2020 WWE Predictions We Got Horribly Wrong

WWE? AEW? NFL?! 2020's biggest initialism was actually WTF.

Wilbourn Punk
WWE

You don't need us to tell you that it has Been A Year.

The noble art of pro-wrestling forecasting was upended last year as an unprecedented, unstoppable, global force meant that everything needed rethought, rescheduled, or just binned entirely. WWE is often criticised for its lack of long-term vision but, in this case, no manner of savvy booking would have insulated them from this.

But, still, the industry did its best to carry on as normal. Even flying in the face of public opinion, professional advice, and, finally, government legislation to do so. The show, for the most part, went on.

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So while there are enormous caveats to everything predicted at the start of the year, 2020 wasn't such a write-off that they were all rendered redundant. Indeed, some even arguably had a better chance of happening as a result of the chaos that was ensuing, rather than being scuppered by it.

But what did we predict? Well, January 2020 was a long old time ago so we turned to the above video as a refresher for our speculative hot-takes. Adam Clery, Adam Wilbourn, Phil Chambers, Simon Miller, Ben-Roy Turner, Michael Sidgwick, and Michael Hamflett all made a case for something major happening in wrestling last year, so let's look back and see how they all got on...

7. CM Punk Won't Wrestle In 2020 - Adam Clery

Wilbourn Punk
AEW/WWE
"The ground could not have been any more fertile than it was in 2019. AEW had just launched, had money to burn, and he still decided to go on a panel show for WWE instead. If he was ever going to return, it was then... but he didn't".

I was once looked directly in the eye and asked, sarcastically, "do you ever get tired of being right all the time?". The answer then was, naturally, the same as it is now and no, of course not, why would anyone get tired of being right all the time? What a stupid question.

CM Punk did not wrestle again in 2020. He didn't return as a manager, a commentator, a referee, an enforcer, a time-keeper, a mentor, a general manager, or as some Retribution member called Reacharound. Instead, he mustered 5 episodes of WWE Backstage before it was canned in June, and he's not been seen in any capacity since then.

Now the haters and the losers among you will likely argue that, what with their being the entirely non-trivial matter of a massive global health crisis, that this prediction isn't as decisive as I'm making out. "Of course he didn't return!" you tweet into the void, "why would he if there was no crowd to pop!! He'll be back as soon as they are".

It's a fair point, I guess, but I would counter by saying the empty arena era didn't stop FTR, it didn't stop Eddie Kingston, it didn't stop Miro, and it didn't stop Sting. If Punk had wanted to be on those shows, he'd have been on those shows.

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WhatCulture's Managing Editor and Chief Reporter | Previously seen in Vice, Esquire, FourFourTwo, Sabotage Times, Loaded, The Set Pieces, and Mundial Magazine

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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 surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett

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Head Of Video for Whatculture and presenter on our Wrestling Channel. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @PhilMyChambers

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Lanky, specky, ginger bloke who loves all things wrestling, football and quiz related. The man who invented the #BloodyGoodQuiz.

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Resident Evil Aficionado. Video Games & Fried Chicken are my passions. Occasionally some Wrestling. I used to work in Film & TV, but now I Write, Edit & Present for this website and its Youtube Channels.