10 Early WWE Predictions For 2017

10. The Royal Rumble Flops... Again

AJ Styles’ debut aside, this year’s Royal Rumble was a disappointment. Triple H’s victory was partially accepted through the “anyone but Roman Reigns” mentality, but the ensuing WrestleMania program only enhanced Reigns’ status as an unwanted main event babyface. The result was flat, and the aftermath was turgid.

It goes deeper than that, however, and the Rumble and disappointment have gone hand-in-hand for several years. 2015 saw Reigns showered with jeers as The Rock held his hand in victory, while 2014 was obliterated by the outrage stemming from Daniel Bryan’s misuse. You have to go all the way back to Edge’s victory in 2010 to find a truly great Rumble match, and there’s little reason to believe that things will improve next year.

2017’s has “disaster” written all over it, in fact. After taking place at the 17,200 capacity Amway Center in Orlando this year, next year’s show heads to the 72,000-seater Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. It seems a suicidal decision at a time when Raw’s ratings continue to scrape historical lows, and those empty seats are going to be very, very noticeable.

Then there’s the booking. SmackDown has improved leaps and bounds since the Brand Split, but Raw remains marred by the same problems as before, and the Universal Title scene is a convoluted mess that still revolves around the McMahon family’s machinations. Both of Raw’s post-draft PPVs have ended in disappointment, and with Reigns likely to be among the Rumble’s top contenders, there’s every chance we’ll have a repeat of 2015 on our hands come January.