Read on for my thoughts on what 2013 holds for the WWE and TNA rosters. Note that these are at best educated guesses and shouldn't be taken as gospel. Wrestling has all sorts of twists and turns in a given year.
Abyss - will make a comeback once the Joseph Park angle runs its course and get a decent push.
AJ Lee - will continue to be a featured Diva inside and outside of the ring. I wouldn't rule out a run as Divas' Champion.
AJ Styles - will be off of TV for a lot of the year, but win the World Title at BFG.
Aksana - will improve in the ring the few times she'll be featured. I picture her career imitating Rosa Mendes'.
Alberto Del Rio - will continue to be a featured performer on TV, in and out of title pictures.
Alex Riley - will likely stay in undercard Purgatory, appearing on NXT and Superstars but not really going anywhere. Fed to more pushed acts.
Alex Silva - will continue to improve his game and might get some decent TV time by year's end.
Alicia Fox - stuck in the Divas' shuffle. She's something of a wildcard. I don't see her being a top act in the division.
Antonio Cesaro - after a good run as U.S. Champion is ended, still a featured performer who will one day be looked at to go up the card.
Austin Aries - possibly TNA Champion again. Won't drop back into the midcard.
Big E Langston - will get the standard WWE big man treatment. See The Great Khali's early career. Big matches here and there, then Creative will book themselves in a corner and not know what to do with him.
Big Show - after losing the World Title, will go back to being someone who people beat to become more credible. He'll still be booked mostly strong, but not as strongly as he is now.
Billy Gunn - will appear in the 2013 Royal Rumble and have a decent noslagia showing.
Bo Dallas (NXT) - will at the very least work some dark matches and/or live events on his way to being a WWE superstar.
Bobby Roode - will stay "pushed" in storylines that may or may not involve the TNA Title.
Booker T. - will step back in the ring at least once.
Brad Maddox - will earn a contract and have a decent push. Expecting him to end up in Purgatory on Superstars by the end of the year.
Bray Wyatt (NXT) - will be brought to the main roster barring injuries or WWE not knowing who to pair him with.
Brock Lesnar - after losing to HHH at Mania, not appearing for a while. Might not re-sign.
Brodus Clay - will get closer to that Ryder/Santino role of reliable comedy act. Maybe U.S. or Tag Team Champion.
Brooke Hogan - will leave TNA by the end of the year.
Bully Ray - quite possibly TNA Champion. At the very least he'll headline some PPVs.
C.M. Punk - will stay close to the WWE and World Titles.
Camacho - will continue to stay in Purgatory for a while, appearing on NXT and Superstars. Then possibly a regular tag team with Hunico.
Cameron - could at some point be dropped from Brodus' act and not do much of note. Maybe she even leaves WWE.
Chavo Guerrero - consistent performer in TNA. Possibly a mid-level singles champion or higher.
Chris Sabin - will return from injury and be in the X-Division loop.
Christian - will continue to be used to legitimize up-and-comers.
Christian York - possibly a champion in TNA, he'll be a reliable performer.
Christopher Daniels - will continue to go without winning a World Title. Will face Styles again and lose. Maybe a push post-BFG.
Christopher Silvio (OVW) - a part of Gut Check.
Cliff Compton (OVW) - will get a shot in either WWE or TNA. Gut Check?
Cody Rhodes - on his way to the WWE or World Title, but probably not there just yet. Maybe a MITB winner?
Conor O'Brian (NXT) - will get a shot at being called up, with or without a partner.
Corey Graves (NXT) - also stands a good chance of getting a shot at being called up. More dark matches and live events.
Crimson - will stay pretty directionless and his matches won't mean as much as they did when he was undefeated.
Curt Hawkins - will possibly get a surprising push, but won't go past the midcard.
D'Angelo Dinero - will get a decent push in TNA.
Damien Sandow - probably in a similar position as Cody Rhodes.
Daniel Bryan - will feud for the WWE or World Title. May even win it.
Darren Young - in PTP for at least most of the year. Will stay consistently employed and in matches, but not really pushed as a singles star.
David Otunga - could break out of his slump, but won't go too far. Maybe a surprise title reign.
Dean Ambrose - Once the Shield dissolves, he'll get a nice singles push.
Devon - will go back to being a legitimizer once Aces and Eights is over.
Derrick Bateman - will have a decent spot on the card. Maybe working with or against Fandango.
DOC - will stay with TNA once Aces and Eights disband and maybe even do something of note (hold a title).
Dolph Ziggler - will enjoy a deserved reign as World Champion.
Douglas Williams - will be used as TNA's William Regal as far as working with new talent. I don't see him getting a big push.
Drew McIntyre - will turn face when 3MB disbands.
El Local - will get a decent shot on the main roster.
Epico - will stay doing hardly anything of note with Primo.
Eric Young - will stay in the same place he's been in his whole career.
Evan Bourne - will either fail his 3rd Wellness test or will mostly be used putting others over.
Eve - will be shifted out of the spotlight by year's end.
Ezekiel Jackson - I can see WWE trying to push him again when he comes back from injury. There'd be easy feuds with Ryback or Big E.
Fandango - will go further with his gimmick than some will give him credit for.
Gail Kim - close to if not holding the Knockouts Title again.
Garett Bischoff - If he still wants to wrestle by year's end, continuing to improve and being pushed.
Gunner - will have a decent push when he comes back.
Hannah Blossom (OVW) - will get a shot at the TNA roster, likely via Gut Check.
Heath Slater - will be the heel equivalent to Santino, Brodus, or Ryder. Consistent lower-card act.
Hernandez - lost in the shuffle as either a singles or tag team star after losing the titles. Possibly feuding with Chavo?
Holly Blossom (OVW) - see Hannah Blossom.
Hornswoggle - possibly Tag Team Champion with Khali. Will be consistently on TV.
Hulk Hogan - continuing to take the spotlight in TNA. Could very well end up back in the ring.
Hunico - tag team with Camacho that probably won't go much of anywhere.
Jack Swagger - gets a nice return and maybe a midlevel title push, but will still be lower than where he was as World Champion.
James Storm - in the main event picture of TNA for most of the year.
Jamin Olivencia (OVW) -Will get a shot at Gut Check.
Jeff Jarrett - will return as the leader of Aces and Eights before going back behind-the-scenes by year's end.
Jeff Hardy - will stay with TNA and remain a featured act.
Jesse Sorensen - will return to have a good feud with Zema Ion, then be somewhat forgotten.
Jessie - will fizzle at some point and be just another TNA act. Possibly going back to OVW full-time.
Jey Uso - won't move far from his current position as a reliable undercard tag team.
Jimmy Uso - see Jey Uso.
Jinder Mahal - will feud with Drew McIntyre on Superstars by years' end.
Joey Ryan - will possibly help Matt Morgan win the TNA Title. I don't see him being pushed much.
John Cena - will continue to be used as the top guy for the most part, but won't be AS featured as he has been in the past. I expect more putting over of fresher talents. No heel turn.
Johnny Spade (OVW) - Gut Check participant.
Joseph Park - TNA will surprisingly get a lot of mileage out of the character, including him as a wrestler. Then a top heel will take him out and Abyss will make the save and the character will fall by the wayside.
JTG - Still employed. WWE might do something to freshen him up a bit but ultimately he's not going too far.
Justin Gabriel - will continue to gain experience in undercard matches. MAYBE a tag team title reign with Kidd.
Kaitlyn - Almost certainly Divas' Champion at some point. Likely feuding with AJ again.
Kane - will be used as a credible big man that ultimately puts others over. Same as every year really.
Kassius Ohno (NXT) -Will be called up to the main roster.
Kazarian - Could very well receive a push out of nowhere.
Kenny King - X-Division Champion, possibly looking to move up the card.
Kid Kash - will continue to be used to elevate the X-Division and undercard.
King Mo - will be the next Pac-man Jones or Bobby Lashley as far as TNA is concerned.
Kofi Kingston - inching his way closer to a WWE or World Championship. Possible MITB winner.
Kurt Angle - will keep doing his thing as his career winds down. I'd expect at least one more PPV main event.
Layla - stuck in the Diva shuffle. May be Divas' Champion but ultimately will face the glass ceiling that most Divas' face.
Leo Kruger (NXT) - will at least work some dark matches and/or live events for the main roster.
Madison Rayne - I don't see her being pushed. Might even leave TNA.
Magnus - midlevel (TV/Tag) champion.
Mark Henry - will start the last big run of his career. Not quite at Hall of Pain level, but Kane/Show level at least.
Mason Ryan - undercard Purgatory. Possibly released if WWE has a bad financial quarter.
Matt Hardy - will return to WWE.
Matt Morgan - will get a nice push. Maybe to the TNA Title?
Michael McGillicutty - will return to a good push. Possibly as a face?
Mickie James - will keep doing her thing. Maybe Knockouts Champion again.
Mike Knox - will be revealed as a member of Aces and Eights and might stick around once the angle's over.
Miss Tessmacher - quite possibly Knockouts Champion again.
Mr. Anderson - will get at least one shot at the TNA Title.
Naomi - possibly getting a shot as a wrestler if Brodus moves on from his gimmick.
Natalya - will continue to be overlooked as a wrestler.
ODB - Knockouts shuffle. Probably not a featured act.
Paige (NXT) - will at least get a shot at making it to the main roster.
Percy Watson - will get a second shot at the main roster either by himself or in a team. Talented, athletic guy and I think WWE respects that.
Primo - See Epico.
R-Truth - will float around the midcard (US/IC/Tag) title picture.
Randy Orton - will continue to be used pretty well but not WWE or World Champion.
Rey Mysterio - will have some sort of big career setback.
Rob Van Dam - decent push into title pictures, but probably not TNA Champion.
Robbie E - will grow as a popular comedy act a la Santino's early career as a heel.
Robbie T - face turn, possibly back in the TV Title picture.
Roman Reigns - will be WWE's next big guy/power experiment once The Shield splits up. Might do ok.
Rosa Mendes - will remain with Primo and Epico and be used as fodder in Divas' battles royal, etc..
Rosita - will be released and possibly show up in NXT.
Rudy Switchblade (OVW) -Will get a shot at Gut Check.
Ryback - WWE or World Heavyweight Champion and someone to watch for in 2013.
Sam Shaw - will get more TV time but likely not be pushed too hard.
Samoa Joe - dominant midcard/upper midcard babyface.
Santino Marella - will get consistent TV time as a comedy guy.
Sarita - will be released. MAYBE going to WWE.
Seth Rollins - will do well as a face post-Shield.
Sheamus - Almost certainly WWE or World Champion.
Sin Cara - setback due to injury.
Sonjay Dutt - not doing much of anything. Maybe released.
Sting - Will do the same thing he does every year. Pushed then disappears again.
Taeler Hendrix - gains experience in the Knockouts division.
Tamina Snuka -a top Diva.
Tara - will keep a good spot in the Knockouts division.
Taryn Terrell - will become a surprisingly good wrestler.
Ted DiBiase - consistent underdog babyface in the Alex Riley position.
Tensai - will resort back to the Albert name and be a midcarder who puts people over.
The Great Khali - about the same thing he's doing now. Comedy appearances and losing to people with futures.
The Miz -will get another big push at some point.
The Rock - Won't do much post-Mania. Last match?
The Undertaker -Will win at WrestleMania then disappear.
Titus O'Neil - will stay with PTP and gain experience. Maybe pushed as a singles guy at the end of the year.
Trent Barreta - undercard babyface, maybe in a team.
Tyson Kidd - See Justin Gabriel.
Velvet Sky - featured Knockout, Champion.
Wade Barrett - will have a decent reign as IC Champ and maybe move up. Also a MITB contender.
Wes Brisco - will get a decent amount of TV time.
William Regal - will work more regularly in putting people over.
Xavier Woods (NXT) - will get a shot at the main roster through dark matches and/or live events.
Yoshi Tatsu - NXT/Superstars filler. On TV to lose to heels the company wants to push.
Zack Ryder - will get another decent push at some point.
Zema Ion - will get another shot at being X-Division Champion.
Chuck, very logical predictions here. One thing I definitely respect about you (and these predictions) is that regardless of how much you are a fan of certain wrestlers, you still speak objectively on how you THINK they will do this year and not how you WANT them to end up.
ReplyDeleteIt will be an interesting year. One thing I noticed is you mentioned The Rock won't do too much and might be his last match at Mania. Am I right to draw the notion that you don't believe the hype in that he'll contend or win the title from Punk or whoever is champion at the Rumble?
I know it's just a prediction, but who do you think 1) Is a darkhorse no one expects that will be a surprise standout and 2) Will experience the biggest free-fall? I know no one predicted Skip Sheffield to come back repackaged into the World Title picture, so it is very hard to predict there, but it's interesting to consider.
By the way, I'm noticing PTP to be the tag version of Otunga in certain ways. I'm not sure how or why the WWE has cooled on them. I know the WWE is VERY fickle with tag teams, so I'm not sure what has constituted the decision and for all we know, this slump they're in may even result in the tag titles eventually.
However, the way they've been booked against The Usos lately is basically the equivalent to the way Ziggler's been booked against Sheamus and how Otunga's been booked against Santino. The worst thing about that is that The Usos haven't even gotten half of the tv time PTP has gotten, which brings up the slump and lower card possibility.
I TRY to be logical, but there is a bit of wishful thinking there with some of them (just like last year - I had high hopes for Bateman, Maxine, and Curtis based on their NXT work and they didn't do anything of note).
ReplyDeleteI actually do think Rock will win at the Rumble, then probably drop the title to Cena at Mania. It just seems like something they'd do. I think I might even be ok with Cena being champion again since he is a top guy and has had a fair amount of big losses. I'm even a little skeptical that they'll have Cena be in the supporting character role since they can keep going back to him and give him a big push like Kane and Big Show.
If I had to pick someone way out of the blue to be a standout, I'd pick someone who's working on NXT since lately that's been a place they're giving attention to. Maybe Michael McGillicutty? I think he's doing well now. Or maybe Bo Dallas if they think he's ready. Someone must like him for him to do so well at such a young age.
As for the free-fall, it could be Ryback (wince he's being pushed so hard now) or Daniel Bryan.
As for PTP, I think they're a victim of bad timing. They've got to compete in a division with Team Hell No, Team Rhodes Scholars, and Mysterio/Cara. Not an easy task. I think one or more of those teams will split up in 2013 and PTP will get another chance to stand out. I'd be surprised if The Usos became tag champions before them since they've never really gotten much of a push.
The undercard is sometimes a place where they just give the fans some face victories it seems like. If you're not someone management is currently high on, they might not care as much about protecting you. Look at Tensai for instance. I'm not really a huge fan of his, but he's losing on house shows in squash matches to guys like Zack Ryder who on paper he should be able to run right through.
Interesting prediction relating to The Rock. It's really hard to predict in my mind. They are really building something up with him and Punk, and with Punk having the title so long, it seems climatic that The Rock will come in and take it. The question here is how long will Rock be in the company with him having a career in Hollywood? If he's WWE Champion, he'd have to obviously be a regular on WWE Programming.
ReplyDeleteRyback or Bryan taking a free-fall seems very possible. Bryan has been booked pretty shabbily in singles matches, so if he and Kane are no longer a team, that is a big question mark how he will be booked. I think he has improved enough as a character that he deserves a mid-upper card run if and when he and Kane are no longer a team.
Ryback's case being how the "big men" of the past decade or so have been treated after receiving pushes (Ezekiel Jackson, Big Show at times, Umaga, Tensai) makes some sense in that he could receive some sort of "demotion". For a big guy to stay around, they definitely would need to bring a lot to the table intangible-wise for the WWE to not sour on them, which is something a Tensai and Umaga in their characters didn't have. I would be inclined to agree to a certain extent about Ryback being that I don't think he brings too much to the table away from his size. He may be over with the fans now, but how long will that last?
I have noticed House Show matches are definitely booked more favorably for the "face" wrestlers, so that is part of the explanation for PTP and Otunga struggling. However, it's also been on the main roster for PTP. They've been booked to lose to The Usos on Superstars, SMS, and SmackDown on top of the House Shows. That is odd to me, because The Usos haven't even been on tv much in 2012.
It proves that the WWE is VERY inconsistent with its bookings on tag teams, which on one optimistic hand, makes it pretty interesting to see what will happen. Taking Primo and Epico's case, for example, they go from being tag champs not long ago to being booked to lose to virtually every tag team out there today on top of losing much tv time.
Rock is advertised for a fair number of dates over Mania season. I don't think he HAS to be a regular as Champion, but it'd make more sense that way.
ReplyDeleteI think they can do better by Bryan and hope that they do when he's no longer in the team. I wouldn't mind a Kane vs. Bryan feud with Bryan getting a big win. They can't rely on Kane forever at 45.
I don't really have anything to add to the big man critique, other than they kind of go hot and cold/ADD with a lot of people.
I don't really get the booking of The Usos over PTP so often either. With faces as tag champs, you'd think they'd want some solid heel contenders. I have a feeling that if they hadn't teamed Rhodes and Sandow, we just might have seen PTP as the top heel team.
I think WWE can be inconsistent with a lot of people, sadly. I think some of it's inevitable since you can only push so many people at a time, but some people deserve better booking even when they're not being pushed. For instance, if they do split Hell No, Rhodes Scholars, and Mysterio/Cara, they'll either have to come up with some new teams to fill the void or they'll need to rely on the teams they're currently booking to be kind of lost in the shuffle. Though, again, some tag teams have to be on the losing end if there are teams who generally get wins. It's like the NFL where some teams are 13-3 and some are 1-15.