7 Most bizarre things that happened in WWE in 2019: Megastar removed from main event spot, Huge character change leads to World Title win

2019 has been one of the more interesting years of the past decade. If we were to point a finger at it, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2019 were by far the best years of this past decade, with many new stars emerging, great new moments and changes in direction, characters, etc.

Simply put, the evolution of WWE over the last decade has been immense. If you were to watch select clips of RAW and SmackDown each year for the last decade, the difference and ever-changing presentation is something that WWE has done to constantly try to reinvent the product and stay fresh.

As Jim Ross put it best - WWE is a company that's trying to get older (which is also the reason why he left for AEW). Perhaps the biggest critique that the company has consistently received over the past decade has been a creative one, with many often complaining of the lack of change in the product.

Also read: 5 reasons why Seth Rollins and AoP assaulted Rey Mysterio on RAW

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While 2019 had many hit and miss episodes (and that's inevitable when there are 52 episodes a year), there was a lot of good that happened and effort made to have some shocking moments. Here were the most bizarre happenings of 2020:

#7. Roman Reigns returns, becomes a big babyface and loses a push?

Roman Reigns' 2018 ended shockingly when he announced his battle with leukemia. He returned far earlier than expected, when he announced that he was in remission in February 2019. Since then, he has returned in a big way and contrary to 2015-2018, has been a cheered and beloved babyface in WWE.

Interestingly, it's been helped by the fact that WWE has removed him from the main event scene entirely, with Reigns hardly even competing for a title in the first place. He's had a great role and has been cherished, which is probably why WWE may have been taken by surprise that he's gained so much popularity since then.

#6. Bray Wyatt becomes a World Champion again

To say that Bray Wyatt had a career resurgence in 2019 would be a huge understatement. He had a surprisingly long hiatus, being absent from the summer of 2018 up until April 2019. In that time, Braun Strowman revealed that he had gone "into a shell" of sorts, obsessing and planning a new character.

The brainchild of Windham Rotunda happened to be the split persona between Bray Wyatt and The Fiend - one of whom was a playful, and friendly, yet sadistic children's show host, while the other was a creepy, darker persona of its own.

WWE recognized the effort and dedication put into the character and gave him a big push, protecting him. It took four months of Firefly Fun House segments before we got the debut and when it happened, it was huge.

Moreover, Wyatt only wrestles on PPV now, keeping the specialty of the character alive. While a big comeback was not bizarre or outlandish, becoming Universal Champion as quickly as he did was.

Many pegged him as the kind of character who didn't need a title, but WWE felt that he was the man to carry the Universal title going forward.

#5. Finn Balor moving back to NXT

The Fiend's first victim was none other than Finn Balor - who was written off at SummerSlam 2019 and went on a hiatus to get married. After his break was done, many anticipated that he would simply return in his role on SmackDown, but instead, the circumstances had changed.

NXT landed the big USA Network deal and knew that they needed some major names and major returns to get a buzz and good viewership. Balor, who spent a few years dominating NXT (being the longest-reigning NXT Champion ever) seemed more than happy to return and when he did, he confronted the current Champion Adam Cole.

While it looked like we would get the same babyface Balor, there was a twist - he would turn heel and assault Johnny Gargano. He has since gone on a "lone wolf" heel run and brought back his "Prince" character from his NJPW days.

Balor returning to NXT was a shocking and bizarre move in the eyes of many, but in hindsight, it was probably the right one. It was a big moment and got a lot of attention.

#4. The unexpected rise of KofiMania

When 2019 began, if anyone were to tell you that Kofi Kingston would rise to the top and reach the pinnacle of the industry, nobody would have believed you, but that's what makes pro wrestling so special. All it takes is the right time and right moment and Kingston capitalized on an opportunity that came because of Mustafa Ali's injury.

An incredible one-hour performance in a Gauntlet Match made the WWE Universe realize what many already knew - Kofi Kingston is a main event talent. As the reactions grew stronger, WWE knew exactly what they had in their hands and Kingston revealed that Daniel Bryan himself pushed for a WrestleMania 35 title match - knowing exactly what was happening.

KofiMania was one of the most magical things to happen in 2019 and it was bizarre, but it was amazing - every moment of it. Becoming the first African-American WWE Champion was a huge accomplishment for him and even as Champion, he was presented as a strong, credible Superstar up until the end.

Hopefully, we get a Kofi Kingston singles push again because we saw what he's truly capable of.

#3. NXT's addition and dominance at Survivor Series 2019

For a few years now, people have been saying that NXT is not a developmental brand before - but the third brand alongside RAW and SmackDown. Triple H further affirmed this in his conference calls and it was clear that in the final quarter of 2019 - WWE gave NXT the biggest push in its nearly decade-long history.

The move to the USA Network on Wednesday nights was, of course, to compete with AEW and the company knew that in order to do that, they needed to push NXT and put it on the same level as RAW and SmackDown.

Survivor Series 2019 was their big opportunity to do that and because of the Wild Card rule, WWE couldn't advertise Survivor Series as "the one time of the year where RAW and SmackDown face off in head-to-head competition" as they usually would.

And at the event, it was NXT that picked up the big win, beating SmackDown and RAW with a score of 4-2-1 respectively. It was a huge one for the brand and bizarre because even one year ago, this would never have happened. 2019, ladies and gentlemen.

#2. The crowd turning on Seth Rollins and the heel turn

After Roman Reigns was diagnosed with leukemia and went on a hiatus, it was clear that Seth Rollins would replace him in that top spot in 2019, with his coronation happening at WrestleMania 35. Nobody would have anticipated that he would beat Brock Lesnar in two and a half minutes in the WrestleMania opener.

While he had momentum as the Universal Champion, he would lose the title twice and by late September, the WWE Universe began to sour on him. It became clear at this point that the top babyface role in the company is one that's hard to maintain in modern WWE and it wasn't Roman Reigns' fault when he was in Rollins' position.

Unfavorable comments and more made Rollins a hated babyface and before you knew it, the crowd was clamoring for The Fiend to beat him for the Universal Championship. They got what they wished for and in December, Rollins would turn heel and align with AoP.

It was bizarre because he went from the top babyface spot to the top heel spot within 8 months. At least this time around, WWE listened to the fans.

#1. Brock Lesnar's bizarre 2019

Brock Lesnar began the year as the Universal Champion in his second reign and after he lost to Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 35, many believed that his WWE run was over. The reason for this was because he was in contract negotiations with the UFC to face Daniel Cormier for the Heavyweight Championship, but the deal fell through and Dana White stated that Vince McMahon "threw the vault" at Lesnar, paying him big to return to the promotion.

As a result, he would win the Money in the Bank Ladder Match after entering it in the last-minute and cash in at Extreme Rules to become the only 3-time Universal Champion. That reign, of course, would be solely to put over Rollins at SummerSlam 2019 and after that, many believed his year was done.

This was, of course, until he challenged Kofi Kingston for the WWE Title and had his first match on free television in 15 and a half years, winning the WWE Championship in a ten-second match. That would mark a bizarre year for 'The Beast Incarnate,' who would defend it in a great match against Rey Mysterio at Survivor Series 2019. It's going to be interesting to see what 2020 holds for him.

Edited by Michael McClead