The WWE is a very unpredictable place, as we often don’t know how things are going to be in six months' time, what with all the variables like fan reactions, injuries and contract situations – it’s unlikely the WWE know much beyond that point either. That means the WWE could be quite unrecognizable in a decade, so with that in mind, why don't we try to look ahead?
From shows themselves, backstage philosophies, returning superstars and even the stars of today, there are many things that could change over that time. With Triple H very likely to take over in the next 15 years, the changes WWE makes or doesn’t make could have a lasting impact on not only their company, but the broader wrestling world as a whole. With that being said, it’s fun for writers and fans alike to speculate on what will be happening in the WWE, as we all believe we can do it better than the professionals in charge, but either way, this article is going to look at 15 things we think will be happening in the WWE between now and 2027.
15 15. Chyna Will Be In The WWE Hall Of Fame
This topic is one that has been discussed for many years, by people inside the WWE as well as fans. Before her death, Triple H was adamant that Chyna would not be in the Hall of Fame, as he didn’t want his kids and kids around the world to see what she was up to after her time in the WWE, but at the end of the day, she was a pioneer of women’s wrestling, and one of the most influential women in the WWE. After her tragic passing, she deserves this accolade. After all, Stephanie McMahon and a plethora of other performers in the WWE and wider wrestling community all paid tribute to the legendary Chyna on Twitter after her passing, and now that she is no longer with us (giving her a live microphone at the ceremony was a major concern), it’s beyond time that she gets the recognition she deserves.
14 14. The Return Of Blading
Now I’m not saying that fans love to see wrestlers spill their own blood, purely for the entertainment of the masses, but when there is a chance wrestlers will bleed in big, high-stakes matches, it just makes them feel even bigger. While WWE have currently banned the practice of "blading," it is something that will come back in the near future, to give WWE the further sense of realism that they currently seem to be pushing. Out of everything on this list, this is probably the least likely to occur, as the wrestlers' safety and well-being is at the top of WWE’s priority chart, but with the experienced performers they have on the roster, this could no doubt be done safely to ensure maximum entertainment.
13 13. Big E Will Be The First African-American WWE Champion Since The Rock
Excluding The Rock (who's of part Afro-Canadian and part-Samoan heritage), Ron Simmons (which came in WCW well before it was bought out) or Booker T (who won WCW’s title, or the World Heavyweight Title, which is much less important), the WWE has yet to have an African-American man hold the WWE Championship. Going forward, there is no one better to achieve that historical feat that current New Day member Big E. He has great in-ring ability, which isn’t shown off as much as it should at the moment, as well as an undeniable charisma that matches anyone on the current WWE roster, and now that the New Day are on SmackDown, Woods and Kingston could control the Tag division, while Big E should be freed up to take on SmackDown’s heavyweights.
With the tag titles the primary current goal of the New Day, this might not happen for quite some time, but in a year or two, Big E will provide a fresh face in the main event scene, and should be allowed to have an extended run (or multiple) with the WWE’s most prestigious title.
12 12. RAW & SmackDown Live Ratings Will Double From Today's Numbers
WWE ratings have been dropping steadily for the past few years, and that is due to the boring formula that the company insist on using week after week. With Vince McMahon in charge, that won’t change anytime soon, as it seems he is no longer interested in presenting intriguing weekly television to please the fans, but only for profits. It’s hard to say how long this will take, but anything would be an improvement on the current weekly programming. If Triple H takes charge, the WWE will tell simple stories and present fantastic wrestling, similar to the way NXT runs today. With the performers given freedom, as well as bringing in the top independent stars in the world, this should change fairly quickly, but it really is one of the biggest problems with the WWE today.
11 11. Tag Team Division Becomes Strong Again
For one reason or another, the WWE has struggled to book consistent tag team wrestling for almost two decades, with the last real strong division involving The New Age Outlaws, The Dudleyz, The Hardy Boyz, Edge & Christian and more. But with a tag team revival of sorts emanating from NXT, it’s time that the company really focus on this, because they have the talent available to make the division one of WWE’s strongest points. With The Revival, Sheamus & Cesaro, American Alpha, The New Day, The Hardy Boyz, and even Breezango working for the company, the talent is there, as all of those teams have different strengths. So if the company will invest in the division, especially by improving the booking and bringing in outside teams like The Young Bucks, ReDragon and The Briscoes, we could be looking at a tag team golden age.
10 10. Daniel Bryan Will Wrestle Again
This is one of the most controversial topics in recent memory, as Daniel Bryan was required to announce his retirement due to injury, but he insisted that several doctors he went to see cleared him to wrestle. With his contract coming to an end in 2018, his future is up in the air. Will he wrestle in WWE? Will he renew his contract as an on-air personality? Will he go back to Ring of Honor? Those questions are ones that only Bryan himself can answer, but regardless of what he does, I believe he will wrestle at least one more match for the WWE. There are many dream matches out there for Bryan, such as AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura or even someone like Kevin Owens, and one final match at WrestleMania is something that everyone wants to see.
9 9. Cruiserweights Will Rule The WWE Scene
Ever since the Cruiserweight Classic in 2016 aired, the fans have been incredibly excited about the 205-pound division, but at each and every turn, Vince McMahon has undercut the division. Despite the fact that Neville, Akira Tozawa, Cedric Alexander and Austin Aries have been putting on fantastic matches, the fans unfortunately just don’t care. That doesn’t look like changing anytime soon, but there are definitely some solutions. If those are all used, the Cruiserweight Division could become the best division in the entire wrestling world.
Bringing in the likes of Ricochet, Will Ospreay, Martin Kirby, Pete Dunne or even Marty Scurll would help bring attention to the division, and with those guys, combined with a freedom to perform the breathtaking moves we know they are capable of, it would make 205 Live truly "must-see" TV.
8 8. CM Punk Will Return
CM Punk is a very controversial and popular figure in WWE history, and he is potentially one of the top 10 performers in the history of the company, but due to his butting heads with management about his treatment, he walked out in January of 2014. He's still remained popular among fans, with “CM Punk” chants raining throughout arenas across the world to this day.
Appearing on Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast later that year, Punk told his story, and claimed that he would never wrestle for the WWE again, but looking at the likes of the Ultimate Warrior and Bret Hart who came back, it just makes sense that Punk will return, either as an in-ring performer or just to enter the Hall of Fame. Don’t expect this in the next four to five years, but once Triple H takes over (we are all assuming he will), he will be looking to make his mark, and bringing back Punk will do just that.
7 7. RAW Will Return To 2 Hours
Monday Night RAW used to be one of the most exciting shows on television, but over the years, oversaturation of the product and a lack of creative direction have caused a big drop in quality. But the biggest reason for this drop over the past 5 years is the shift from two to three hours, with only the extra advertisement opportunities as the reason. While this would no doubt result in a bit of a loss to the company's profit, it will be a necessary sacrifice to improve the quality of programming. That may also mean a lot of performers will have their television time reduced, but it has to be done, as three hours each week is just excruciating to sit through. This is something that won’t happen under Vince McMahon, so it might take quite some time, but if the WWE really do care about their fans, this is something that NEEDS to happen.
6 6. WrestleMania Will Become A Two-Night Event
WrestleMania is the grandest spectacle in all of wrestling, perhaps even grander than the majority of sporting events on the calendar, and in recent years, the biggest complaint about the show is the length, as seven hours of wrestling (pre-show included) is just too long for fans to sit through. People have offered up many excuses, but the one that makes most sense is to change the show to a two-night event. This will give every performer a chance to perform in front of the biggest crowd possible, and will allow six to eight matches on both nights, with each getting enough time to tell their stories. It could also be a much more enjoyable experience for fans, as they don’t have to sit for 7-8 hours in a row. This may fill up an already busy WrestleMania weekend even further, but it would help out everyone involved to give fans the best show possible.
5 5. Two Women Will Main Event WrestleMania
The WWE has been heavily pushing the "Women’s revolution" over the past couple of years, and while the treatment of women has heavily improved in that time, they are still seen as inferior to the men (at least that’s the way the booking dictates), and there’s only one way for that to finally happen, and that’s for two female performers to main event WrestleMania. There are several candidates on the current roster to achieve this feat, with the likes of Alexa Bliss, Sasha Banks, Charlotte and Asuka all at the top of their game. Still, the most obvious matchup for the Show of Shows is Sasha Banks and Bayley. With the way Vince McMahon treated women over the past number of years, especially during the Attitude Era, it’s incredibly unlikely that this will happen within the next few years, but this is something that all the fans want to see.
4 4. Gimmick PPVs Will Be Dead
It’s no secret that the WWE runs more than a few PPVs, and while that gives the fans much more quality wrestling on a monthly basis, but there is one major negative about that, and that is gimmick PPVs like Money in the Bank, Hell in a Cell and TLC. While that means we get these matches each year, it makes the bouts lose their effectiveness when they are used to end a huge rivalry. If the company can get rid of these (return MITB to WrestleMania), using a Hell in a Cell match in a rivalry (e.g. Triple H vs. Batista or even Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker) will make it more special and spontaneous for fans to see. This is quite a picky complaint, but many fans have voiced their opinions on this, and it will definitely help the quality of rivalries if the finishes are much more spontaneous when it comes to gimmick bouts.
3 3. The Bullet Club Will Officially Be In The WWE
The Bullet Club is one of the best factions in the history of wrestling, and after they lost AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows and Finn Balor, all to the WWE, they have lost some heat, but they remain entertaining nonetheless. While their name remains property of New Japan Pro Wrestling, that will change quite soon, and we will not only see The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega in the WWE, but the official Bullet Club name. This may take some time, and that will lose a little bit of steam, but with three guys as talented as Omega and the brothers Jackson in the company, there will be some serious money to be made. Triple H is a visionary, and when he is in charge, he will hopefully give these guys the freedom to be themselves, and with the merchandising potential that they possess, they will be in the main event picture for quite some time.
2 2. Triple H Will Strike A Deal With NJPW
Ever since Vince Jr. took over the WWE, they have been very unwilling to mention to the fans that there is other wrestling out there, and although that stance has become very relaxed in recent years, they still don’t openly elude to it. But to make some serious money, when Triple H takes over, he will begin a working relationship with New Japan, and may even run some join shows with Japan’s top promotion. This will work in a similar fashion to the ROH/NJPW talent relationship, but just on a much larger scale. That could give us some great matches, and might even transition into a relationship between WWE and ROH too. Instead of the WWE having a monopoly on the wrestling industry, working with the bigger promotions would be a much better solution, as it will result in some great events.
1 1. The PG13 Rating Will Return
Ever since the Ruthless Aggression Era ended, the majority of fans around the world have complained about how childish the program is today, and although it’s done very well in NXT, the main roster has struggled to produce consistently interesting and entertaining television. With an aging fan base, the only way to bring back fans they lost is to return to the PG13 TV rating. While this shouldn’t mean the return of idiotic things like Katie Vick, Sexual Chocolate and Mae Young’s hand child or the Live Sex cCelebration, it will allow the stories to push some boundaries, and with stale characters like Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, it will allow them to be more exciting. With the boring product the company put out the majority of the time today, it’s surprising that they have any younger fans at all, so if they look to target the 13-25 demographic, WWE could become cool again.