Braun Strowman Wins Universal Title and 8 WWE Predictions for the Rest of 2018

The first half of 2018 has been an interesting time for WWE, and it doesn't look like the company has plans to slow down anytime soon.

Management has continued to push the women's division to new heights, but WWE also experienced some backlash by holding an event without it in Saudi Arabia a few weeks after WrestleMania 34. 

Despite a vocal majority of the fans protesting, Roman Reigns is still the golden boy of WWE and Brock Lesnar is still the universal champion.

The second half of 2018 is when WWE needs to start taking some risks. It has been playing it safe for far too long, and the WWE Universe longs for some significant changes to the product.

What follows are some bold predictions for the rest of the year and explanations about how they will affect the company.

Braun Strowman Wins Gold

The fact Braun Strowman isn't already the universal champion is a travesty, but it can be easily rectified.

The Monster Among Men was the breakout star of 2017, and the fans have continued to support him despite management's refusal to pull the trigger on a title reign.

Lesnar has been the champ for over a year, and that means Raw has been without its top title the majority of the time because The Beast doesn't work a full-time schedule.

You can barely call his schedule part-time. He is more like a special guest who comes and goes as he pleases. 

The longer WWE waits to put the belt on Strowman, the more it risks fans becoming tired of seeing him do the same thing every week without a different result. SummerSlam seems like the best time for Strowman to win the title, but if Lesnar's deal expires before then, it will have to happen sooner.

Once Strowman is on top of the mountain, WWE can start building him up into one of the most dominant champions of all time.

John Cena Breaks Ric Flair's Record

Once John Cena won the WWE Championship more than a dozen times, it became clear WWE was setting him up to break Ric Flair's record of 16 world titles.

Cena tied The Nature Boy last year when he defeated AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble, but WWE has held off on having him break the record.

His schedule has changed as his career in Hollywood has taken off, but Cena has made it clear WWE will always be his first home.

He isn't traveling with the company right now, but when he returns for his next storyline, Cena will be chasing the WWE Championship. Anything else wouldn't make sense.

Once the Leader of the Cenation wins championship No. 17, he will cement his legacy as one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time.

The Brand Split Ends

WWE brought back the brand split in 2016 to deal with the growing roster of Superstars, and it seemed like the best possible solution at the time.

Raw and SmackDown Live both got their own pay-per-views as a result, and while the schedule could seem crowded at times, these separate events gave people lower on the card a chance to shine on a big stage.

WWE officially ended the brand-specific PPVs with Backlash on May 6, which means every event going forward will feature stars from both shows.

We already saw how this affected the title scene given both sets of tag champs and the cruiserweight champion were left off the show.

Combining the brands for PPVs was the first step toward ending the brand split the first time around, so it's logical to assume that is what WWE is doing now.

If that happens, the prospective action highlighted in the next slide will be even more likely to happen. 

Spring Cleaning

While it may not always happen in the relevant season, WWE has been known to do a little spring cleaning with its roster every year.

With WWE bringing in so much new talent over the past 12 months, many have wondered how long it will be before we start hearing about Superstars' releases.

There are several wrestlers who barely appear on television, and when they do, it's just so they can lose to someone else who is getting a push.

R-Truth, the Colons and Curt Hawkins could all be in danger of being released because of the way they have been booked, and they are not the only ones.

WWE can't justify paying more Superstars than it is going to use, especially when it has dozens of people in NXT working toward making it to the main roster.

By the end of 2018, several familiar faces will be gone from the company. It's just a question of whether anyone will notice.

A Women's PPV

Holding a major event in Saudi Arabia was a controversial decision for WWE because of the country did not allow female wrestlers to perform.

Management has done a great job building up the women's division into what it is today, but some saw the Greatest Royal Rumble as a step backward.

To make up for this, WWE needs to do something special for the division, and giving the women their own event would be the best option.

This might not have been possible a few years ago, but WWE has more than 20 female Superstars on the main roster and another handful in NXT who could help fill up the card.

If the company decides to introduce a set of women's tag titles, crowing the first champions at a women-only PPV would be a special moment for the entire division.

The Shield Reunites...Again

WWE has tried everything to make the fans like Roman Reigns to no avail. The only tactic that even came close to working was reuniting him with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose.

The Shield was so popular as a group that booing Reigns became a lower priority than cheering for the stable as it walked through the crowd.

Rollins and Ambrose have remained popular with the WWE Universe, and while popularity is not contagious, they could help Reigns win over a few people.

When it comes to The Shield, it's more a matter of when than if WWE will bring them back together. It just has to wait for Ambrose to be cleared first.

Before the end of 2018, we will see The Hounds of Justice reunite one more time.

Brock Lesnar Leaves

Brock Lesnar signed a new short-term deal right before WrestleMania 34. This led many to believe he will be leaving to go to the UFC.

The MMA promotion's president, Dana White, added fuel to the fire in April by stating Lesnar would be returning to the Octagon on an episode of UFC Tonight (h/t Chris Chavez of SI.com).

The Beast already went back for a fight against Mark Hunt in 2016, but his win was overturned once it was revealed he failed a pre-fight screening.

Lesnar likely wants to end his UFC career on a high note, and that would require him to return for at least one more fight.

Once he scratches the MMA itch, Lesnar could end up returning to WWE for another short program because he knows Vince McMahon will back up a truck full of money to his house to get him back. 

The Miz Wins the WWE Title

When The Real World cast a young, wrestling-obsessed Mike Mizanin in Season 10, it had no idea he would end up becoming one of the most valuable WWE Superstars.

The Miz went from being the annoying host of the Diva Search to one of the best mic workers in recent memory, but his promo skills aren't his only asset.

The A-Lister has also grown into one of the most well-rounded in-ring performers working today. His match against Seth Rollins stole the show at Backlash, and everyone is looking forward to when he and Daniel Bryan finally have their big in-ring showdown.

He worked for a long time to make the Intercontinental Championship mean something, but he is destined to be WWE champion again.

Moving him to SmackDown opened the door for another run with the title since it was unlikely he would get the chance to hold the universal title on Raw.

A lot of talented Superstars have been waiting for their chance to hold the WWE Championship, but they will have to wait until after The Miz is done with it. If there is any logic to the way management books him, The Miz will be WWE champion by the end of the year.

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What are your predictions for the rest of 2018?