John Cena will dominate most of 2017 and the early months of 2018 as WWE Champion, but he'll meet his match at WrestleMania 34 in the form of 2018 Royal Rumble winner Apollo Crews. In Crews, WWE will have finally found a successor to Cena, and they'll officially coronate him as the company's top babyface at WrestleMania. Cena will do his best to undermine Crews leading into the event, playing up his experience while attacking the number one contender at every opportunity. Still, Crews's popularity will rise as he beats everyone put in front of him - and all the while, his talent will prevent him from being received as another corporate selection being shoved down fans' throats. The WWE Universe will be clamouring for the showdown between Crews and Cena, and when it finally comes, it won't disappoint. It'll be a watershed moment for both men - Crews will more than deliver in his first major main event, while everything Cena's built as a heel over the past year will come to a head. When Crews claims the title decisively, a beaten Cena will have no choice but to shake the new champion's hand - this time, without a swerve.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013