Predicting What The Entire Wrestling World Will Look Like In Five Years
Will Vince McMahon still reign supreme? Will he still even be IN WWE?!
Five years ago, nobody predicted what would become of the pro wrestling landscape - but certain things were starting to converge.
Kenny Omega propelled NJPW into a new stratosphere of critical acclaim after his ****** epic with Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 11. NXT was deep into its ritual humiliation of sister main roster PPV offerings. With the babyface Roman Reigns character on top, that main roster was haemorrhaging viewers and interest. But few predicted that this stylistic shift would actually amount to anything meaningful; Ring Of Honor often got in its own way with wildly overlong and excessive shows, whereas New Japan while revered to a near-unparalleled extent was hardly a fit for weekly episodic North American TV.
If five years ago you'd have predicted that a billionaire tape trader would revolutionise the industry and frighten the monopoly, you'd have been branded literally the biggest "mark" of the lot.
In the folklore of the locker room, where certain people close to the situation still believe Montreal wasn't a shoot, the fable of the "rich investor" is literally the one thing a pro wrestler thought was a work.
It was a shoot.
If you'd said that Jinder Mahal would be toiling in undercard nothingness after his WWE Title run, then of course you'd have been right. Some predictions are safe.
Others...
11. The General State Of WWE
It has been a decade since Brock Lesnar returned. A decade. 10 years.
It has been longer still since the Rock made his in-ring return, since the Undertaker started to wrestle the annual Streak match at WrestleMania, since the "part-timer" era began in earnest. Throughout that entire time period - over a decade, just to reiterate - many fans, your writer included for a while, thought this approach was counterproductive to long-term success. Untenable.
Throughout that entire time period, WWE has posted record revenues and future-proofed itself by striking unprecedented mega-money deals with USA, FOX and Peacock.
The fortunes of professional wrestling will coincide with the fortunes of the television industry, and its biggest existential threat, streaming services, are in slight decline. Netflix is showing signs of not insignificant trouble, and is cracking down on password sharing to stop the bleed.
WWE meanwhile has located a solution within the problem. John Cena has now evolved into a very strong part-time draw, and Roman Reigns, by 2027, may well follow the same path. Cody Rhodes has opened the real Forbidden Door, and since he's both a star and prospectus to potential AEW recruits, his signature represents another quick solution to the inevitable long-term problem that is the risible NXT 2.0.
WWE can't really make new stars, but don't discount Bianca Belair or the potential within Montez Ford. And if they don't work out long-term, how much does that matter?
While the mid level of interest in 'Mania this year was notable - they really struggled for that not-so-packed house - Cena and Reigns can operate as the new Brock Lesnar and the Undertaker.
In short, WWE never really changes, does it?