5 Predictions For WWE in 2020

Written by Matt

With 2019 coming to a close, I’ve been thinking about what will happen in the landscape of WWE in 2020 and how it will change. Here are my top 5 predictions for 2020 and how it could be a year to remember for WWE.

1) NXT UK Takes Over NXT

British wrestling is enjoying a resurgence at the moment, with a plethora of British wrestlers being able to ply there trade in NXT:UK, alongside their international counterparts. This is leads to more NXT:UK talent being “promoted” to NXT – Ripley and Dunne are showing week in, week out that the talent is there. Yes, NXT is by far the most established brand in terms of wrestling action out of any WWE show, but NXT:UK is a close second. The NXT:UK roster is stacked with talent – Imperium and Grizzled Young Veterans showing how tag team wrestling can be great in WWE. Toni Storm, Xia Brookside, Piper Niven and Kay Lee Ray putting on incredible matches with great story telling. WALTER being, well, WALTER. With the Worlds Collide event coming up in January, it wouldn’t surprise me at all with NXT:UK getting a good showing and letting the world see what is happening on our side of the Atlantic Ocean.

2) Velveteen Dream Wins Money In The Bank

A 230+ day run with the North American Title was one of the highlights of the year for me personally. The Velveteen Dream is a unique character and it gets over really well with the fans, and can also get over in a large arena setting, as shown during multiple NXT:TakeOver events. Currently sidelined with injury, this gives the Dream the best opportunity to make the move over to Raw / SmackDown, starting at the Royal Rumble. For me, there is nothing else for Dream to do in NXT, other than win the NXT Title, but I don’t see that happening due to the multitude of feuds that Adam Cole could engage in. Instead, I could see him winning Money in the Bank and using that as a platform to launch himself into the Main Event picture on Raw or SmackDown. It would also give NXT a tremendous rub, especially if Dream went straight from NXT to the Money in the Bank match itself.

3) NXT Australia is Discovered

There is a lot of talent over in Australia / New Zealand, and it only makes sense for WWE to capitalise on that talent by launching a 3rd NXT brand. Would NXT:Australia launch on the WWE Network straight away in 2020? Probably not. However, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they are doing the work now to get an agreement in place to then launch the promotion. Having a 3rd brand would give more talent access to WWE, would allow subscribers to the WWE Network even more content to watch and allow more income revenues for WWE to work with. Everyone is a winner.

4) More Talent Will Go To NXT

We’ve already seen the impact that Finn Balor has returning to NXT and it won’t stop there. With the new TV deal that WWE has for NXT, pulling talent from Raw/SmackDown to NXT isn’t seen as a downgrade, and a lot of wrestlers would probably enjoy the lack of live events / touring that is required. It also allows NXT talent access to wrestlers who have a hell of a lot of knowledge, experience and wisdom that is more valuable to them than gold. If you look at the NXT talent that has moved to Raw/SmackDown, there has been a lot of it wasted; War Raiders, EC3, Riott Squad to name a few. They could easily be utilised on NXT to help get talent over, whilst building themselves up again. It’s great having the 205 Cruiserweight action moving on to NXT too, as its giving the Cruiserweights that spotlight – more of this please!

5) The 24/7 Title Gets Erased from History

What started with the hope and dream of a new WWE Hardcore title disappeared when the 24-7 belt was revealed. This despair then turned into enjoyment, with the shenanigans of R-Truth, Jinder Mahal and Drake Maverick who made the title genuinely interesting to both fans and non fans alike. It gave WWE that sense of “anything can happen” once again, which is why I think people enjoyed it. Now, it’s pretty much in the past and ignored. In 2020 I think that the 24-7 belt will become more faded as each month goes by, before finally being declared defunct by WWE by the time SummerSlam comes around. We've already seen it deactivated temporarily - I think that will, sadly, become permanent.

Closing thoughts:

2020 could be an incredible year for WWE. The talent they have, the potential storylines that could take place are amazing. However, the proof of the pudding will be what happens in the ring. Here’s hoping in a years time we can look back and savoir what may be a vintage year.