10 BOLD Predictions For WWE In 2020

6. Keith Lee Will Win The Men's Royal Rumble Match

Bust-Up Triple H Vince McMahon
WWE

WWE hasn't - yet - continued to muddy the brand structure in the fallout of Survivor Series.

The objective was accomplished: the show legitimised NXT as a brand to an extent that it saw them defeat AEW Dynamite, for the first time, over two consecutive weeks. Dynamite defeated NXT the next week so barely that the margin for error all but rendered the result a draw. This week, incredibly, saw a formal draw, and what's more, NXT is catching up to AEW in the key demo. That's the unexpected gain from all of this; WWE hasn't just siphoned the core, ageing demo to Wednesday nights.

The strategy worked, in the short-term, and so expect a further phase of it at Royal Rumble, at which an NXT superstar will win the men's match to further dilute AEW's buzz ahead of the Revolution pay-per-view. The strategy is effective and the timing could prove damaging. As for the winner, Keith Lee made a searing impression on all WWE fans at Survivor Series, and was conspicuously not chosen as Adam Cole's next contender.

Vince McMahon can always book two Elimination Chamber matches, or something worse, to anoint the top contenders on RAW and SmackDown - the Undertaker's WrestleMania 29 opponent was determined via cold Fatal 4-Way match - and pulling off such a move could erase the stigma the Rumble developed in the 2010s for such predictable and or antagonistic winners.

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!