Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Wild predictions for televised wrestling in 2018

One thing I love in wrestling is making guesses about where wrestling stories will go over the course of six months to a year. So today is the day, I'm going to share a few thoughts about the big promotions and wild guesses as to where they will go.

WWE:
Are big things ahead for Seth Rollins? Image credit: Seth Rollins / WWE.

  • Seth Rollins will be pushed as one of the company's top babyfaces... on Smackdown.
  • Roman Reigns will not win the WWE Universal title at Wrestlemania.
  • The Mixed Match Challenge will end with the crowning of the first ever Mixed Match Champions, a title that will be defended across both brands.
  • AJ Styles will retain his title over Shinsuke Nakamura when he and the Balor Club turn heel and unite. 
  • Ronda Rousey will not win a title in 2018. Asuka will move to Smackdown and challenge Charlotte, keeping both women away from each other. 
  • Andrade "Cien" Almas will make his main roster debut after Wrestlemania and be a world champion by the end of the year. 
  • Kassius Ohno will replace a retiring Sheamus as partner to Cesaro, losing one of his names in the process.

NXT:
Is gold in the former Tommy End's future? Image credit: WWE.com.
  • Aleister Black will win the NXT title and hold it for the rest of 2018.
  • Peyton Royce and Billie Kay will remain on the show and become major threats for the women's title. 
  • The Undisputed Era will defend successfully against every current NXT tag team, but will drop the title to a surprise team. 
  • TM-61 will be released and immediately start a strong indie run.

NJPW:
Will Okada be chasing the title at the G1 this year?
Image credit: NJPW.
  • Kazuchika Okada will drop his title at Dominion
  • Juice Robinson will win either the Intercontinental or United States title before years end.
  • The Young Bucks will participate in their first World Tag League after declaring themselves heavyweights.  
  • The Elite versus Bullet Club feud will continue for most of the next year.
  • If he doesn't sign a WWE contract, Rey Mysterio will make an appearance for the company in Japan. 
  • Cody will participate in his first G1 this year.
  • Fissures between Suzuki and Suzukigun will lead to Zack Sabre leading a turn on Minoru Suzuki.
  • American fans will be apoplectic when the company books Michael Elgin in a title match at Strong Style Evolved.

ROH:
Who will take Dalton's ROH World title?
Image credit: ROHwrestling.com.
  • Dalton Castle will drop the ROH title to a member of the Bullet Club, but it won't be Cody.
  • Kenny Omega will make more than one pay-per-view appearance with the company in the lead up to All In. Kota Ibushi will make at least one as well.
  • Chris Jericho will wrestle at least once for the company and will have a major match at All In.
  • Another New Japan star will hold a title in the company in 2018. 
  • Juice Robinson will start making regular appearances for ROH. 
  • Christopher Daniels will get a high profile match but not regain the ROH title. 
  • The tag titles will be held at least once this year by a team that isn't currently on ROH television.

Impact:
Will Brian Cage be a huge part of Impact in 2018?
Image credit: ImpactWrestling.com.
  • Brian Cage will be the man to unseat Austin Aries for the championship.
  • The Grand Championship will officially be unified with the Global title.
  • The male roster will see less new additions for the rest of the year than the Knockouts roster, as the company seeks to rebuild their women's division. 
  • Matt Sydal will work his way through multiple titles in the company, but won't win the World title. 
  • LAX will lose the tag titles to a makeshift tag team.
  • Taya and Johnny Impact will form a unit against LAX upon Diamante's return. 
  • Sami Callihan will be in the Global title picture before year's end.