10 Things WWE Fans Expected To See In 2017 (But Didn't)
We wanted Kurt Angle, but not like this...
Anyone who watched wrestling in ye olden times (1990) must have expected to see The Undertaker hang up his tights long before 2017. And yet, even after losing to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 33 and apparently signalling his retirement, the veteran will be wheeled in as part of WWE's 25th Anniversary celebrations for Raw.
Look beyond 'Taker's retirement, and it's clear to see other things in WWE we as fans believed would have happened before calendars turned to 2018. Some are more surprising than others, but all are things we're legit shocked haven't happened in a company that moves with so much speed segments become old hat the second the bell tolls on them.
There is time for all of these moments to happen, and (in the case of most) they probably will at some point this year. The point is, they were anticipated last year, but for whatever reason haven't come to pass.
Maybe, just like Undertaker's next match, they're right around the corner...
10. WWE Abandoning The Cruiserweights
205 Live debuted as part of WWE's weekly output on November 29, 2016 and was dubbed an all-Cruiserweight show that would showcase high-flying wrestling. It's the "most exciting 60 minutes on television", so WWE announcers claim. They do so without any real merit, because 205 has become known as inessential programming.
Shooting the thing live after SmackDown was a mistake, not least because Cruisers were said to be Raw-exclusive. Even looking past that glaring lack of logic, sparse crowds and the fact viewers can see the most important Cruiserweight moments on Raw or pay-per-view make it largely pointless. We're stunned it's still going.
It's not that 205 Live is bad, because it's not. The whole thing just doesn't feel like something WWE feel comfortable presenting, and the promotion's hype train has long since moved on to other projects that might, y'know, pull in some revenue.
Somehow though, the Cruisers still have their own show.