with harsh, stiff shots and amazing pure wrestling ability he has managed to capture the attention of the NXT universe. We have also seen him make brief appearances on Smackdown LIVE where has continued to prove to be a superstar to watch out for in the near future. Now, with NXT being so big and so many huge starts taking the spotlight I'm no sure just how much we are going to see him in the main event picture anytime soon but I''m confident that he is going to be a superstar who is going to impress us all over the next twelve months. He has so much potential and once you give him the time to show what he is capable of he really have us all speechless.
So that is my little list of superstars I believe you should be watching two thousand and seventeen. There is, of course, many other names I would love to have included in this list. Names such as Carmella, Bray Wyatt, and Peyton Royce all spring to mind. Of course I would love to know what YOU think! Feel free to lave a comment bellow or tweet me over at @TezangiVictoria telling me who you believe we should all be keeping an eye on in twenty seventeen!
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