10 Things We Learned From WWE In 2016
1. Anything Can Happen In WWE
For years, one of WWE's triter self-congratulatory phrases has said that "Anything can happen" in the company. Usually, that "anything" refers to cheap swerves and the same old guys winning the same old titles. In 2016, though, things were a bit different.
The year opened with the news that AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura were coming to WWE, and things just got crazier from there. In the course of 2016, we saw the full time return of Shane McMahon, a Bullet Club beatdown on John Cena, Johnny Gargano working independent and WWE shows in the same day, the return of the brand split, WWE World Champion AJ Styles, NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, Universal Champion Kevin Owens, the return of the cruiserweight division, Kota Ibushi as a part-timer, James Ellsworth as Smackdown's most popular babyface, and the list goes on.
Needless to say, that whole "anything can happen" thing feels a bit more accurate after an absolutely insane 2016. What can we expect next year? Well, apparently, WWE is already thinking about working with more independent companies and getting their product on the network, and there may be a new influx of talent from Ring of Honor. Plus, don't forget - anything can happen.