WWE 2016 Predictions

2016 looks to be a great year in wrestling, below are some of my predictions for the year ahead:

Rollins will return as a heel: There has been a lot of talk about Rollins returning with many predicting that he will return as a face. I cannot see any reason for this, Rollins has been gold as a heel. Add on top that this that without Rollins, WWE is crying out for a top heel (sorry Sheamus). It always makes a good story to have the champion who never lost the belt reclaim the title and Rollins will have no problem doing this with the backing of the Authority.

Reigns - three-time champion: Going into 2016, Reigns is the WWE Champion and is the focus of WWE programming. It's been clear all year WWE sees Reigns as a long term successor to John Cena, so it's time to start racking up the title reigns. I predict he loses the title mid-way through the year and then gets in back around Survivor Series time.

Still no magic 16 for Cena: "The Champ is here" or not as I predict. Cena is chasing his sixteenth World title to tie level with the Nature Boy but I think that he won't do this in 2016. Cena has played a major role in breathing fresh life into the US title. I predict that he will stay away from the World title for the first half of the year before challenging for the title losing, then returning to staying away from the title. IC title maybe?

Triple H steps back into the ring: With Wrestlemania already on the horizon and a big arena to sell our, WWE are going to be bringing out the big guns and I predict "the Game" will perform at the biggest show of the year. Who is he going to face is another question. A bout against Reigns has been built up since last year or will he face the recently announced The Rock continuing off their encounter at the last 'Mania.

'Taker wins at 'Mania: The Undertaker returned several times in 2016 to fend off both Brock Lesnar and the Wyatt Family. It's a given that he will perform at 'Mania but the question is against who and will he win or lose. Last year it was perfect chance to have Wyatt go over 'Taker and establish himself as the new "Phenom". However, 'Taker went over and Wyatt went back to the first square. In light of this, whoever the WWE picks to face 'Taker they are not going to make "the Deadman" lose

Zayn versus Owens WWE-style: It was great seeing Sami Zayn return live in Cardiff, now hopefully he can kick on and jump to the main roster. Nobody deserves it more than him and he's going to make a big splash in the WWE. I'm predicting a few months in NXT before he joins the main roster and when he does, it makes perfect sense for him to target one man, Kevin Owens. They've battled in ROH, NXT and now in 2016 WWE.

Breeze wins gold: Tyler Breeze's start to WWE hasn't quite gone to plan. A feud against Dolph Ziggler sounded good on paper but never lived up to potential and now he's caught in no-where-land. But I see a bright future for Breeze in 2016 and a title win in his future. He is young so he has plenty of time but I think WWE will hand him a title to see how he handles it.

Corbin is called up: Last year I incorrectly predicted Finn Balor would get called up to the main roster. This year I have gone for NXT's "Lone Wolf". Corbin is one of NXT's top heels and although he divides opinion, I think he makes a good cocky heel. It will be interesting to see how he performs on the main roster, in NXT he towers above opponents, he won't look so tall in WWE.

Jordan and Gable win the titles: A bit of an easy prediction to end this off, my favourite team Jason Jordan and Chad Gable are currently the hottest thing going in WWE today. I'm hoping for a nice long reign as champions which raises the prestige of the title up to the World and Women's titles.

WWE Top 5 2015

With 2015 now gone, here are my top performers of 2015:

1) Roman Reigns: Not a popular choice but Reigns' has had a fantastic year. His year didn't start well when he was boo'ed for winning the Royal Rumble but he has responded with PPV after PPV of top quality matches. His performance against Lesnar was brilliant, his matches against Wyatt brought the best out of both men and he even managed to get a good match out of the Big Show. His weekly booking on Raw may be bad but long-term, his booking throughout the year tells a good story. He finished off the year by capturing the belt for a second time and raging against the authority.

2) Kevin Owens: What a year this guy has had. From NXT Champion, to beating John Cena, to becoming IC champion. And all though the year he has been a 'must watch' performer. Whenever he has the mic in his hand you know your in for something good. Hell, he even powerbombed that rapper off the stage. If the rumours are true about Owens being lined up to face Lesnar at Mania, 2016 looks very bright for WWE's prize-fighter.

3) Seth Rollins: In the moment of the year, Seth cashed in his Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania to win the World title. It was a true mark out moment to see the former Tyler Black hold the biggest title in wrestling. Some people disliked Seth's booking as champion calling him cowardly. But I thought that was exactly how he should be booked. He's young enough to have dominant title reigns in the future but for now he can be the cowardly champion hiding behind the Authority. Sadly, his title reign was cut off by injury.

4) Bayley: It speaks volumes for the four Horsewomen of NXT that the NXT women's division has become a highlight of WWE programming. With three of the four women being called up to the main roster (and subsequently mis-used) Bayley has become the face of NXT's women's division. Bayley is something different entirely, she is just infectious and has a large and broad fanbase. She is always a joy to watch.

5) The New Day: Who doesn't love these guys? It was a tough call putting these guys in the top 5 instead of the two guys listed below. But every time I hear Big E's voice at the entrance you know you are going to get entertained. The trio have such good chemistry and everything they touch turns to gold. They are undoubtedly the best team in WWE, the only question is where do they go from here?

Honourable Mentions:

John Cena: Cena has had a career revival this year, mainly thanks to the "John Cena Open Challenge". He defended the belt against lots of upcoming talent and even in winning, he managed to make them look good. He raised the prestige of the title even battling for the World title while US Champion. He has varied up his offence and although his matches may seem formulaic, I enjoy the almost nostalgic feel of his bouts.

Finn Balor: It was a toss up whether to include the Demon in my top 5. Although Balor has had great success in being NXT Champion, there hasn't been that many matches that have wowed me. I would put this down to NXT only having an hour of television. All his matches from bouts against Owens, Apollo and most recently Joe have all been great and his Demon character and entrance are still a sight to behold.

 

WWE 2015 Reviewed

Back in January 2015 I made several predictions. One year on, it's time to see if I was right with any of these guesses:

 Roman Reigns will win Belt: This happened (twice). Correct

Rollins will fail to cash in: In the best moment of the year, Rollins cashed in at Wrestlemania. Incorrect

Cena to beat Rusev: The “face that runs the place” defeated the Russian several times over their feud. Correct

Brock to return to UFC: Although he continues to make limited appearances, just before ‘Mania. Brock announced that he was not returning to UFC and staying with WWE. Incorrect

HHH vs. Sting: This clash of the titans happened at ‘Mania. Although the wrong person went over. Correct

Owens NXT Champ: Owens made 2015 his year, he won the NXT title and dominated the brand, beat John Cena in his WWE debut and won the IC title. Correct

Balor joins the main roster: Finn has instead risen to the top of NXT and become the champion. I question whether he was meant to win it as I believe Hideo would have been in his position if he didn’t get injured. Incorrect

Miz vs. Mizdow feud: Okay this was a pretty obvious one. Correct

Ziggler still gets underutilised: After defeating the Authority at Survivor Series in a brilliant performance, it seemed like the WWE would finally use Ziggler as a main event star. This hasn’t happened for the “Show-off”. Instead being put into mid-card feuds with Sheamus, Rusev and more recently Tyler Breeze. Correct

Result: 6/9 Pretty good going, although some predictions were pretty easy to predict. Of the three predictions I got wrong,  I am happy with the result of all of them: Rollins cashing in was a highlight of 2015, more Brock in WWE is always a good thing and Balor carrying the NXT brand as champ is a delight.

On a side note I also saw NXT live in Cardiff on 15 December 2015. Here are the results:

1) Enzo and Cass defeat Blake and Murphy
2) Asuka defeated Alexa Bliss
3) Bull Dempsey defeated Tye Dillinger
4) Nia Jax defeated Carmella
5) Apollo Crews defeated Baron Corbin
6) Tag Titles: Dash and Dawson defeated Jason Jordan and Chad Gable MOTN
7) Women’s: Bayley defeated Emma w) Dana Brooke
8) World title:  Finn Balor defeated Samoa Joe and the returning Sami Zayn