Most Improved WWE Superstar of the Year 2017

Hello everyone and welcome back to Talk Wrestling World, I hope you are all well and good and have had an awesome start to the week. As you all will probably know by now, last week I kick-started my Of the Year Season. Every December I take a look back at the past twelve months in the world of pro wrestling focusing specifically on the WWE and listing some of the best matches both on the main roster and over in NXT as well as naming NXT, WWE, Female and tag team of the year. This is a super fun season here on my blog and while it is crazy time consuming and crazy I love writing every single one of these posts and hearing your response and opinions. So far we have looked at OMG Moment of the year, Female superstar and tag team of the year and the links to both of those posts will be bellow as per usual. Today, however, we are going to be taking a look at some of the most improved talents in the WWE this year. This is a list of names I believe have really shown great improvements whether it be in the ring, on the mic or as a character. This post will be focusing on RAW and Smackdown LIVE superstars with a special NXT addition also! I did have plenty of names lined up for this one and so it was hard narrowing it down to just a few but I have included a couple of extra names at the end also. Note that there are quite a few women in this list and that really does boil down to the simple that there honestly was so much improvement with so much talent in the division this year and it's been crazy fun to watch. I will be carrying on with this season throughout the month but for now, you can check out any recent posts linked bellow and finally, you can let me know who your most improved WWE Superstar of the year is by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me over at @TezangiVictoria.

Alexa Bliss

Kick-starting today’s blog post off and easily one of the most improved WWE Superstars of the year is of course Alexa Bliss. The current RAW Women’s champion has made quite the impact this year making history, moving brands, and winning over the WWE universe despite remaining in her heel role. The former NXT star only joined the main roster last year where she was drafted to Smackdown LIVE in the Summer. Since then she has gone on to become a two-time Smackdown LIVE women’s champion, a two-time RAW women’s champion and the first women in WWE to hold both titles. Throughout her career, Bliss has always shown great potential and it’s always been evident that she has it in her to be a huge star going on to achieve great things and that’s exactly what she has done. While this time last year she was competing in solid matches against the likes of Becky Lynch what we have seen from her this year is on a complete different scale. She’s far more confident and comfortable in the ring, she moves around her matches with more ease and much cleaner and we are seeing far more of her move set. Matches against the likes of Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Charlotte have shown just how far she has come in the ring and the levels he is competing at now. We’ve also seen her character and mic work improve greatly to the point where is now considered to be one of the best mic workers in the division today. 

Enzo

For anyone that has been reading my blog for the past few months or has followed me on twitter you will know that I am the furthest thing from an Enzo Amore fan you can get however, there really is no denying just how far he has come this year. To be honest, we haven’t seen a drastic change in what he brings to the ring, he’s still very weak as an in-ring performer but as far as character work goes he must be highlighted for it. The split between Enzo and Cass divided fan opinion massively, it’s something many of us saw coming for a while but the timing was something that many including myself questioned. Originally taking on the babyface role it was clear that the longer he stayed playing the good guy the weaker he would come across and the less interest fans would have; and so, when he joined the Cruiserweight division and worked a brand-new heel role he honestly shined. What felt like an accurate representation of his real-life character Enzo flourished. For quite some time now Enzo has been one of the realist and most convincing heels in the WWE and the character work has truly been fantastic. If we take a look at what he was doing this time last year it’s evident that not much has changed in the ring nor has his position on the roster but when it comes down to taking a look at standout stars of the year Enzo has to be mentioned for the all round improvements his made and I do feel like with the right booking and the right direction there’s a lot there. However, I still strongly dislike him! 

Carmella

Up next is the first ever Miss Money in the Bank, Carmella. Again, it has been an epic year for the former NXT star. She really has come a long long way and it’s been amazing seeing what she has done this year. While unlike names such as Charlotte and Alexa Bliss, Carmella hasn’t been apart of those huge standout single matches that have shown her to be an epic in ring performer she has in fact come a long way as an all-round star. It’s so clear that this time last year Carmella was nowhere near where she is at right now and it’s great to see. When she first joined the Smackdown LIVE roster Carmella was a little lost. The WWE were trying hard to find something that would work on the main stage and get her over with it being evident that they wanted to push her. It’s always been clear the WWE are high on Carmella, but it was also clear that she was struggling to get a reaction out of fans. Throughout the past year however she really has turned that around. While she may not be on the level of other women on the roster she is improving all round and it must be mentioned. Becoming the first ever Miss Money in the Bank was a huge deal and a huge part of why she is where she is at right now. Of course, there was controversy surrounding the first win after James Ellsworth won the match for her it was that move that put a spotlight on her and gave her the reaction she needed. The promo she cut following the pay per view was a massive turning point for Carmella as it was after this that everyone paid just that little bit more attention to her. This was the first time Carmella had cut such a strong promo and in fact was one of my favourites of the year. Her alliance with Ellsworth worked to her advantage, her performance in matches is much much stronger and with a future title match guaranteed the future looks very very bright for Carmella.  

Elias Samson

I’m pretty sure that if you know me you were one hundred and ten percent expecting to see Elias Samson feature on this list. While he won’t be apart of my top ten male superstars of the year he has to be mentioned somewhere during of the Year Season and this seems to be the perfect place for him. In the past I’ve touched on the fact that I wasn’t the biggest Elias fan during his time in NXT. I never really connected with the character or enjoyed much of his work despite forever proving himself in the ring. However, since joining the main roster this year Elias has seriously grabbed my attention. At first, I was convinced Samson would fall into the background and very quickly enter the jobber section of the roster but that just hasn’t happened. Sure, he’s not been pushed to the very top and a Universal Championship match isn’t coming his way anytime soon but what we have seen from his been very strong. With victories over the likes of Matt Hardy, Finn Balor and more along with standout matches against top names such as Balor and Roman Reigns Elias has proven that he is far more than just a jobber. He has a genuine role on the RAW roster that seems very interesting, he’s booked on every show, and while he hasn’t been given a huge storyline he doesn’t really need one. The past twelve months has seen a huge change in how Elias is used the WWE and I really hope they can keep having this kind of faith in him. 

Nia Jax

And finally, we have my number one spot and for me my most improved WWE superstar of the year, Nia Jax. For me personally, Nia has been one of the women in the WWE I have enjoyed watching the most and it’s the improvements she has made have been so clear. While she was making a big impact this time last year it doesn’t compare to what we have seen from her throughout the past twelve months. She has become an even bigger dominant force and her position on the roster has sky

rocketed. More in ring performances have meant we have seen far more of her move set and the diversity she brings to the table. This year saw Nia compete in her first Wrestlemania, edge closer to a title run and compete in a handful of matches that I can honestly say I really enjoyed. It genuinely appears as though she is getting better every single time she steps in the ring and it’s great to see. She is different, she is unique, and she does standout for all the right reasons. Nia has gone from the women with all the potential to one of the biggest and brightest stars on the roster. Her alliance with Bliss while flawed at times has worked massively and instead of past similar relationships Nia hasn’t become the bitch. She’s remained a boss and made it clear that while her on screen friendship with the champ is strong she still wants her hands on that title. Looking ahead I really want to see Nia continue to compete at this level and in twenty eighteen we just have to see her as champion!

And there we have it! Nia Jax is my number on Most improved WWE Superstar of the year. All the superstars I have spoken about today I really do get behind and strongly believe they have a place in this list. I would of course love to know what you think and who you beleive is the most improved WWE superstar of the year so feel free to leave a comment bellow or tweet me over at @TezangiVictoria.

Recent Blog posts:
Last Week in Wrestling
WWE Tag Team of the Year 2017
WWE Female Superstar of the year 2017
WWE OMG Moments of the Year