Well there we have it boys and girls, 2018 is done and dusted. We had one of the best
Royal Rumbles in years, one of the worst PPVs in years just a few months later, all that
Survivor Series nonsense, the debut of Ronda Rousey, and even a 10-year old child winning
the tag team championships. It’s been an odd year to say the least. But I’m done
with 2018. It can go get in a bin or something. I want to hear about 2019 rumours. Lay them
on me! Oh wait, you want me to tell you what they are. Fair enough. Here at 10 WWE Rumours
for 2019 That You Need To Know!
10. The Elite Coming In
It’s the biggest rumour of every year that Kenny Omega and chums will be trading in their
New Japan contracts for a spot in NXT or WWE. However this year the rumours are even more
intense than usual due to a number of factors.
Take your pick from WWE wanting to prevent another All In, to WWE wanting to hurt New
Japan and ROH by plucking the top ready-made North American stars, to the fact the Elite
have collectively said they will stick together and will be making a big decision on their
future in early 2019.
Of course the talk of the town is that the group are going to form their own full-time
wrestling promotion, All Elite Wrestling, but a big enough money offer from WWE – who
let’s face it, could pay them all $10 million a year each and not even notice – could
yet tempt them to change their minds,
Seeing how this situation plays out will be one of the most intriguing stories of the
first quarter of 2019.
9. Several Wrestlers To Leave
According to our sources within the promotion, there are a number of talents unhappy in WWE
who are looking to leave when their contracts expire. Glance up and down the roster and
see who gets no air time, gets misused or undervalued and some of the names should be
self-evident.
WWE rarely lets talent leave these days due to fear over them becoming stars elsewhere
- as was the case with Juice Robinson, Cody, Drew McIntyre and plenty of others - but when
contracts expire there is nothing WWE can do if people want to explore new avenues.
There is also a chance some talent will be released as it’s been a long time since
WWE trimmed the fat on its roster. For the last couple of years there has been NXT call
up after NXT call up from with few ever leaving the promotion. They simply disappear into
oblivion. It’s just simple math.
That may change in 2019, although it largely depends on the business moves made by promotions
outside of WWE. ROH is ramping up its crew with several new full-timers coming in, AEW
will be desperate for talent, and WWE are unlikely to let many leave when there are
so many other viable options out there. Keep an eye on this one.
8. Becky Lynch v Ronda Rousey To Headline WrestleMania
WWE are going to headline WrestleMania 35 with a women’s match, that much has been
known since Mania 34, but it is going to be a different match-up to the one they have
been planning for the past several months.
Becky’s Lynch’s pre-Survivor Series charge against Ronda Rousey and Monday Night Raw
was described by many as her “Austin 3:16 moment”. Becky came across as the biggest
star in the entire wrestling game that you could feel the seismic shift as her popularity
increased even further.
However, that was not the only Austin-esque moment that Lynch had in that segment. As
everybody knows, Lynch suffered a “broken face” at the hands of Nia Jax during that
angle, which caused her to miss her Survivor Series match against Ronda Rousey. That meant
Charlotte Flair was bundled into the spot in her place, giving away what had been previously
rumoured to be the WrestleMania main event.
Now with Becky’s popularity ever-increasing, it seems WWE have changed their mind and want
to headline the show of shows with the first-time-ever meeting between Lynch and Rousey. Becky’s
injury has ended up putting her in an even better position than she would have been otherwise.
The same thing happened to Austin in 1997 when he broke his neck and could not wrestle.
WWE did not want to take him off TV so he was kept around to delver stunners to everyone
in sight, including most famously Vince McMahon, which catapulted him from superstar to mega
star.
7. WWE Network Changes
This one is more a case of when rather than if, as proposed WWE Network changes having
been in the works for a long time. Earlier this year it was reported that Vince McMahon
was personally overseeing a Network overhaul, which would see changes to pricing and the
introduction of tier systems.
The Network changes are also expected to lead to the long-reported arrival on the medium
of WWE’s indy partner groups such as PROGRESS, ICW, EVOLVE, WXW and others. In addition there
is expected to be a host of bespoke content, some of which has already been trialled such
as House Hardy.
Another concept that was trialled recently was airing a WWE weekend house show on the
Network, which happened with Starrcade in November – well, an hour of it at least.
This is all part of McMahon’s strategy to “fix” the promotion’s live event woes,
with that particular department losing the company money for the first time in over two
decades, according to WWE’s latest quarterly financials.
When the changes come we will all have a good moan about it but for what fans will get for
the extra price it will almost certainly be worth every penny.
6. NXT Germany & Saudi Arabia
WWE made waves two years ago with the creation of WWE UK, which has since morphed into NXT
UK and has become a weekly television treat on the Network. And in a few weeks time the
promotion presents it’s first ever NXT UK TakeOver event, which sold out immediately.
The long-term strategy for WWE is to grow NXT into several international “regional”
promotions, with NXT brands set to launch in Germany, Saudi Arabia, Japan, South America
and Australia as time goes on.
Germany and Saudi Arabia appear to be the closest to happening next according to several
sources. WWE held a massive tryout session in Germany recently with over 50 names from
the German wrestling scene in attendance, which was believed to be the precursor to
WWE signing up talent from the country for the proposed brand.
Similar tryouts have happened on the two occasions WWE have ventured into Saudi Arabia, although
the launching of an NXT Saudi Arabia brand is perhaps less likely in the current political
climate considering the backlash WWE received from its audience and the mainstream media
for going ahead with Crown Jewel. Still, that show went ahead so the company just might
not care.
5. SmackDown Becomes The A-show?
I mean if you ask YouTube comments they’ll tell you that Smackdown is the A-show already,
but WWE don’t see it that way.
However SmackDown’s move to FOX this coming October will have several implications for
the blue brand - with reports already coming out that FOX wants the programme to be more
“sports” orientated and less reliant on silly gimmicks and storylines.
While the prospect of SmackDown becoming WWE’s answer to New Japan seems far fetched, no
doubt changes will be made to the show in order to ensure that it hits the fairly high
target of 3 million plus viewers per week that it needs to be considered a success.
One of the ways WWE can do that is by ridding SmackDown of its long-held status of being
their B-Show and turning it into the premiere broadcast that the promotion puts out.
To do that, the major stars will need to defect to team blue. That means the likes of Ronda
Rousey, Braun Strowman, a returning Roman Reigns, and no doubt several McMahons could
be on Smackdown in 2019 rather than Raw. Because we all know that when WWE is looking for ratings,
the heel McMahon authority figure is their default go-to trope. Yipee.
4. Two WrestleManias
Some may think the idea of two WrestleManias is sacrilege, but in the world of pro rasslin’
money talks.
If WWE receive the right offer (cough, Saudi Arabia, cough) then there is no doubt they
can be persuaded to offer a second WrestleMania in 2019. After all, they did it for the Royal
Rumble without blinking an eye.
One of WWE’s new corporate buzzwords is global localization, which it was reported
extends to the promotion taking some of its established concepts to far flung reaches
of the globe.
Which means we may even get a WrestleMania here in the UK with a gimmicked name. Or,
I dunno, the Royalist WrestleMania or something. I’m spitballing ideas.
3. A Return To Saudi Arabia
Like it or not, WWE have a ten year deal with Saudi Arabia and will be returning to the
country on a bi-annual basis for the foreseeable future.
Anyone thinking the company has been put off by the negative response it received with
Crown Jewel, think again. If the Khashoggi case and the public outcry that surrounded
it was not enough to change their minds then it is likely nothing will.
What form those Saudi shows will take is unclear. Greatest Royal Rumble and Crown Jewel could
well become annual fixtures on the WWE calendars, with inflated Rumbles and farcical tournaments
becoming the norm.
Or maybe the Saudi’s want a different concept. Greatest Survivor Series, perhaps. Or Greatest,
erm, Taboo Tuesday. Though not sure the Fulfill Your Fantasy match will go down that well
over there. Maybe Greatest Great Balls Of Fire?
2. Drew McIntyre Wins The Universal Championship
In the world of WWE where 50-50 booking is the norm and nobody is protected, one man
stands head and shoulders above the rest as the glowing exception: Drew McIntyre.
Since returning to the main roster shortly after WrestleMania, Drew has been one of the
most watchable acts on Monday Night Raw. He has also been well protected by WWE, never
tasting defeat via pinfall until the December 3rd Raw, and has had huge wins over big name
opponents in an effort to groom him as a WWE Universal Champion of the future.
That future may very well be in 2019. At a time when WWE is desperate for new stars to
step up due to its current injury crisis, Drew looks like the safest bet in the entire
promotion. If WWE keep him strong he can be an incredible champion for them.
What a meteoric rise for the man who just a few short years ago was messing around in
3MB and was cut from his contract because WWE did not know what to do with him.
1. Vince McMahon Stepping Aside To Run XFL
One day, WWE will no longer be under the watchful eye of Vince McMahon, that’s a fact. When
that day will be is the unknown aspect of that statement. But it could be sooner than
you think.
Vince has apparently been taking an increasingly reduced role in WWE business of late. He was
not present for the signing of WWE’s biggest ever deal (the aforementioned FOX TV contract)
and he has handed over control of many elements of the company to his son-in-law Triple H,
such as 205 Live, producing some pay-per-views including Evolution and of course the entire
developmental infrastructure.
The relaunch of the XFL has been announced for 2020 and as it gets closer and closer
to kick off it is inevitable that McMahon will dedicate more of his time to the venture.
He’s already sold a lot of his stock to fund the league, and there is even a chance
he will voluntarily step down from WWE and allow Triple H and his team to take over the
every day running of the company.
That could mean sweeping changes to how WWE operates, it could result in someone else
taking over the NXT brands - such as Jeremy Borash or William Regal - and an entirely
different approach to writing television and pay-per-view. Kevin Dunn will likely be the
first man to go.
It’s a long shot but this is wrestling – never say never.
But before all of that we need to get to the Royal Rumble - and what are some of the rumours,
returns and surprises in line for that show? Click the video on screen right now to find
out! I’ve been Luke Owen and that was wrestling.