10 Predictions for WWE's Near Future

Basically while watching WWE Superstars, I saw something that genuinely excited me.

We'll get to that later on in the slideshow, but that's basically why I wrote this.

Here are my 10 predictions for the future of the WWE, including who I think will be future champions, future feuds, future returns..etc.

The WWE is, actually, quite interesting at the moment, more than it has been in a while. All titles, and I mean ALL titles, are actually getting something every week to peek interest in them.

If WWE play this right, then their product could get even more relevant in this day and age.

Now on with the show!

Things Can Only Go Up for Drew McIntyre

And we're on to WHY I wrote this slideshow. I watched Superstars, and the first match that was on was McIntyre vs Gabriel. And the first thought I had about the first match was "Well, this should be good, but Drew can't win." And I was wrong.

It may seem like a small thing to be shocked at, but the way Gabriel has been portrayed recently with mini vignettes showcasing his moveset, I just didn't expect him to lose to the former "Chosen One."

Now, McIntyre promised to be world champ by the end of the year, and without a MITB briefcase or even a match on Raw in the past few months, it looks like Drew's promise won't come to fruition. But that doesn't mean that McIntyre is through with.

I like Drew, as you may have guessed. He's good on the mic, in the ring and has the kind of look that plagues Vince McMahon's dreams. What went wrong was the same thing that stopped Morrison from rising to fame—he dated a WWE Diva with a bit of an attitude.

Now, I'm not saying Tiffany was anywhere near as bad as Melina, but her arrest definitely didn't help Drew's career. Since his tag team title loss to the Nexus, sort of, in September of last year, McIntyre has only been relevant once, in a feud with Barreta which I thought was pretty good. A possible face-turn and no ending to that storyline later, and Drew is jobbing on Superstars—until last Thursday when he finally won a match! 

Whether this is something or nothing, it doesn't matter. This bold prediction is that Drew McIntyre will be relevant again, and it's going to happen soon.

Unlike Zack Ryder, Tyler Reks Will Not Get a Push from His YouTube Show

In all fairness to Reks, I like his show. And I'm sure many others have as well. But unlike Zack Ryder, Reks can't build a character or show how good he is promo-wise.

Yes, the show is great, and it's impressive that Reks writes, draws and voices for it. But I just don't see people chanting "We Want Reks" because of it.

Tyler Reks is a brilliant superstar, and has what I think is one of the best finishers around at the moment. His tag team with Curt Hawkins could be huge, and with them being heel and the current champs being face, they could (eventually) challenge for the titles. I just don't see it ever happening because of his show.

Goldust Will Be Brought into the Rhodes-Booker Storyline

Goldust currently has an internet campaign to try to get a match for the Intercontinental Championship against his half-brother at WrestleMania 28.

With Cody's current feud with Booker, Goldust's recent return at the Slammy's, and Goldust's past with Booker, it would make total sense.

I see Goldust returning at the Royal Rumble, eliminating Cody and then challenging him for the title.

This sets up what should be a great retirement match at WrestleMania and Goldust can go back to training Diva's and blocking people on Twitter for not believing in Jesus.

AJ Lee Is the New Gail Kim

This is a sad slide to write, but it's true. AJ Lee is great in the ring, she's an actual wrestler, has a good look and can work a match better than most divas on the roster. Her two top finishers are an Octopus hold and a Shiranui. This woman is impressive, but unfortunately, she seems to be demoted to a sporadic jobber to the Divas of Doom.

She was both Queen of FCW and the FCW Diva's Champion and was the first woman to have won both. She came third in the Diva NXT and is currently in a tag team with Kaitlyn, although that seems to be ending pretty soon.

She has promise, but I don't see her being seen as anything important in the WWE for the near future.

Possible future Divas Champ, if used correctly.

Unimportant, misused, possible jobber if my prediction is correct. I see TNA in her future.

Wade Barrett Will Be the World Heavyweight Champion in 2012

Who would really be shocked by this? Honestly?

Wade has been in the WWE for a brief amount of time, and he has already been the leader of a destructive group of rookies, made Cena his lackey, had his stable stolen from him by the man who has the WWE in his hands at the moment, then formed another group of promising talent and feuded with two of the biggest talents the WWE has.

This from an NXT rookie, very impressive. The fact the WWE had Chris Jericho as his Pro on NXT shows that they had high hopes for Barrett.

Wade always puts on great matches. He uses a spinning side slam as a regular move for christ sake! His finisher is a mix between an AA and an Alabama Slam!

The fact he's come so far in such a short time proves that the WWE has high hopes for him. He's one of the best on the mic, great in the ring and would be a more credible champion than Mark Henry.

Neither the Miz nor Del Rio Will Be the Next WWE Champion

Don't get me wrong, both are good in the ring and on the mic, but neither The Miz or Del Rio seem to have that much momentum at the moment. A quick No. 1 contenders' match, a couple matches on PPV, and then, Jan 2nd rolls around. I think we all know what'll happen then. Whoever it is that's returning will be thrust straight into the WWE title picture.

If, however, it's a non-wrestler then I see Ziggler becoming the next WWE Champion. He's been built up a lot in 2010. His ties with Vickie Guerrero, his ever increasing ability on the mic and his brilliant moveset all make me and most other people believe that he will one day be a main eventer.

Well, that day could come sooner rather than later. Their match a couple of weeks ago on RAW was great, and I think a feud between these two would bring new life to the WWE.

John Laurinaitis Will Be Interim GM of Raw for a Long Time

Did anyone really expect him to be going anytime soon? Really?

He's got a character as a sort of "trying to be cool to win your affections" step-dad and a mini-feud with CM Punk. This whole interim thing can and should be dropped from his name. Now while I think the WWE would be better off with choosing someone like William Regal or Mick Foley to retake control of RAW, they seem to be set on the former Johnny Ace.

The self proclaimed "Mr. Excitement" may not be all too great on the mic, and I think that whole "If ya don't got it, figure it out" line kind of proved that—the fact that he's GM has brought some great comedy moments out of CM Punk and has made him a great heel without him even really having to try.

They brought out a t-shirt for him—one that plays on the fact that he actually fires people from the WWE in real life!

Teddy Long has been SmackDown GM for years now, and he's never had any merchandise made specifically for him. 

The Punk-Bryan-Ryder Storyline Is Not over

The WWE website currently has an article up entitled "Did CM Punk Start a Revolution?"

The article talks about Punk's unforgettable (almost definitely shoot) promo from the June 27 RAW, Ryder's win at TLC, Bryan's win at TLC and ends with the line Six months removed from Punk’s sermon on the mount, change had come.

The article is well worth a read mainly for the fact that it mentions Punk and Bryan's indy connections.

Now up until possibly just a week ago, it was looked upon as bad to be from the indies by the WWE. They like to create their own wrestlers, they don't want a load of fan boys to complain when they change the person's name/character entirely. But now, it seems as if it's looked upon as a good thing! 

Dean Ambrose (AKA Jon Moxley) and Seth Rollins (AKA Tyler Black) are looked upon as the up-and-comers in FCW. Rollins is currently on the road with the WWE and has been featured in a few dark matches. Both are also seen as better workers by a lot of fans than most of the WWE's current roster.

With Punk's many mentions of Colt Cabana over the past few months and these two indy giants currently signed to FCW, the WWE would be smart to bring one if not all of them into the current storyline. This would bring many indy fans to the WWE and ratings would be through the roof! Arenas sold out nationwide! And the Punk revolutionary magic would stay fresh!

On January 2nd, 2012, There Will Be More Than 1 Return/Debut

The promos have been excellent, we all agree upon that. The way they started it off with it only being on YouTube, the way they've continued it since then, and the massive confusion as to who it could be has been magnificent. The most recent promo was the one to make me realise that it either wasn't who I wanted it to be, or that this thing is way bigger than we all thought. 

The first thought in all of our minds would have been either Taker or Jericho. Now I was pulling for the latter in this, but the most recent promo made me realise it could be neither of them. The Wrestling Observer report (h/t Cageside Seats) stating that this WAS for Jericho, but was going to be used for Taker if Jericho and the WWE couldn't work out a contract made the promos slightly less interesting. Until SHE was mentioned.

Now correct me if I'm incorrect, but neither Taker nor Jericho have been involved in any kind of relationship with a woman on screen for god knows how long. I'm not even sure Taker has EVER had an on-air love interest or valet, and the last one I can think of for Jericho was Chyna!

Now the obvious joke ideas were there, like the Burchills returning to get back to their incestuous relationship gimmick or Tiffany returning to say that Drew's dead career has been resurrected. But then I had another idea. Shane McMahon. He and Stephanie could return to get back what belongs to their father, or to try to take "control" of it again for themselves. Either way, it fits in with the last promo nicely and could start off an interesting storyline.

On to who I actually think will return. I think that the WWE writers all knew that people would be expecting a Taker/Jericho return as soon as the promos kicked in. And that's why Jericho is definitely going to return. But not until after someone else has returned to steal the spotlight for the promos. The promos have nothing to do with Jericho, it's a nice little red-herring, a double bluff of sorts. This could be wishful thinking, but the McMahons returning first, just to have Jericho shock everyone later on in the night would blow my mind. A boy can dream!

I wrote this before last monday's RAW. The newest video stated that "she" can no longer help him. This has genuinely excited me, and my whole idea for this has gone out of the window. She could be anyone, Stephanie makes sense, but I just don't see why she would be involved or why she could no longer help. Thank you WWE, nothing has been this exciting since the main event of MITB. Do you understand?

Cena Will Not Turn Heel, Period.

Yes, it's come to this. Every couple of months, someone will write an article about why Cena should turn heel, including a recent article by the up-until-now skeptical Big Nasty which can be viewed here.

I read it on comment sections of Dirt Sheets as well. When the new "Cena Sucks" t-shirt came out, people couldn't wait to jump on the bandwagon and start clamoring for his eventual turn. Yes, I'd love to see it, it would be a massive ratings boost, and the WWE would gain fans it hasn't had for years. But take my word for it, it just won't happen.

Cena's going to get booed massively at WrestleMania 28 whether he's a heel or a face. He's in Miami, facing The Rock. He could give away free money, cure cancer and get a better less annoying character and he'd still be booed out of the arena. I know it, you know it, the WWE knows it.

So drop the idea that he'll turn, it'll just disappoint all the people who want it to happen. Only way I see Cena turning heel is if someone out sells him, out pops him, outwrestles him and out talks him.

CM Punk could be the person to do that, but I doubt it'll happen.

Thank you for reading this article, haven't written anything in a long time but thought I'd get back into the habit. Hope you enjoyed!