Photo Source: WWE.com
Time for another round of outside the box predictions for WWE. The crystal ball is fired up for the go home to Royal Rumble.
One of my favorite pastimes as a WWE fan is to try and guess what’s going to happen in the future. I don’t go out of my way to spoil myself. But trying to get into the heads of the creative department is a good way to kill some time.
There’s a lot of potentially big happenings on the horizon this week. We’re just days away from the Royal Rumble. There’s a pair of 30-superstar Royal Rumble matches on the card – one for the men, and one for the women. A few tag team title matches are scheduled, two world title bouts – good thing the show is four hours. (Six, if you count the kick off.) (Dear god, this show is going to be so long.)
Before we get to Royal Rumble, though, we celebrate the 25th anniversary of WWE Raw. Way back in January 1993, the scrappy little promotion called World Wrestling Federation set up shop at the Manhattan Center for the first of 1,235 episodes (once RAW 25 goes off the air). Just about everyone still living and breathing who’s ever appeared on WWE’s flagship show is going to be there in some way, shape, or form. Like, the definition of “WWE Legend” has been stretched greatly to accommodate all the guests this week.
Oh, and SmackDown Live has a show this week, too.
Please continue reading for our bold predictions for WWE for the week of Jan. 22, 2018.
The Legends Actually Put Someone Over, Rather Than Vice Versa
The running theme of WWE Legends making appearances in their golden years is “we’re better than you’ll ever be.” Whether part-time superstars like Brock Lesnar (or even John Cena now), or guys coming back for brief runs like Chris Jericho, or one-off appearances like The Rock, the superstars from the past always seem to go over.
For proof of this, look no further than Raw 1000 in the summer of 2012. In one three hour broadcast, all of the following happened:
- Damien Sandow got beat down by D-Generation X
- The Rock hit Daniel Bryan with a Rock Bottom
- Lita defeated Heath Slater, with the help of the APA, Bob Backlund, DDP, Doink, Rikishi, Road Warrior Animal, Roddy Piper, Sgt. Slaughter, Sid, and Vader
- Kane needed help from the Undertaker to fend off Jinder Mahal, Drew McIntyre, Tyler Reks, Curt Hawkins, Hunico, and Camacho (reminder that Tyler Reks was released laterin 2012, and all but Hunico were released in June 2014)
With everyone from Stone Cold Steve Austin to MVP to Kelly Kelly on the bill for RAW 25, the odds of interaction with today’s superstars are pretty high – even factoring in the dual venue for the show. Conventional wisdom says JBL and Ron Simmons are going to find The Revival and wipe the floor with them. Right?
Well, maybe not. JBL has a much smaller role in the company than he used to (thankfully), and Simmons shows up to say “Damn!” once in a while. Meanwhile, The Revival just beat down some local talent before throwing down the gauntlet last week. Maybe – just maybe – things will be different this time around.
Or maybe Torrie Wilson will end Asuka’s undefeated streak with an assist from Michelle McCool.
Miz Once Again Becomes The Greatest Intercontinental Champion of All Time – Cleanly
Saying that The Miz is going to regain the Intercontinental Championship isn’t exactly a bold prediction. Lord knows we’re still in that multi-year build to Roman Reigns defeating Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania to officially crown The Big Dog as “The Guy.” At some point, he’s got to drop the Intercontinental Championship, unless we’re doing a WrestleMania VI Warrior-Hogan deal.
With the Rumble approaching, now is the perfect time for Miz to swoop in and reclaim his baby. Reigns can then enter the Men’s Royal Rumble Match, win it, and head to a date with The Beast in New Orleans. To keep Reigns looking strong, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel could interfere. Since there’s no Shield to get Roman’s back, he can be overcome by the numbers game and then move back up the card.
Or, maybe this is the beginning of Roman doubting himself. Hell, he retired The Undertaker at WrestleMania, now perhaps the Dead Man is coming back to face John Cena? The OLD face that runs the place? Maybe The Big Dog isn’t as bad as he thinks he is.
What if The Undertaker makes his intentions on another match known before Reigns defends the title against The Miz? Roman’s head will be messed up, and he gets beat fair and square, starting a journey of redemption. I’m sure the WWE Universe would loooooove that.
Daniel Bryan Declares Himself For The Royal Rumble – But Doesn’t Actually Compete
Again, this one may not be a bold prediction. I’m in the camp that believes WWE will never let Daniel Bryan wrestle for them again, no matter how much it seems like they’ve been teasing it for the past year and a half. From the spats with The Miz on Talking Smack, to his growing role in the feud between AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Shane McMahon (jeez, that’s a convoluted mess), it’s all a smoke screen to me.
More from WWE
- Trish Stratus on WWE NXT would help elevate that women’s division
- Randy Orton signs with SmackDown to go after The Bloodline
- WWE and AEW will put on a full court press for Kazuchika Okada in 2024
- The Judgment Day is the top faction story in WWE
- Liv Morgan vs Rhea Ripley is perfect for WWE Royal Rumble 2024
But there’s silly rumors out there about Bryan being a favorite to win the Royal Rumble. Look, it makes no sense. Some employee leaked a potential story idea, and now the knuckleheads who gamble on pre-determined entertainment are driving the betting lines crazy.
WWE has no intentions to clear Bryan – just ask Mark Henry. But they have no problem giving that impression for all these months. So why not pull a bait and switch? This week on SmackDown, Bryan will declare his entry into the Men’s Royal Rumble Match.
Then, the day of the Rumble, Bryan will be mysteriously attacked backstage, and he’ll be declared unable to compete. Instead, we’ll get, say, EC3, who remembers how good D-Bry treated his “s***ty dead cousin” Derrick Bateman, to replace him. Then, EC3 is revealed to be his attacker down the road, or something.
This way, Bryan gets to pretend like he’ll wrestle for a few days, EC3 can be a surprise debut, and WWE gets to troll the audience like a good corporation should.
Next: The Mount Rushmore of Wrestling
What do you think is on tap for WWE this week?