If someone came up to you a year ago and would have told you that WrestleMania 36 would be a two-day event that will emanate from an empty Performance Center, you would have probably laughed it off as a baseless prediction coming from a disillusioned human being.
It's outrageous. It's unprecedented. Sadly enough, it's the need of the hour at a time when the world is battling the dreaded coronavirus outbreak. The entire format of the WrestleMania isn't the only thing that has changed since last year's show.
There have been seismic shifts in the pecking order in the WWE. Superstars who were at the top of the card are now languishing in the undercard. Underutilized prospects have been pushed into unfamiliar territory at the top.
Babyfaces are now heels. A handful of the biggest winners from WrestleMania 35 are nowhere to be seen. A 54-year-old part-timer is one of the world champions. The Man is still The Man.
A top AEW star just called one of his colleagues 'spoiled' and 'narcissistic' HERE.
The fortunes of many Superstars have changed drastically, some for the good, and others for the worse, and in this article, we'll take a look at the top winners from last year's edition of the Show of Shows and what they're up to now.
Honourable mentions: All the Superstars in the SmackDown Tag Team Championship match
Randy Orton and AJ Styles
#10. and #9. Shane McMahon and The Miz
Shane McMahon and The Miz faced each other in a Falls Count Anywhere match at WrestleMania 35.
The Miz was the babyface while Shane McMahon was thriving in his heel role as the self-proclaimed 'Best in the World.'
The match stayed true to its stipulation and built up to to the final spot of the match, which saw The Miz execute a suplex on McMahon off the 15-foot camera stage onto the platform below. McMahon landed on top of The A-Lister and picked up the win at the end of a decent match.
The Miz's babyface experiment didn't last long as he has gone back to being a heel, which he is aptly suited for. Miz currently holds the SmackDown Tag Team Championship along John Morrison and they will defend the title against either The New Day or The Usos at WrestleMania 36.
Shane McMahon was written off TV as part of the Career vs. Career ladder match against Kevin Owens on the October 4th episode of SmackDown last year.
Shane O'Mac has transitioned to a backstage role. He was one of the lead producers of the Men's Royal Rumble match and he is expected to get more power behind the scenes as time goes on.
#8 - The IIconics
The IIconics enjoyed a memorable WrestleMania 35. Peyton Royce and Billie Kay were involved in a Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship and the Australian duo managed to dethrone Sasha Banks and Bayley to become the new champions.
The decision to take the titles off Banks and Bayley was widely criticized and the match wasn't that well-received either. However, it was an important personal milestone in the careers of Royce and Kay as it was their first title win in the company.
Their reign lasted for 120 days before they dropped the title to Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross in August 2019.
They would then get drafted to RAW in October, before wrestling their final match on TV in November 2019.
The former NXT Superstars have not appeared on TV since the end of November and it was revealed by Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer back in February that they may have been pulled from TV to get repackaged.
Royce and Kay are expected to return but we may not see them in their usual avatars.
#7 - Seth Rollins
While Kofi Kingston was the top babyface heading into WrestleMania 35, Seth Rollins took up the mantle on the RAW side of things.
Rollins won the Royal Rumble last year and he went on to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship, which he won in the main card opener. It was a short yet well-booked match that ended with Rollins slaying The Beast with three Curb Stomps.
The Beastslayer's career trajectory has been disappointing since his big title win against Lesnar. WWE mismanaged Rollins' run as a face and he has now gone back to being a heel, only this time around, he is portraying the role of a delusional leader of a cult.
The Monday Night Messiah and his disciples - Buddy Murphy and The Authors of Pain - have been positioned as the top heel faction on RAW.
Rollins' new character arc initially seemed destined to fail, however, the former WWE Champion is beginning to get into his element and he has been pushed to be the ideal antagonist against the apparent Stone Cold Steve Austin of this era, Kevin Owens.
Rollins will face KO at WrestleMania 36 and it will be intriguing to see what the creative team has in store for the former Shield member after the show. Will WWE begin to plant the seeds of a split, which could lead to a potential match between Murphy and Rollins?
#6 - Triple H
Batista got what he wanted and that was a match against Triple H at the grandest stage of them all.
The No Holds Barred was a typical Triple H match. It was a slow-paced 24-minute clash that had various off-putting spots along the way.
Ric Flair appearing and giving Triple H the iconic Sledgehammer, however predictable, was a satisfying addition to a surprisingly solid match. Sadly, the crowd wasn't into it but that didn't stop both the veterans from working extremely to hard to tell a story.
Triple H retired Batista and went back to his corporate job until he was called upon again for a match at Super ShowDown match against Randy Orton. The Game worked a couple more matches during WWE's live tour in Japan in June last year.
The will be the first WrestleMania in a long time which would be without a quintessential Triple H match. With NXT growing in importance due to the ongoing Wednesday Night Wars, The Cerebral Assasin has focussed on managing the operations of the brand he helped build and nurture over the years.
The former WWE Champion may not wrestle at this year Show of Shows, but he will surely have a major influence backstage in how the event is produced and offered to the fans who would be watching from around the globe.
#5, #4, and #3 - Becky Lynch, Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair
WrestleMania 35 ended with Becky Lynch cementing her status as The Man.
The first-time-ever WrestleMania main event featuring women was heavily-pushed in the build-up the show. The expectations were high and Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair delivered the goods when it mattered, for the most part.
Barring the botchy finish, the match had many bright spots and Becky Lynch came out looking like a legitimate Superstar as she became the 'Champ Champ'.
The Irish Superstar has held on to the RAW Women's Championship for one full year and it's a good sign as lengthy title reigns have become an uncommon sight in the WWE.
Lynch will take on Ronda Rousey's close friend Shayna Baszler at WrestleMania 36 and it could mark the end of a year-long title reign, which has reached the point of exhaustion.
While Ronda Rousey gets the credit for acing it in her rookie year, Charlotte Flair also needs to be praised for being the perfect third wheel in the angle.
Flair has been on the receiving end of another big push as she won the Royal Rumble and will challenge Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women's Championship.
As for the Rowdy one, Ronda Rousey is still on a hiatus and we don't know when she will be back.
#2 and #1 - Kofi Kingston and Daniel Bryan
WrestleMania 35 was all about KofiMania.
The WWE Superstar achieved a life-long dream of becoming WWE Champion by beating Daniel Bryan in what was easily the best match of the night.
While credit has to be given to the WWE and Kofi Kingston for making the moment feel special, Daniel Bryan also deserves praise as his role in the feel-good storyline was just as important as all the other pieces in the puzzle.
Kingston would go on to be booked as a strong Champion until he was fed to Brock Lesnar on SmackDown's debut episode on Fox in October. The WWE Universe wasn't pleased about Kingston's title reign ending in a pointless squash loss to the Beast Incarnate and oddly enough, WWE didn't follow up on the title defeat.
He was quietly reinserted into the Tag Team titles picture with Big E, and the duo, in the absence of the injured Xavier Woods, have continued to be the pivot of the SmackDown Tag Team division.
Kingston could be in line for another tag team championship shot at WrestleMania, however, the unanswered downfall from being a WWE Champion to a tag team performer is pretty underwhelming if you ask us.
When it comes to Daniel Bryan, the Leader of the Yes Movement has taken it upon himself to give underappreciated talents such as Drew Gulak the required spotlight. Bryan and Gulak have formed a fresh alliance and the former WWE Champion could challenge Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania.
In addition to Gulak, Bryan could also add another member to his proposed faction.