2015 was a great year for a number of WWE Superstars and Divas. Four different men held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship over the last 12 months. Three Divas ignited a revolution. And a bona fide icon finally competed in a WWE ring some 30 years after his debut.

Everyone from Jon Stewart to Joey Mercury made an impression this year, but only 10 could make it onto our list. What did we look at when selecting the best Superstars of 2015? Wins and losses mattered, but impact meant more. Who shook things up? Who surprised us? Who made WWE fans jump out of their seats and chant, “This is awesome!”? Read on to find out who reminded us why we love sports-entertainment, and then let us know who would be on your list in the comments.

10

Sting

We were never supposed to be here. In 2015, Sting battled Triple H at WrestleMania and challenged Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship — two things were once thought impossible. Yet, here we are.

The Stinger’s time in WWE, although fleeting in 2015, was incredibly impactful. Yes, he came up short in two of his three matches, but 2015 was not about victories or defeats for The Icon, as much as it was the moments that were created, moments we never thought we’d see. In so many ways, Sting was working with house money all year … remember, he was never supposed to be here in the first place. — RYAN PAPPOLLA

5 things you didn't know about Sting



9

Dean Ambrose

After spending the entire year relentlessly fighting for the right to carry a WWE championship around his waist, Dean Ambrose finally succeeded at WWE TLC when he defeated Kevin Owens for the Intercontinental Championship.

Obviously, winning one of WWE’s most prestigious titles is a good way to make it on this list, but ultimately it’s the unstable Superstar’s consistency that got him here. You read that correctly … “consistency.” Night in and night out, The Lunatic Fringe delivered his wildly entertaining brand of chaos, making him one of WWE’s most popular and dependable competitors. As a result, 2015 will go down as the year Dean Ambrose made crazy the new cool. — SCOTT TAYLOR

WWE Network: Relive Dean Ambrose's Intercontinental Title victory at WWE TLC



8

Charlotte

It was the night that changed the Divas division forever. On July 13, Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch made the jump from WWE NXT to the main roster, ushering in the Divas Revolution in the process.

Ric Flair’s pride and joy, along with Becky and Paige, formed Team PCB, and the trio quickly conquered the Divas division. But when Charlotte proceeded to end Nikki Bella’s historic 301-day reign at WWE Night of Champions for her first run with the Divas Title, her win caused tension within PCB, which collapsed under the weight of jealousy. As for Charlotte, she continued her winning ways, besting Paige in title matches at Survivor Series and WWE TLC to retain. As the Divas Champion herself might proclaim, long live the queen! — GREG ADKINS

WWE Network: Watch Charlotte win the Divas Championship at WWE Night of Champions



7

Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens showed exactly how you make an impact in WWE in 2015. After running roughshod through NXT in a matter of months, the prizefighter made the jump to the main roster in May 2015, setting his sights on 15-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena. Arriving under the pretense of answering Cena’s U.S. Open Challenge, Owens instead bulldozed over The Champ, stepping on the title as he walked out of the ring.

The prizefighter and former NXT Champion went on to have three unforgettable matches with The Cenation leader, including a huge victory at Elimination Chamber, before going on to capture the Intercontinental Title at Night of Champions. And he did all this in the span of seven months. Imagine what he can do with a full year in 2016. — BOBBY MELOK

Kevin Owens: The World's Most Dangerous Dad

6

Nikki Bella

No competitor improved more in 2015 than Nikki Bella. The glamorous Diva was already a month into her Divas Championship reign when the year kicked off, and she spent the next several months proving why. Rivals promised to take down Team Bella, but they all met the same Rack Attack fate.

She turned away challenges from Naomi, Tamina and Paige while holding the Divas Title for a record-breaking 301 days. She ruled over the Divas division with such dominance that her rivals came together to start a revolution to knock her from the throne. Charlotte may have taken her title, but Nikki’s Slammy for Diva of the Year proved that she was the queen bee in 2015. — JEFF LABOON

Watch: Nikki Bella wins 2015 WWE Slammy Award for Diva of the Year

5

John Cena

If you were part of that dwindling minority who was still chanting “Cena sucks!” in 2015, chances are you weren’t paying close enough attention. WWE’s ace may have had his finest year from an in-ring perspective as he granted a cadre of brass ring hopefuls the biggest opportunity of their burgeoning careers with the institution of his U.S. Open Challenge. John Cena going against the best of the independent new wave — from Sami Zayn to Cesaro (twice!) — was the guaranteed match of the night every Monday, and, more than that, a much-needed reminder that Cena definitely does not suck. — RYAN MURPHY

Watch John Cena's U.S. Open Challenge

4

Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar ruled 2015 — and Suplex City — with an iron fist. Although he lost the grandest prize in sports-entertainment to the opportunistic Seth Rollins at this year’s WrestleMania, The Beast Incarnate was a force of nature even in defeat, going on to lay waste to Big Show in a hotly anticipated WWE Network showdown on WWE Network and coming out on top in his reignited rivalry with The Deadman, which culminated in The Anomaly’s decisive victory inside Hell in a Cell. Lesnar terrified us more than ever this year, but we were glued to our screens whenever he hit the ring. — JAMES WORTMAN

Witness Brock Lesnar's insane strength

3

Seth Rollins

When discussing the best Superstars of 2015, the discussion must begin and end with Seth “Freaking” Rollins. In a year filled with remarkable performances from Superstars and Divas alike, Rollins started 2015 in the deep end, wrestling Brock Lesnar and John Cena, and only waded into further challenges from there. His statistics — a historic cash-in and dual reign among them — speak for themselves, but really what made this his year was consistency. Nobody got better and better, sometimes by the hour, sometimes by the minute. Nobody held a title with such gleeful malevolence. Nobody made it so hard to hate a guy so good. And, most importantly, nobody beat him for that big championship. Let’s see if anybody’s up to the challenge come 2016. — ANTHONY BENIGNO

Watch: Seth Rollins wins 2015 WWE Slammy Award for Superstar of the Year



2

The New Day

In 12 months’ time, The New Day went from cheesy to threatening, tropes to trendsetters. At the start of the year, Big E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods were newly rebranded, saccharine-sweet beacons of positivity with an uneven win-loss record and a soulful message of optimism that was met with ambivalence. “Booty” wasn’t even a major part of the WWE vernacular.

Now, The New Day stand as WWE’s most dominant collective, if not the most entertaining. They laid out John Cena, Dolph Ziggler & The Dudley Boyz in one night and have maintained a grip on the WWE Tag Team Titles since August. With every gyration of Big E’s hips, every trombone solo and every raising of a unicorn horn, The New Day have demonstrated the true power of positivity. — JOHN CLAPP

The New Day's guide to their victory dances



1

Roman Reigns

Do you believe now?

No one would blame you for doubting Roman Reigns as 2014 came to a close. He hadn’t achieved the same success as former Shield cohorts Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, or lived up to the expectations of his Anoa’i Family lineage. His resume certainly didn’t support the buzz that seemingly followed him everywhere.

Then Reigns made the leap to the next level. He won the 2015 Royal Rumble Match. He stood defiantly against the likes of Daniel Bryan, Brock Lesnar and The Wyatt Family. He revolted against The Authority, and is now poised to ring in 2016 as WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

Though it took all 12 calendar months of 2015 to change the hearts and minds of his harshest critics, Reigns persevered. And now he’s reaping the spoils of as great a year as any Superstar has ever had.

Believe that. — MATTHEW ARTUS

Look back at a year ago: Which Superstar had the best 2014?