10 BOLD Predictions For WWE In 2020

7. Paul Heyman Is Made A Scapegoat

Bust-Up Triple H Vince McMahon
WWE.com

Eric Bischoff is already gone.

The SmackDown on FOX era haemorrhaged a million viewers almost immediately, and the prophesy was fulfilled just as quickly: Easy E, the catering-scoffing scapegoat, was axed.

Paul Heyman isn't a scapegoat - he has actually influenced Monday Night RAW, and was actively recruited into the process before crisis mode was engaged - but he'll be made one.

This has happened before. Twice; WWE didn't like the way Heyman operated, because he was effective on his own terms, and so he was bantered off as the lead writer of SmackDown in 2003. The exact same thing happened three years later. Paul Heyman naturally had his own vision in mind for ECW, but because it fell under Vince's purview, zombies and muscle men won out over CM Punk and an authentic, good wrestling time.

The relationship is far less acrimonious now, per reports, but ratings aren't climbing, brand trust is lower than Shorty G, and even Heyman's better ideas cannot mask the institutional rot. His RAW is a cover version, and a better one, but those chords don't change.

Nor does Vince.

The Brock Lesnar association presents an interesting conflict, but, since he can't really play his UFC card anymore, it's not as if he'd walk away from the most amount of money anybody will pay him.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!