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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a deep impact on the global economy. With almost the entire world essentially being shut down for the last three months, all major sporting events have either been postponed or rescheduled to a later date. The most prominent among them being the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which has been pushed to 2021. Pro wrestling has also been hit hard by the coronavirus. All of the major independent promotions have had to cancel shows. As of this writing, WWE, Impact and AEW are the only major promotions that have been putting on shows on a weekly basis.
Since the worldwide travel restrictions due to the pandemic, WWE has had to cancel a bulk of live events, most notably their European and the upcoming Japanese tours. The company has been, however, taping weekly shows from their Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. It has been quite surreal to watch the Superstars perform in an empty arena.
That being said, there have been a number of Superstars who have stepped up to the plate - putting on shows so good, you forget there isn't a crowd. Well, a crowd that isn't made up of Performance Center members.
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Here are five WWE superstars who have been the MVPs of WWE'S Post-COVID-19 era shows.
Disclaimer: The Opinions expressed in the article belong to the writer and doesn't necessarily represent Sportskeeda's stand.
#5 Zelina Vega
Managers have become a rarity in today's WWE landscape. With more emphasis being given to in-ring action, it has become almost impossible for someone in a non-wrestling role to be relevant for a long period of time. The most notable manager in WWE over the last decade has been Paul Heyman. But, then there is the argument of him managing a once in a lifetime athlete like Brock Lesnar.
Zelina Vega has been an exception to this, as she has been one of the most featured acts on RAW for the past few months. Following Andrade's suspension at the start of the year, Vega was paired with a debuting Angel Garza, followed by Austin Theory joining the crew. Vega's stable would wreak havoc on RAW in the weeks following WWE WrestleMania 36, before Theory was thrown out of the faction.
Whether it be on the microphone or just standing at ringisde, Vega has been able to knock it out of the park every time she comes on the screen.
#4 Sonya Deville
One of the most underrated Superstars in WWE today, The Pride Fighter has truly stood out following her split with long time friend tag team partner, Mandy Rose. Despite not constantly being in the upper echelons of WWE's Women's tag division, Rose and Sonya Deville were a pretty solid team.
Many felt that it was a foregone conclusion that the duo would eventually end up winning the Women's Tag Team titles before going their separate ways. While it was quite shocking to see the pair split up, it certainly didn't come out of the blue.
The storyline involving Deville, Rose, Otis, and Dolph Ziggler (to an extent) has been one of the most entertaining parts of SmackDown. Many thought that Deville would get lost in the shuffle following her split with Rose. But that hasn't been the case at all. To everyone's surprise, Deville finally seems to have come out of her own.
Deville has been delivering fiery promos every time she holds a microphone. From what we've seen of her over the past two months, it's about time that she gets a big singles push in the WWE Women's division. It is something that fans have been wanting to see for a while.
#3 Otis
If there is one superstar who has grabbed the proverbial " brass ring" in the last couple of months in WWE, it has to be Otis. The Heavy Machinery member has risen up the ranks to become a credible singles Superstar. Even as a part of Heavy Machinery, Otis showed a lot of promise.
The crowd reaction he was getting as soon as he stepped inside the ring was an indication of the kind of fan following he was able to get. But, we are taken aback by his win in the Men's Money In The Bank Ladder Match. With names like AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, and Aleister Black in the mix, Otis winning the match and securing the contract was kind of a surprise.
As mentioned before, the storyline involving Otis, Mandy Rose, and Sonya Deville has been one of the best things on WWE TV. Otis has shined as a singles Superstar, putting on entertaining matches. The segments involving him and Rose have been pure gold.
With the MITB briefcase in hand, it's only a matter of time before Otis gets a shot at either the WWE or the Universal Championship.
#2 Asuka
One of the most talented performers in WWE today, 2019 has been a great year for The Empress of Tomorrow. Asuka started the year with a red-hot feud against Becky Lynch for the RAW Women's Championship. The duo collided at the 2020 Royal Rumble where Lynch was finally able to overcome The Empress.
A rematch between the duo a few weeks later saw The Man once again get the better off Asuka. This was followed by Asuka and her tag team partner, Kairi Sane feuding with Alexa Bliss and Nikki over the Women's Tag Team Championship.
It was during this period that The Empress started doing some quirky things like dancing on her way to the ring and doing commentary in Japanese. Asuka and Sane would drop the tag titles to Bliss and Cross at WWE WrestleMania 36, ending their near six-month reign as tag champs.
Following WrestleMania 36, Asuka would defeat Ruby Riott in a qualification match for the Women's Money In The Bank Ladder Match. Asuka would go on to win the match earning a future shot at either the RAW or SmackDown Women's Championship.
But, the WWE Universe and Asuka were in for a shock as it was revealed by then RAW Women's Champion, Becky Lynch, that the MITB contract was for the RAW Women's Championship. This was followed by Lynch announcing that she will have to step away from the squared circle due to her pregnancy. The moment between Asuka and Lynch following the announcement was one of the heartwarming moments in recent memory.
Asuka has been the female MVP of WWE throughout 2019. Her quirky antics combined with her in-ring acumen has made her an indispensable part of WWE's women's division.
#1 Seth Rollins
This time last year, The Monday Night Messiah was one of the most over babyfaces in WWE. After successfully defending his Universal Championship against Baron Corbin at Super ShowDown, Rollins would thwart a MITB cash-in attempt by Brock Lesnar. This was before Rollins Twitter tirade, where he defended WWE, caused a snowstorm within the IWC.
Rollins has been on a roll for the past few months. Despite a series of high-profile losses to Kevin Owens and Drew McIntyre, the former WWE Universal Champion continues to be a dominant force on Monday Nights. He is currently involved in a feud against Rey Mysterio, Aleister Black and Humberto Carrillo. The character work from Rollins over the past few months has been top-notch.
The Monday Night Messiah has become one of the interesting characters in WWE. Rollins has been firing on all cylinders as the delusional, maniacal cult-esque leader who is hell-bent on establishing his dominance over the RAW roster.
His feud against Mysterio has been great so far and the duo eventual match-up is something we are eagerly looking forward to.
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