PREDICTING WWE’S 2018

2017 began with John Cena capturing his 16^th world championship, Goldberg in the midst of a late-blooming career-coda, and Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho tied at the hip as one of the more entertaining mini-stables (is it really a tag team when it’s just a couple main-eventers hanging out for a few months?) in a generation.

2017 ends with John Cena playing Ferdinand in a big animated film that opens opposite The Last Jedi (he’s not kicking out of that Box Office beatdown), Goldberg a distant memory, Kevin Owens tied at the hip to Sami Zayn in one of the more entertaining mini-stables in a generation, and Chris Jericho in Japan preparing to wrestle Kenny Omega in what promises to be a match of the year contender only days into the new year.

Sidebar:
I continue to be amazed at Jericho's ability to completely reinvent his character as needed while retaining the same high quality no matter his persona or opponent.
He's the Gary Oldman of wrestling.

Where was I? Oh yes, 2017: When you’re in the thick of it, week in and week out, and while enduring the thrice (sometimes four-fold) weekly TV programs, it often feels like nothing is happening in WWE, when actually a lot is often going on…it’s just going on very slowly. I didn’t even mention Jinder Mahal. Jinder Mahal had the kind of 2017 that, if you had told me about it five years ago, I would have said it was impossible. If you had told me about it a year ago I would have said the same thing. If you had told me about it a month before it happened…

You get the idea.

Not to belabor the point, but I mean if you told me, let’s say two years ago, that one of the three members of 3MB would hold the WWE Championship for several months, defeating the likes of Randy Orton, AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura, and if you told me I could guess which member of 3MB it was, and if you gave me three guesses to get it right I would have guessed Drew McIntyre twice and then Heath Slater.

I mean, come on, this was a number-one contenders match just five months ago.

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Make sense of that to me two years ago. I dare you.

That’s 2017 for you.

So with that said, what on earth could 2018 bring to WWE? I’m calling my shot and saying Disco Inferno will defend the Hardcore Championship in the main-event of WWE’s newest PPV, Night Fever!

Here are some other (serious) predictions for the WWE in 2018. This isn’t fantasy booking. This is merely speculation.

WRESTLEMANIA WILL NOT BE HEADLINED BY ROMAN REIGNS vs. BROCK LESNAR

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Everyone and their brother is predicting this. Heck, even I’m predicating this in every relevant article outside of this one. It’s the most obvious main-event since the last three Roman Reigns main-events. And for that reason I think Vince may shake things up. If Roman Reigns main-events next year’s Mania, he will be the first since Hulk Hogan to top the bill at four straight shows. A few others have closed-out three in a row (Hogan, Rock, Triple H, Cena) but only Hogan had four in a row (five you count WrestleMania IX but let’s not). To put Roman on that pedestal—especially when the talent pool and potential for any number of other main-events is so much greater than what it was around WrestleMania V-VIII—seems like terrible judgment. Maybe I’m being silly for thinking Vince will exercise good judgment, but I have a hunch that Vince will cut a big check and pull a rabbit out of his hat to make Rock vs Brock happen.

THE SHIELD WILL BREAK UP (AGAIN) AND DEAN AMBROSE WILL INSTIGATE IT

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This was a prediction that dates back to TLC, when the Shield were supposed to have their big comeback match together. The hot theory some liked to talk about was that the big reunion was actually a big headfake and that Ambrose would put a chair to Rollins’ back, as the ultimate long-con payback move. It might have been a bit too predictable in hindsight and of course, WWE really wanted that reunion a lot more than they wanted to give Ambrose something…anything…that he could sink his teeth into. Now that we’ve all had our Shield reunion jollies maybe let’s revisit this idea early next year. It would allow Roman Reigns to move off on his own again, and would return us to the Ambrose/Rollins feud from yesteryear, only with the alignments flipped, giving the first half of 2018 plenty for the trio to do.

JINDER MAHAL WILL GET THE JBL 2005 PUSH

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Cliffs: JBL was an unlikely WWE Champion, who was an even more unlikely “long-reigning” WWE Champion. During the mid-2000’s fans used to pull their hair out as JBL would Just. Keep. Retaining. Every month would bring another round of “surely this is the one where he’ll lose…” and the month would pass and he’d remain the champ. Then came WrestleMania 21 and the coronation of John Cena. JBL got his customary main-event rematch, but after that his star faded significantly and he was never treated like a true threat to a world title after that. He kept being pushed, off and on, because beating a former world champ sounds good on commentary. That’s what next year holds for Jinder. He’ll probably never sniff a world title again, but he’ll hang around the scene just to milk the last remaining bits of prestige that wearing that belt gave him.

SUMMERSLAM WILL BE THE SITE OF JOHN CENA’S 17^TH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

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Obviously WrestleMania seems like a more appropriate place for such an accomplishment, but there are other considerations to remember. First of all, this coming WrestleMania just doesn’t seem to be the right time for Cena to jump into the main-event. The better bet is an AJ/Nakamura title match in New Orleans. On the other hand, the 2019 WrestleMania seems too far away. WWE only so little time left with Cena, certainly as someone they can give a world title to without it coming off as yet another part-timer holding the top belt. Cena is technically a part-timer these days, but he’s still close enough to his days of 365ing it that it’s not so crazy for him to win a belt. 2019 would be too far away. SummerSlam is a nice compromise, though I wouldn’t put money on him holding the belt past Survivor Series. Number 17 is coming but it will be more of a gold watch than anything.

ASUKA WILL NOT LOSE A MATCH IN 2018

The running gag while she was in NXT was that she’d lose her debut main-roster match via roll-up or other such fluke, just to swerve and mock the most passionate fans WWE has. It’s such a classic “WWE overthinking” move too. But, thus far at least, she’s maintained her dominant run. I can easily see her continuing it, just so WWE can build to a WrestleMania 2019 match with (also undefeated in WWE) Ronda Rousey. And you can scoff at that all you want, but there are dollar signs behind that match, guaranteed.

WRESTLEMANIA 2019 WILL COME FROM THE MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM

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I’m cheating a bit with this last one, since this isn’t technically 2018 news. Nevertheless, WWE likes to get way out in front of these things, so the announcement may come next year. A lot of chatter is online about Ford Field in Detroit (site of Mania 23) being the venue, but I recall last year everyone was certain that US Bank Stadium in Minnesota would get the nod for the 2018 Mania that ended up going to New Orleans. I just have a hunch that WWE will stick to the south and will put a WCW influence on the night. Think Goldberg as a Hall of Fame headliner, Goldust as the retiring vet getting one final match (on the pre-show) and AJ Styles getting his first (and possibly only) WrestleMania main-event match later that weekend.

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Those are a few of the predictions I’m making for next year. What are yours Cagesiders?

Let us know in the comments below!