10 WWE Predictions We Got Completely Wrong In 2018

10. "SmackDown Will Be Great Again"

One thing seemed abundantly clear when the dust finally settled after the moil of 2018's Superstar Spineroonie: SmackDown had got the best of it. Clearly Paige had been studying at the Kissinger school of negotiation during her time on the sidelines, having - fictitiously, anyway - struck deals to draft some of the finest talent on WWE's roster.

Whereas the buyer's remorse was setting in on Raw after panic buying the likes of Breezango, Jinder Mahal and Mike Kanellis, the blue brand was feeling anything but. Roses in the form of Samoa Joe, The Bar and Asuka were added to the Tuesday night bouquet already containing AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan, with Andrade Almas lip-lickingly limned for imminent arrival. Workrate was set to go through the roof, as the show promised to return to the glory days of the 'SmackDown Six'.

It hasn't happened. Though SmackDown is unquestionably a more tolerable show than its Monday night counterpart, it's mostly pottered along in the same inconsequential fashion. We've had a handful of super matches - August's The New Day vs. The Bar and AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan from last month stick out - but for the most part, the glittering talent has been underutilised.

Asuka? Spitefully sabotaged by Carmella. Daniel Bryan? Until his sudden WWE title win, criminally normalised. Almas? A perennial mid-card loser. Even Samoa Joe, who has defined himself as the most believable member of the roster, was ultimately sacrificed as an autumn makeweight for AJ Styles. SmackDown's Swiftian promises have turned out to be pie-crusts.