This is probably the article that I look most forward to writing each year. I take a look back at the previous year and dissect my predictions for the year. Not only to gloat about the things that I predicted correctly, but to reflect on what I got brutally wrong and perhaps laugh at it. Things obviously change quite a bit over the course of a year and perhaps, that hasn’t been truer than this year. When we hit pandemic mode back in March, things were turned upside down and that goes for wrestling as well. Here is my look back at my WWE Predictions for the 2020 year and I hope you all enjoy this as much as I do.

So you can go back and have proof, here is a link to my “WWE: A Look at 2020” article

Just like always, I introduce the article and talk about the current state of the WWE overall and how I think they will be in the upcoming year. This is pretty broad, but it opens up a place to get creative from a company based extent. I basically said that WWE is in a great position to be successful and that fans are picky when it comes to storylines and character development. I still agree with those statements and looking back they had a lot of their big names healthy and ready to be pushed at the time, so that was ideal for them. This was all before the pandemic obviously and nobody could predict that, but I think things held up. They were obviously put in the best situation possible to be successful during the pandemic, unlike other big promotions and indie wrestling. With that being said though, everyone has made the most out of what they were given.

2020 is the Year of Roman

My first point of the article was stating that “2020 is the Year of Roman”. Did it hold up? It sure did, but not in the way that was initially planned. Roman was all set to face Goldberg at WrestleMania for the Universal Championship, where he likely would’ve been crowned the champion, but he took time off once the pandemic hit. Goldberg faced Braun Strowman instead and Strowman became the new champ at WrestleMania. To say the least, it would’ve been interesting to see how things would’ve played out if the pandemic never hit. Since his return at SummerSlam in August, Roman Reigns has been the biggest attraction in WWE since. 2021 appears to be his year as well, so keep watching.

More Title Belt Redesigns

The next portion of my article talked about more title belt redesigns. I discussed how the IC title was redesigned, the Universal Belt changed colors and they added the Women’s Tag Titles and 24/7 Championship in 2019 and then talked about some more potential changes to other belts. I mentioned that I expected the tag belts to get a new look, but that didn’t happen. I also talked about the US title potentially getting a new look and it did, for the better in my opinion. And lastly, I talked about a possible minor Women’s championship coming into the fold, but I didn’t expect that to happen. It didn’t and I really can’t see them adding anything else in 2021

Will This be the Year The Undertaker Steps Away?

The Undertaker’s last match was at WrestleMania 36 in a cinematic masterpiece against AJ Styles. His final match was unlike anything he has ever done in his career and I think it was a perfect way to cap off his career. Is this the end of the road for him though? In his documentary series Undertaker: The Last Ride, he said that WrestleMania 36 was his last match, but he is not going to rule out another potential match. A lot of fans thought that the 30th Anniversary of his debut at Survivor Series was potentially setting up another match, but that didn’t happen. If the Boneyard Match was truly his last bout though, it has been a wonderful ride.

Continual Growth of NXT as a Brand

There really isn’t a clear-cut answer as to whether or not they grew as a brand and it was largely due to the pandemic hitting. Like the rest of the wrestling world, NXT was crushed due to the fact that they couldn’t allow a live audience. I said that 2020 would be the year that they would solidify their status as the third brand, but has that been the case? I don’t think it was solidified, but nothing changed for better or worse and that is somewhat of an encouraging sign for the future. I mentioned that NXT has the best Women’s division in all of wrestling and I still find that to be the case and it was cool to see Charlotte Flair as NXT Champion for a little while. When crowds start filing back in to arenas for WWE, I expect them to jump right back into being considered the third brand.

Returning Legends in 2020?

I was clearly on to something here. The legend that I thought had the best chance to return was Edge and he did just that at Royal Rumble only 3 weeks after the article went out. He had a feud with Randy Orton and defeated him at WrestleMania. They had a rematch at Backlash and the match was dubbed as “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever”. It was a wonderful match that was a tribute to the history of wrestling rather than the feud itself. He has been out of action since then, but it doesn’t appear he is hanging it up. I also mentioned the slight possibility of CM Punk, Shawn Michaels, and *lol* Hulk Hogan, but I also talked about the slim chance that Sting could return. Sting’s contract with WWE ended and he has appeared on AEW a few times over the last few weeks. Talk about a plot twist, but there are talks that he may come back for another in-ring bout. After appearing on AEW, he mentioned that he pitched an idea of coming back to face The Undertaker in a cinematic match after watching the Boneyard match at WrestleMania 36, but was denied. It is a shame that we didn’t get to see that legendary dream match, but it will be interesting to see if he can still compete.

Bold Predictions

This was perhaps my favorite portion of the article. I made 10 bold predictions about the upcoming year and I think I actually did a pretty job considering the circumstances.

- With her contract ending in the Summer of 2020, I think Tessa Blanchard will be a WWE Superstar by the end of the year.

While this still may be up for discussion, I’m going to mark it down as a missed prediction. She was released from her contract with Impact Wrestling in the Summer, but has only wrestled in one indie match since March. I still think WWE is a great fit for her despite all of the controversy surrounding her and I’m still not ruling out the possibility that she is signed, but just waiting until the Royal Rumble to make her debut. (0/1)

- Braun Strowman will win a World Title in 2020

This happened by coincidence, but it still happened. Strowman earned the shot he was given and it was about time that they made him Universal Champ. I don’t think he would’ve been champ if the pandemic didn’t happen, but I’m glad he got his first major title this year. (1/2)

- Ronda Rousey will not return in 2020

Correct again. Rousey did not come back to the WWE this year, but I think there is a good possibility for her to return in 2021. Don’t be surprised if she is the Royal Rumble winner at the end of the month. (2/3)

- Big E will get a major title shot

This sadly didn’t happen. It would be a crying shame if he doesn’t get a shot in 2021 now that he is a singles star, but I don’t think there are many superstars out there with as much fan backing as Big E. (2/4)

- At least one current AEW performer will sign with WWE by the end of the year

Thank you, Ben Carter, for making this prediction a reality. I remember making this prediction throughout the year and I was nervous that this wasn’t going to happen. Carter appeared in 3 matches for AEW and signed with WWE in October. It was also announced this week that he will appear on NXT UK next Wednesday. (3/5)

- Becky Lynch will be SmackDown Women’s Champion by the end of the year

This was a feasible prediction in January 2020, but for obvious reasons, she wasn’t able to become SmackDown Women’s Champion. If she didn’t become a mother, this may have been a different story, but who knows? She may end up being SmackDown Women’s Champ by the end of 2021. (3/6)

- Isaiah “Swerve” Scott will win the NXT Championship in 2020

Not even close here, but that’s why they call it a bold prediction. He did receive a couple Cruiserweight title shots, but didn’t even sniff an NXT title shot. He didn’t end the year that well, but his year wasn’t bad though. He had a lot of good wins in NXT. (3/7)

- Nikki Cross will win a Women’s Championship in 2020

She had a couple great shots to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship, but came up empty-handed both times. (3/8)

- At least 3 superstars from RAW or SmackDown will move to NXT prior to the Superstar Shake-Up

The Superstar Shake-Up never happened, but they did have a Draft in October, so I will give myself the benefit of the doubt. Even if I count until October, this didn’t come true. Ember Moon was the only superstar to move from RAW or SmackDown from the beginning of year. (3/9)

- John Cena will break Ric Flair’s title record at WrestleMania 36

Back in January, the rumor was that John Cena was wanting to be a part of something big at WrestleMania 36, because he was living in Tampa and that was supposed to be the home of the big event. Those plans fell through obviously. He apparently was only scheduled to face Elias and the scheduled main event was going to be The Fiend vs. Roman Reigns. That didn’t happen either. Cena ended up facing Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania in what was one of the most entertainingly odd matches in wrestling history. At this point, I don’t think Cena will be the guy to break Flair’s title record, but I think he is content with tying the Nature Boy. (3/10)

Yacs

A Look Back at "WWE: A Look at 2020"