Post Wrestlemania Raw/WWE 2018 predictions

[itbewilly]

So Mania is a few weeks away and historically the Raw after Mania is typically where some surprised debuts or returns happen. Based on that what are some of your predictions to this next few months you want to see happen...

I think there is really only one that would make a huge impact. I think all the parts are in place for a Cm Punk return. Samoa Joe has hinted at him wanting to come back. He could feud with Joe,Zane,Owens, or even the returning Bryan. All of this will no doubt probably depend on his next MMA Fight but i think there is a huge chance for a Punk return in 2018 at some point.

Second thing i think is a matter of when and not if is a Lashley/Lesnar feud. I don't see WWE stopping Lesnar from doing UFC while keeping his part time WWE Schedule if Lesnar does do another mma fight. Having Lashley come in and challenge him in WWE would draw some comparisons between the two. Both have MMA and amateur wrestling in their background. Both of huge power house wrestlers. Could make a good feud.

I think im more looking forward to the days/weeks/months after Mania than i am Mania itself this year. What do you all think will happen. Heel turns? Face Turns? Cant wait to see what happens in the months to come.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Daniel Bryan is back and I couldn't care less about a CM Punk return. Punk will have a fight in June. He's not coming back and quite frankly, he has no place in today's WWE. WWE today has the following hiearchy 1) Roman Reigns 2) Brock Lesnar 3) Everyone else. If Punk comes back, he'll fall into the everyone else category. He'll never be the #1 guy. Most likely he'll be given a WM main event against Roman Reigns, since Roman has beaten every past name there is to beat. That's how far up Punk will get and Punk knows this.

Now, onto current WWE, I expect Daniel Bryan to tear down the house with all those NXT names, plus AJ Styles.

I also expect Lesnar to beat it, meaning that for the first time since forever, the main event is up for grabs. Roman and Styles are obviously their top guys right now, but look who is following. Owens, Zayn, Balor, Nakamura, Rollins, Ambrose, Joe and Strowman.

Without Lesnar, I expect 2018 to be a filler year, where WWE will be pushing everybody, in order to fill up the main event. It can turn into a Game of Thrones scenario: once the king is down (Lesnar), everyone's there to claim the throne.

I'm not all that hyped for Lashley. Lashley was never a draw in the WWE. He was another green superstar with an impressive body that Vince pushed too early. Right now, he belongs in the upper midcard position. Competition in WWE these days is waaay too close. The entire roster has world championship potential. That's why I expect a very interesting year, where the roster help themselves to rise up and become bigger draws.

The tag division is also in great shape. Hardys/ New Day/ Bar/ Usos are over as hell and if booked correctly, Revival, Club, Rusev Day, Fasion Police, Bulgeon Brothers and many more tag teams could also get more over.

The Hardys are bound to break up and I think they should. Woken Matt is a solo act. Brother Nero has no place in the WWE as a back-up character for Matt Hardy. Jeff is his own man.

The women are also bound to get more interesting. You'll have Asuka as the champ, Carmella lurking around, Nia as a face and either Sasha or Bayley as heels. Becky also needs a change in character or at least needs to get another push. Plus, you have Ronda Rousey! Amazing stuff.

The entire WWE is in a great condition roster wise. They just need to take this talented roster and turn into a roster of megastars. I'm just happy that there are no legends of the past waiting to retutn to squash the current stars. Everyone that could return, has returned. So it's time to look to the future.

I also expect a Dean Ambrose heel turn. That will be a spectacle to see. Plus, it's about time to seperate Rollins from Ambrose and Reigns. Send Rollins to SD. Also, seperate Owens from Zayn.

RAW with: Reigns, Joe, Cena, Strowman, Owens, Ambrose, Roode, Jinder, Lashley, Usos, Bar, Jeff, Matt
SD with: Rollins, Styles, Balor, Miz, Nakamura, Orton, Wyatt, Zayn, Elias, Bryan, New Day, Club

These are the rosters I'm expecting as far as the main event scene goes.

 

[jachba]

So Mania is a few weeks away and historically the Raw after Mania is typically where some surprised debuts or returns happen. Based on that what are some of your predictions to this next few months you want to see happen...

I think there is really only one that would make a huge impact. I think all the parts are in place for a Cm Punk return. Samoa Joe has hinted at him wanting to come back. He could feud with Joe,Zane,Owens, or even the returning Bryan. All of this will no doubt probably depend on his next MMA Fight but i think there is a huge chance for a Punk return in 2018 at some point.

Second thing i think is a matter of when and not if is a Lashley/Lesnar feud. I don't see WWE stopping Lesnar from doing UFC while keeping his part time WWE Schedule if Lesnar does do another mma fight. Having Lashley come in and challenge him in WWE would draw some comparisons between the two. Both have MMA and amateur wrestling in their background. Both of huge power house wrestlers. Could make a good feud.

I think im more looking forward to the days/weeks/months after Mania than i am Mania itself this year. What do you all think will happen. Heel turns? Face Turns? Cant wait to see what happens in the months to come.

I cannot understand why anyone thinks that CM Punk would return to the WWE. I doubt that anything has changed in his mind that would give him any reason to even consider a comeback.....

 

[LoveReignsO'erMe]

Since the wrestlemania card is already 12 matches deep (still without an official Cena/Undertaker, and a Smackdown Tag Title match), I am hoping that Bray stays off TV until the Raw after WM. You don't need him now, and keeping him off TV for the next month is a smart move, since a return before then would only be white noise.

My prediction is that the next time we see Bray on WWE TV is the post-mania Raw, and he ends up getting a nice heel push through the summer, feuding with Rollins/Balor for IC title, and works his way up to the Universal title picture by Survivor Series. He needs to be reset, and I think (hope) this is WWE's way of doing that.

 

[jholcomb22]

I hope that Raw signs two guys who currently aren't wrestling anywhere at the moment: Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

 

[Vintage Punk]

Well obviously I'd love for CM Punk to return however, that's not happening anytime soon if ever. He has an upcoming UFC fight which will be all of his focus. Now if he loses he won't fight in UFC anymore as Dana gave him a second chance to fight but he won't get a third unless he wins which I doubt he will. I'd say possibly 2019 but some fences would need to be mended on both sides.

Now for realistic Post WM Raw, Samoa Joe and Big Cass are definitely going to return. Joe will probably return and challenge Roman on Raw after Mania although I'd like to see Joe go to Smackdown where he can be the monster like Braun is on Raw. Big Cass will probably be involved in a mid card level feud although he really hasn't been missed at all and was best used when he and Enzo were together. I think Ambrose is close to returning and hopefully will turn heel in doing so. Also, I believe the Authors of Pain will be called up from NXT along with the Iconic Duo (Peyton Royce and Billie Kay). I think Adrade Cien Almas along with Zelina Vega will be called up also after he drops the strap to Aleister Black. He may have a rematch before debuting though.

A week or so ago Sheamus might have leaked in his promo that a shakeup was going to happen which I believe will. I doubt any high level guys will move over however, if AJ drops the title to Shinsuke, which I think will eventually happen, I know Vince wants him on Raw and can see them sending over maybe Rollins or Joe in that process. I'd also like to see Balor and Club turn heel and wind up wherever AJ is to do a program where they want him to align back with them only to setup AJ vs Balor.

This would also be the time to future endeavor several people such as Colons, Tamina, Dana Brooke, Curt Hawkins, and maybe one or two of the Cruiserweights they no longer use. Also some like Apollo, Ascension, Mojo, etc might need to go back to NXT.

 

[Radical]

More than anything, I'm hoping after Lesnar isn't holding the Universal Title hostage with his part-time schedule that Raw can get back to focusing on heavy competition for the top prize in the company on a weekly basis!

And with that, I'm really hoping to see some factions emerge! I really miss major factions that have a top guy and supporting members who can go off and be an impact in the tag division or mid-card and still have that tie to the top guy and main event when needed.

There is A LOT of opportunity to develop strong factions.

Reigns as Universal Champion can develop a following which could include The Usos and maybe a Dean Ambrose who betrays Seth Rollins in someway. This could be the "Roman Empire."

Balor could expand this Balor Club and really make the more of an impact on the show they are on. They need to have some big moments with massive destruction and intriguing characters to face so their feud will be worthwhile.


On SmackDown right now everyone is so damn individual. It's pretty sad really. Of course there are some tag teams but so many of the top talent are just lone wolves with one or two main rivals at at time.

Maybe with a Superstars Shake-Up it will get more interesting... but even a formation of ONE top faction would be good.

Maybe Owens and Zayn add more to their team of "mistreated talent" and they all wreck havoc on the rest of the roster. Owens and Zayn could add the likes of Baron Corbin, Rusev, or Jinder. If they form a strong team Owens could lead the way, he could become WWE Champion, Zayn wins his first title and becomes US Champion, and two more members become Tag Champs. Just from that scenario alone you know there is going to be a lot of hotly contested fighting, tension, twists and turns coming on.



This is, not even mentioning NEW talent (from NXT) that will likely soon come up to the main roster or guys coming back from injury: Samoa Joe, Big Cass, etc. I even think if Big Cass comes back as more of a Test-looking guy (more vicious and maybe more ripped in a more intimidating attire (like pants)) then he could be a BIG factor in a new heel faction... maybe Baron Corbin and Big Cass as a tag team and leading to Big Cass in US or WWE title opportunities when/if he is ready.