It is a new year and things are seemingly starting to heat up in the WWE. 2019 will be the year of new things, a fresh perspective, and a better overall product, according to Vince McMahon. We’ll see how things turn out during the year, but there are certain things that we can come to expect in the world of wrestling, and some things that will somewhat shock us. The shock factor hasn’t been prevalent often lately, but there are moments that can still provide amazement. Here are some things that I think should be on the radar of every fan throughout the entirety of the year.

· John Cena’s involvement

Here’s a name that hasn’t been mentioned much in the past couple of years. John Cena is back for an undetermined amount of time and his role is somewhat unclear going forward. He has been making appearances at live shows lately and made his 2019 television debut on the New Year’s Day edition of SmackDown Live. In this show, he teamed up with “The Man”, Becky Lynch and the two took down the team of Zelina Vega and Andrade “Cien” Almas. My best guess is that Cena is going to stick around for a couple of months to continue to put over younger talent. I don’t expect him to have another title run just yet, but then again, I wouldn’t rule it out. He is currently tied with Ric Flair and his unofficial 16-time World Championship reigns. I even wouldn’t eliminate the possibility of a title match at the upcoming WrestleMania, but I’m not expecting it. Cena is still a huge draw, but as he said, his time to lead the company is over. In his match on SmackDown, fans were chanting Becky Lynch’s name while he was in the ring, it’s time for current superstars to take over.

· Drew McIntyre Push

This one seems too obvious, but it needs to be mentioned. Drew McIntyre is at the top of his game currently and is poised to become RAW’s top heel. He rarely loses on television and this is the sign that bigger things are in store for The Scottish Psychopath. He beat former tag team partner, Dolph Ziggler, in a steel cage match on RAW’s opening act of the New Year’s Eve episode. The two put on an excellent showing and seems like something that will continue throughout the whole year for McIntyre. Keep an eye on McIntyre during the Royal Rumble, as he will be a key player in the event. I think how early is push will come will become clearer after the result in the Universal Championship match at the Rumble, but we shall see. McIntyre is anticipated to have a huge 2019 and it could very well be kick started this month.

· Improving the Tag Team Division

We now know that Women’s Tag Team titles are coming in 2019, which will add some excitement to the Tag Team scene in the WWE, but the men’s division has been without substance for the past few years. Teams have been thrown together in an attempt to resurrect the division, but it has been largely unsuccessful. The New Day is entertaining, but their act has been nearly the same ever since they started. The Usos are great, but they have a pretty crappy gimmick, in my opinion. Sheamus and Cesaro have no business being in the tag team division, but they make it work, because they are so talented. RAW basically has nothing in terms of tag talent besides AOP and The Revival, but they have ruined them. Not to mention, the Tag Team belts look like absolute garbage. The whole tag team division needs a complete overhaul and the WWE just needs to start from scratch in the new year.

· Solving Their Identity Crisis

The announcement of Roman Reigns’ immediate leave of absence shocked not only the WWE Universe, but it is apparent that the creative department did not have a Plan B. Things have been all kinds of jumbled over the past few months, but it seems like we are starting to see a little bit more solidification. Roman Reigns was the long-term future of the company, but who will take his place for the next little bit? It appears there are two options in the men’s division. Those men are Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman. The size of the wrestler is a big factor in this, Rollins seems like a safer option in general, but I feel like Strowman is a bigger draw at the moment. The problem with Strowman being the lead man is his pursuit for a major title. Say if he wins the Universal Championship, his size and dominant character would make it difficult for him to drop the title. Rollins holding the title seems to be better for wrestlers that aren’t Strowman or anyone close to his size. Vince McMahon has his image of what the perfect babyface is, but neither of these quite fit the typical bill, but they absolutely should be considered moving forward. The only reason AJ Styles isn’t considered is because of his age. Styles is the best pure wrestler in the world, but he is on the back end of his prime and it just isn’t the right time to make him the top guy. WWE’s identity crisis will be solved in 2019, and I’m anxious to see who leads the brand heading into 2020.

· Continual Growth in the Women’s Division

Piggybacking off of the last topic, WWE could go in a direction that would make a woman the face of the company. Regardless of whether this happens or not, expect women to be headlining more PPV’s and being featured on shows more often. The women’s division is the best that it has ever been in the WWE and expect it to only get better going forward. It seemed like John Cena’s involvement with Becky Lynch on SmackDown was an indication of giving Becky Lynch a bigger role within the company, but “The Man” didn’t need any help from Cena though, she absolutely stole the show, just like she has done the past few months. There are many female competitors that could be the face of the company other than Lynch, but the most obvious choice would be Charlotte Flair. As far as in-ring ability goes, she is possibly the greatest female competitor to step inside the ropes. Plus, Becky Lynch being at the top of her game is pushing Flair to her full potential. Flair’s mic skills are improving and she possibly will break the Women’s Championship record that is currently held by Trish Stratus (7 reigns), this year. Ronda Rousey is another possibility, but it is unclear how long she will be wrestling. She has stated that she had a timeline going in, but she found herself loving it more than she expected. If I had to guess, I think she will be wrestling for the entirety of 2019, but I’m not counting on anything past 2020. As far as female superstar pushes for 2019 go, the competitor that I think could be champion by the end of the year that is sort of off the radar is Mandy Rose. I expect her and Sonya Deville to split in 2019, but look for Mandy to emerge between the two. Another competitor that I hope doesn’t get lost in the shuffle is Ember Moon. She is too talented to be just a card filler.

· Outside Competition

With the news of the formation of AEW, it has caused a great deal of excitement among wrestling fans. How WWE handles the formation of this new territory will be interesting in 2019. I personally think they have to view them as somewhat of a threat, but obviously WWE is the biggest company in the world as far as wrestling goes and they don’t have much worry about in terms of competition at the moment. The growth of NJPW in the US and ROH has to be on their radar as well. There is a lot of great content outside of the WWE and no company is in direct competition, but beyond 2019, I would look for things to change outside of the WWE if things don’t appear to look better for the flagship brand in 2019. The thing that those companies offer that WWE doesn’t is TV-14 content. I’m not saying WWE must go back to the Attitude Era, but sporadic flashes of the company’s greatest time wouldn’t hurt.

· Trends

Here are a few wrestlers that I haven’t mentioned, but were somewhat relevant in 2018 and my predictions of how I think they will be trending during the new year.

Shinsuke Nakamura: Down

Finn Bálor: Up

The Miz: Neutral

Sasha Banks and Bayley: Neutral

Dolph Ziggler: Down

Elias: Neutral

Andrade “Cien” Almas: Up

Baron Corbin: Down

The IIconics: Up

Bobby Lashley: Neutral

Carmella: Up

Mustafa Ali: Up

Jinder Mahal: Down

SAnitY: Up

Riott Squad: Up

Rusev: Down

Lana: Down

Nia Jax: Down

Naomi: Neutral

Natalya: Neutral

Sonya Deville: Neutral

Possible NXT Call-Ups in 2019

This list is compiled of the NXT competitors, other than the ones that have been already confirmed that I think will make their WWE main roster debuts this year.

The Undisputed Era

The War Raiders

Aleister Black

Ricochet

Johnny Gargano

Kairi Sane

Shayna Baszler

Matt Riddle

Tommaso Ciampa

Velveteen Dream

Extra Thought:

I wanted to mention the passing of “Mean” Gene Okerlund in this article, but I wasn’t sure where exactly to put it, so here it is. “Mean Gene” embodied professionalism and was the voice of wrestling for many, many years. His role was mainly as an interviewer, where he helped get over talents such as Hulk Hogan, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Ric Flair, The Ultimate Warrior, and many others. “Mean Gene” was a very important part in the WWE’s rise to popularity and will be severely missed.

Here are some of my favorite interviews featuring “Mean” Gene Okerlund.

Yacs

*Did I miss anything? Make sure to comment on our Twitter page and give your feedback on the direction that you think the WWE is headed in 2019.

*Follow Us on Twitter if aren’t already: @thesportschief for more WWE discussion and a bunch of other great material.

*Also, follow me on Twitter: @JacobGilreath feel free to send me a tweet as well.

WWE: Things to Look Out for in 2019