Last year brought wrestling fans an abundance of great matches. Will that trend continue in 2018?
In 2017, wrestling fans witnessed a wide range of tremendous matchups. Brock Lesnar vs. A.J. Styles. Finn Balor vs. A.J. Styles. Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne’s trilogy of UK Championship classics. Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada’s epics that broke the Meltzer rating scale. The Usos, The New Day, The Bar, and The Shield revitalizing WWE tag team wrestling after the company spent the first half of the year breaking duos up. This brief list doesn’t even cover the great work in Ring of Honor, Lucha Underground, and other promotions.
As the page turns to 2018, it’s time to create new memories. With a new year comes (hopefully) fresh matches and new possibilities. With top-level wrestlers in several promotions who have yet to feud and new possible signings, fans will have a chance to watch matches that they probably thought they could only put together in a video game.
Today, I will take predict five potential dream matches that could take place in wrestling this year. Of course, these won’t just be matches the I think will happen. If I wanted to write a predictable article, I would’ve just talked about Shane McMahon jumping off of something high or Booker T spouting nonsense at the commentary table every Monday. That’s why they’re called dream matches.
The Young Bucks vs. The Revival
You won’t find two more diametrically opposed teams in wrestling than the Young Bucks and the Revival. One team is a throwback to classic heel teams like Brainbusters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard) while the other relies on whatever highspot they can think up along with a healthy dose of superkicks.
The team of Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder spent 2016 having standout matches with #DIY at consecutive NXT: Takeover shows–bouts that were built around tremendous storytelling. Unfortunately, separate injuries to both men stalled WWE’s plans for them.
On the other hand, the Bucks have been, well, the Bucks. Their 2017 have been fruitful in terms of their popularity and match quality, shining against the likes of Roppongi Vice, Riccochet and Ryusuke Taguchi, and the Hardys.
Even with the influx of some tremendous tandems over the past year, The Bucks and The Revival are still two of the premier teams in all of wrestling and would no doubt tear the house down if they faced each other.
The Revival’s ability to craft a smart and thrilling tag team match is well documented and the Jackson brothers have shown time and again that they are more than just a bunch of superkicks and Meltzer Drivers (go back and watch their Wrestle Kingdom 12 match against Roppongi 3K). The story sells itself: two men who personify modern wrestling almost to a level of parody against the team that proudly wears “No Flips, Just Fists” on their shirts and trunks.
Sadly, this match probably won’t happen anytime soon. I don’t see The Revival leaving WWE this year, unless creative really doesn’t have anything for them. I also don’t think The Bucks will surrender their creative freedom to join WWE either. However, crazier things have happened in wrestling. I think this match happens eventually somewhere but for now, this dream match is just that.
The Elite vs. The New Day
Moving from a traditional tag match to a pair of trios teams. Both units have traded veiled verbal shots and have issued challenges over the past couple of years.
Obviously, all six men are very good workers, but what makes both trios special is their chemistry with their respective partners. Omega and The Young Bucks have arguably been the most popular acts outside of the WWE bubble. Conversely, New Day has made fans forget about their early incarnations as another tired variation of the Nation of Domination and a mindless shuckin’ and jivin’ team and have become one of the most popular gimmicks in the company.
Even if it were just a one-off match, a showdown between these three teams would be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, it probably won’t happen anytime soon for the same reasons that the Bucks/Revival won’t: a lack of availability.
Both groups have achieved great success in their respective promotions and show no signs of slowing down. Omega and The Bucks seem to have some ambitious goals that do not include WWE (running a 10,000 seat wrestling show with Cody, helping NJPW expand westward). New Day also seems to be enjoying their time in WWE, I doubt that they leave anytime soon. That’s a shame because I think that these six guys could have a tremendous trios match.
Kenny Omega vs. AJ Styles
Two men who are recognized as the best wrestlers in the world today. The last two leaders of Bullet Club. A storyline beef. It wouldn’t take much to build up a match between Kenny Omega and A.J. Styles, but the history between these two certainly helps.
The last time Styles and Omega were in the same ring together was at New Years Dash 2016, where “The Cleaner” hoisted Styles onto his shoulders and slammed “The Phenomenal One” to the canvas with the One-Winged Angel, effectively sending Styles to WWE. Omega then announced his move to the heavyweight division and hasn’t looked back.
To say that these two would produce an instant classic would be the understatement of the decade. In 2017, Omega had a plethora of instant classics with the likes of Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Tetsuya Naito, and Trent Baretta. Styles WWE body of work is impressive in different ways–pulling TWO very good matches out of Jinder Mahal and having the two best main roster matches of the year with Finn Balor and John Cena.
The only way I see this match happening is if Omega leaves New Japan for WWE. As a former two-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Styles has done all he can in Japan (outside of headlining the Tokyo Dome). I think he is more than happy to stay in WWE and remain the centerpiece of SmackDown. As I mentioned earlier, New Japan wants Omega around to help them gain a foothold in North America (hence why he’s the IWGP U.S. Champion). I think this match happens in a couple of years, but not this year.
Samoa Joe vs. John Cena
It might be all for naught due to Joe’s injury, but WWE began planting the seeds for this match last Monday. After Joe dispatched of Rhyno, the former two-time NXT Champion announced his entry in the Royal Rumble and declared that he would eliminate John Cena first.
There is a documented history between these two; both men began their careers in the California-based UPW promotion. The two actually feuded before going on very different paths. Cena signed a developmental deal with WWE in 2001 and went on become the face of the company four years later. Joe, after Bruce Prichard and Jim Ross told him he had no future in wrestling, went to Japan to ply his trade before rising to stardom in Ring of Honor and later TNA. Since WWE used to have a working relationship with the now-defunct UPW, they should have no trouble nabbing old footage of Joe and Cena during their time there.
Given both men’s age–Cena is 40, Joe is 38–their best days in the ring are likely behind them. That said, both men are capable of having a really good, hard-hitting match. However, Joe’s injury means that fans will have to wait a little longer for this match to take place.
John Cena vs. The Undertaker
The last time John Cena and The Undertaker wrestled on pay-per-view, gas cost $1.56, LeBron James was a rookie, and the last Lord of the Rings movie won the Oscar for Best Picture. Cena and Taker were also vastly different characters–Cena was still less than a year into his heel rapper gimmick while Taker was in the final year of his biker character.
In the nearly 15 years since their Vengeance 2003 bout, Cena and Taker have been the two biggest stars in the company and outside of a couple of matches, haven’t really interacted with one another.
This is probably the most time-sensitive match on the list. With both men closer to the end of their careers, it behooves WWE to book this match sooner rather than later, assuming Taker isn’t already retired.
Despite seemingly hanging up the boots after losing to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, WWE has left the window cracked open for another Undertaker match–the announcers have never said that Reigns definitively retired “The Phenom”. Honestly, I don’t want to see Taker tarnish what looked like a fitting sendoff for his character, but he wouldn’t be the first wrestler to renege on a retirement if he did.
If Taker does return, it should be for a match with Cena. It wouldn’t be as good as it would have been even four years ago, but the spectacle of seeing them in the ring should help them overcome their diminished workrate, a la Rock vs. Hogan at WrestleMania X8.
WWE doesn’t have too many more chances to make this match, so they need to do so ASAP.
Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
It seems inevitable that the two most well-protected women on the WWE roster will meet one-on-one. It’s not a matter of “if”, but “when”. Asuka has remained unblemished since her call-up and has maintained her star power despite Vince McMahon’s best efforts (competitive matches with Emma, Alicia Fox, and Alexa Bliss). Charlotte has seldom lost cleanly since moving to SmackDown last spring and is positioned as the biggest female star on the show.
WWE has wisely kept these ladies apart thus far, including swapping Charlotte out of the women’s Survivor Series elimination match (Asuka was on the RAW team). I think the company will finally cash in on their patience this November with a match that would be a vast improvement over that forced Queen vs. Goddess match that took place in 2017.
Assuming both ladies are Raw and SmackDown Women’s Champion, respectively, by the time Survivor Series rolls around, this match is a lock to happen. It would feel a bit bigger if Asuka wasn’t selling for women who shouldn’t be in her league and if Charlotte wasn’t jumbled in with the other women in SmackDown’s even-Steven carousel. Still, the match could be a big deal if WWE promotes it right.
If WWE keeps both women strong throughout the year, they will have a much-anticipated dream match on their hands. Sadly, that’s also plenty of time for them to damage both ladies.
A.J. Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura
Styles and Nakamura might not have the same match that they did at Wrestle Kingdom 10 two years ago, but it should still be very good. Workrate is the least of this matches problems.
While Styles has established himself as a bonafide star, Nakamura has struggled thanks to inconsistent booking. Right out of the gate, the creative team presented Nakamura as some sort of Michael Jackson cosplayer who happened to be a good wrestler. Additionally, his matches with Baron Corbin and Jinder Mahal were fairly lackluster at best, though that may have more to do with them than Nakamura. Simply put, WWE hasn’t treated Nakamura like the superstar he was in Japan. It isn’t DDP circa 2001 or anything, but “The King of Strong Style” doesn’t feel as special as he should.
That said, there is still plenty of intrigue in this match. Fans were excited about the prospect of seeing them fight down the line when Styles and Nakamura teased it at Money in the Bank. With Nakamura the favorite to win the Royal Rumble and Styles likely to retain his title in his handicap match against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, odds are that this match takes place at WrestleMania. Even with the damage WWE has done to Nakamura, the bout can still feel special.
Kenny Omega vs. Kota Ibushi
Many people thought this match would take place at Wrestle Kingdom 12 before Chris Jericho returned to New Japan to challenge the U.S. Title. Even though it didn’t happen there, a clash seems almost inevitable.
There’s plenty of history between these two to draw from. Omega and Ibushi became friends shortly after Omega joined the Dramatic Dream Team (DDT) promotion in 2008. They formally became a team in January 2009 and went on to win the KO-D Tag Team Championships twice and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships once.
Omega and Ibushi teamed until October 2014, when Ibushi moved to the heavyweight division in NJPW and Omega remained a junior. Since then, Ibushi has wrestled in numerous promotions–including WWE during the cruiserweight classic–while Omega has become arguably the best wrestler on the planet.
Both men had great 2017’s; Omega broke Dave Melzer’s original 1-5 rating scale THREE TIMES while Ibushi had bouts with Tetsuya Naito, Tomohiro Ishii, and Zack Sabre Jr. that would have been MOTY candidates in any other year besides 2017. I have no doubt that both men could have the Match of the Year should the match happen in 2017 given their abilities and storyline history.
Next: Ranking The Top 20 WWE Matches Of 2017
Both men started the year with classic Wrestle Kingdom matches. Omega worked a very smart no-DQ match with Chris Jericho, giving Y2J his first classic in a while. Ibushi helped Cody break through his seemingly impenetrable three-star ceiling with a classic singles bout (to be fair, Cody more than held up his end).
Omega has some business to attend to first–helping Switchblade get over, feuding with Cody. When he finally wrestles Ibushi, fans should expect nothing less than a memorable classic.