The 411 Wrestling Top 5 12.31.08: Week 3 – Predictions for 2009

Hello everyone and welcome to 411 Wrestling’s Top 5 List. What we are going to is take a topic each week and all the writers here on 411 wrestling will have the ability to give us their Top 5 on said topic, plus up to three honorable mentions. At the end, based on where all these matches rank on people’s list, we will create the 411 Wrestling Top 5 list. The scoring is very similiar to the Wrestler of the Week as it looks like this:

THE TOP 5 PREDICTIONS FOR 2009

Well, 2008 is offically in the books after watching JBL attempt to force Shawn Michaels to lie down in for him. So while we all said that we predicted this (Jeff Hardy winning a Heavyweight Title) and that (and Jeff Hardy getting strike two) and the other thing (like Trish Stratus showing up), but really didn’t, now we have it all in writing. And this week will be slightly different. The writers were not allowed to have Honorable Mentions as I truly wanted their five predictions for the new year. Likewise, I will not be having an Overall Top 5 this week.

So what did our great group of writers predict for the 2009 year? Let’s find out…

Robert S. Leighty Jr

5.CM Punk World Champion – At some point during the coming year, CM Punk will be given another chance with either the WWE Title or the World Title. I still don’t think they will get fully behind him with the run, but he will be at least a transitional champion. I’d love to see more, but at least another shot w/ one of the big 2 titles will do.

4.Cena Heel Turn – Cash cow be damned, the WWE will try to turn Cena heel, much like they tried to turn Austin heel. Unlike Austin the fans will be ready to boo Cena out the building until he gets his edge back, and he’ll be getting face pops again. This will be a vicious cycle like the Rock was experiencing before he exited to Hollywood.

3.Russo Gone from TNA – Either he will be fired, forced to resigned, or he will just leave. At some point Russo will wear out his welcome in TNA and 2009 seems like as good as a time as any. I do think that once he is gone, fans will celebrate, but not too much will change with TNA.

2.WrestleMania XXV: PPV of the Decade – This is a selfish prediction because I will be there in Houston for WrestleMania. The WWE usually goes all out for Mania, and with this being the big 2 5, I think they will do all they can to top anything in the past. Being in Houston may mean a lot of focus on Steve Austin (possible Hall of Fame nod), and that alone should also make this one memorable. Don’t let me down WWE.

1.The Return of Captain of Charisma – He will make his return to the WWE, and he will have a hot story waiting on SmackDown with Edge. Either as an ally or foe, it only makes sense that these 2 will cross paths, and it will provide one of the mark out moments of the year for me. Now whether the WWE will use him properly after the initial buzz will be the question. A lot of people had the same fear with Jericho, but the WWE eevntually realized what they had with him. Hopefully the same happens with Christian.

Julian Bond

5.MVP Will Receive Another Big Push – I personally don’t know the exact reason why the man has been put on hold for a good while now, besides the rumors that I’ve read (talking crap during a drug test, being held back for future grooming), but I believe it’s about time for the company to give MVP another big push. He was doing so good last year in his feud against Hardy, but now he’s been “Jobber of The Month” for awhile now. I know that certain new wrestlers have to pay their dues when starting out, including those who have big debuts and then turn around to become “curtain jerkers”, but MVP should be ready now and I think that he’ll be back on top dueling with the main-eventers sooner than later.

4.Jeff and Matt Hardy Will “Feud” – Jeff Hardy finally has a major title…Matt Hardy finally has a major title…it has to predicted that the two will feud or at the very least fight each other during this time. If one thinks about it, Jeff in the last year has feuded with most of the main Smackdown roster so far…Kozlov, MVP, Big Show, Triple H, and currently Edge, so the next logical and “big-money” step is a nice feud between the two brothers. Rather it be a “face vs. face” competition or a possibly interesting bout with Matt Hardy turning heel, either way it should be a great fight.

3.A.J. Styles Will Be TNA World Champ Again – With the way that the war in TNA between the Main Event Mafia and the Frontline is going, I predict that it will end with gold in the “good guys'” court. With that, I predict that Frontline leader A.J. Styles will be the chosen one in the group to take the Heavyweight title again. At first, I thought that Samoa Joe would be the one to take back what he lost from Sting, but I think that a Styles title reign at the top again is long overdue.

2. The Undertaker or Shawn Michaels Will Retire – As much as I want two of my personal favorite wrestlers to keep on fighting till the end of time, I have a strong feeling that one of them is going to hang up the tights this year. Michaels has been hinting about it so much in his storylines than it may ring very true, while Undertaker (while doing some of his best work in the last couple of years) might be doing a “farewell tour” with his increasingly limited appearances. Don’t know when a retirement may happen, but the upcoming Wrestlemania in both of their hometowns of Texas may possibly be one of the two’s last.

1. Christian Will Return To The WWE – The moment that Christian Cage was reported to be written off of TNA TV, the rumors started rapidly of his possible return to his original home of the WWE. I believe that Christian has done all he can with his stay in TNA: won multiple world championships, main-evented tons of PPVs, and faced every single major league star in the company. I have a strong feeling that the man wants to come back to his old stomping grounds and be the main-event player that he almost had and should’ve deserved in his first run.

Larry Csonka

5. AJ Styles: TNA World Champion – AJ Styles has been busting his ass in TNA since day one. Now while I understand the need for established stars, with each addition, AJ has had to take the backseat to these guys. That’s a sad fact for the first man to win the TNA Triple-Crown. Hopefully 2009 sees him rise from the ashes to win the big title once again.

4. A John Cena Heel Turn – I will agree here, I know that there is good money in Cena as the face, but to other, as well as myself, the act is getting old. We need a change, and I really would like to see Cena work heel again at this stage of his career. He is a different wrestler than he once was, he has learned a lot, and it would be very interesting to see.

3. Kurt Angle Will Continue to be Under Appreciated – For some reason, whether it is because of his crazy comments, or maybe it is the TNA bias, Kurt Angle has been completely overlooked in 2008. I will agree that Edge, Nigel, Jericho, Black and HBK has all had great years, but the fact that Angle gets completely left out of the conversation when discussing the 2008 wrestler of the year is criminal. Unfortunately I see it happening again in 2009 no matter how well he does.

2. ROH PPV Will Continue to Deliver – I have no reason to think otherwise. Yes ROH has a new creative direction, but since they began the ROH PPV’s have delivered and delivered big time. With the added production upgrades, decisions to get back to story telling and the great roster of talent, there is no reason that ROH PPV shouldn’t continue to kick ass in 2009.

1. TNA Will Remain the Same: They will show off their great talent and there will be signs of brilliance, but in the end, nothing will change. – This is one of those ones I hope I am wrong on. Unfortunately I have the feeling that unless someone gets a grand epiphany, that the company will remain the same as it is now. And that’s a shame, because we all know that the talent is there, but the creative side doesn’t go their job.

Rob McNew

5.Christian returns to the WWE – Not really going out on a large limb here, but I do believe Christian is on his way back. He should become the first guy to leave WWE for TNA and return a bigger star than he was before he left. I feel like he will likely play some role in the Jeff Hardy Survivor Series attack, however as you find out later I don’t think he was the perp. Either way Christian returns as a high card star on Smackdown at first, possibly for one program with the Hardys and Edge before being drafted to RAW to make his own way.

4.Kurt Angle stays in TNA – Unlike the Christian rumors the Angle to WWE rumors in the fall I’m just not buying into. Angle is far more valuable to TNA than he is to WWE. He is the “franchise” as it stands right now and has the entire company built around him. While he has somewhat retracted some of his vicious anti-WWE statements recently he still certainly understands his addiction problems and the WWE schedule, even a lighter one, is not conducive to him continuing to stay clean. In the end I think Kurt makes the wise choice to stay in Orlando.

3.HHH returns to RAW – HHH was sent to Smackdown to give the brand some star power for the network change, but quite frankly, he still doesn’t seem like he fits in. HHH is RAW and belongs on that show. The main event scene has solidified significantly on Smackdown even without him with Taker, Edge, and The Hardys. You’ll probably see one top of the card guy move over to Smackdown from RAW to fill the void. Jericho or Punk I’d imagine.

2.John Morrison breaks through as the next main eventer – While I don’t think Morrison is the Shawn to Miz’s Marty, I think the group will likely quietly break up at some point in 2009 allowing Morrison to elevate towards the top of the card on RAW. Miz might also make a nice singles career for himself as well. I could really see this team being an Edge and Christian type break up with Morrison playing the role of Edge. Just slightly ahead. Anyway I think its not far off to imagine a Morrison-Cena or Morrison-HHH title match at some point in 2009.

1.Matt Hardy was Jeff’s Survivor Series attacker – After the way Smackdown ended on Friday I think this one has become even more obvious. The subtle hints have been building up. Every time Matt is interviewed he’s asked about Jeff winning the title first. He constantly points the finger at Edge as the attacker. Now on Friday he comes out and over zealously celebrates Jeff beating Big Show, by count out no less, in a non-title match. If you paid close attention you’d notice that Matt also raised Jeff’s injured arm and Jeff gave him a “calm down” motion. The clues seem to be building up and I expect this one to come true sooner rather than later.

Jarrod Westerfeld

5.CM Punk will continue to be under appreciated by the WWE staff – To go from a complete afterthought of an ECW Champion; to someone who was seen as more dependable for the Money in the Bank plans that fell through on Jeff Hardy’s drug test failure; to a “right place, right time” champion when Triple H remained the champion over John Cena; to a man that was primed and ready for a high profile feud against Randy Orton; to a man that is now completely lost in the mid-card shuffle. Punk has had gold laid upon his feet and opportunities at every corner but the WWE writing team has managed to mishandle it to shape Punk up as a typical Raw mid-card attraction, not capable of the heavy work load that comes with being a true upper-mid card worker that he should have been once removed from the World Title scene. I expect more mediocrity handed to Punk rather than the roles he was promised this year.

4.Media Television Tag Team wrestling will still mean nothing – At no point do I see TNA or WWE stepping up and making tag team wrestling a more integral part of the shows. That means the tag titles will still mean less than nothing, and tag teams will still mostly remain random tandems of singles superstars that just don’t have a singles program going on for them.

3.Adam Pearce will prove his worth as ROH Head Booker – I think it’s only a matter of time that people will forget the flashy bullshit booking style of Gabe Sapolsky and come to appreciate Pearce’s more old school approach that focuses more on the characters and their stories rather than what series of matches could be cool to see. I also doubt Pearce will try and over extend his creativity by trying to implement too big a story, much like Gabe’s hopes for Gang Warfare just last year.

2.Jeff Hardy will cleanse himself of his past sins – This is more hope than anything else but I’m willing to predict it actually coming true this year around. Jeff has many things going for him and it should all be motivating him to a cleaner life style, and a more mature approach to his life style choices. He’s a world champion now, that comes with responsibilities and I’m willing to bet he’ll step up to the challenge of these responsibilities and accept that he’s too big a draw to simply throw his life away.

1.Jeff Jarret Gone, Period – Call it what you will but I can’t take another second of people pinning all of TNA’s issues solely on Vince Russo when the idiots that hired him catch a free pass. What’s worse is when people ignore how Jarrett and Mantel are also contributing to the product as part of the writing staff that Russo is claimed to be heading. This company, every year for the past 6 years, has had Jeff Jarrett and not a God damned thing in the main event scene has changed – it’s still the same old bullshit catering and pandering to certain ego’s and pals of Jeff’s, but yet Russo is the sole fucking cause? Give me a mother fucking break! Jeff, you’re not a real Jarrett because a real Jarrett in all of his years in the mother fucking wrestling industry would actually know how to work a fucking pen, you asshat! Get going – preferably out of existence so Dixie Carter can actually take care of the company she’s investing a lot of her family’s money into.

Mathew Sforcina

5.ROH gets on HDNet… And everyone bitches! – Calling ROH getting a weekly spot on HDNet is hardly a bold prediction. What I think is a bold prediction is that everyone’s gonna be bitchy about it at first. ROH fanatics will bitch that it’s too WWE-ish, and not just a weekly Iron Man match between Danielson and Nigel. ROH Haters will complain that it’s too Indy and there’s no good storys, just moves. The rest of the IWC will bitch about it being on HD only, and bitch about it’s ratings, and maybe about how HDNet isn’t treating them right. But the ship will right itself sooner or later. But yeah, prepare for bitching like you wouldn’t believe…

4.Christian returns at the Royal Rumble – Because it’s just such an obvious point for him to come back on. How I’d do it- Through a mess up in a match or just sheer dumb luck, Edge ends up as the #1 entrant to the Rumble. Edge comes out, pissed, Buffer/Fink announces the second entrant, it’s Christian. Christian comes out all smiles and looks really happy to be back, fans are cheering, Edge looks shocked, Christian comes in, the two go nose to nose… Smiles, hugs, and numbers 3 through 8 get double-teamed and eliminated. 9 is then a Bourne/Rey/Umaga type who holds on, then 10 is HHH. Easy.

3.TNA Impact 2 will be published – Midway’s gonna die soon. And it’ll end up being bought out by someone. And in-between the MK relaunch and maybe the regeneration of NBA Jam (depending on who buys them), they’ll be this Wrestling game on the books. The last one at least made money, the hard work is done, and at worst all you gotta do is do a roster update and BAM, free money. Sure, they should toss the engine out and call in AKI/Whatever the hell AKI calls themselves now, but they’ll just update the engine a little and call it a day.

2.MVP IS MITB – Miz and Morrison will begin their break up over the match. Umaga will play the Brawler. Evan Bourne will wow everyone, and begin a feud with Shelton over this match. Rey will be the oh so close part. Christian will get cheated as well, but it will be MVP who grabs the case, and then milks it for one entire year, earns a title shot at WM through other means, and has to use both to win a belt.

1.The Wrestler gets some buzz, and then someone F’s it up. – The Wrestler will be nominated at least 2 times in the Oscars, maybe more. Springsteen may win, but Mickey definitely will. This will then begin a period of the Mass Media looking at wrestling in a slightly better light. A couple weeks later, someone big will do something silly (“WWE Champion Jeff Hardy Collapses In Airport”) or some schmuck will do something really REALLY evil/stupid, and the industry will get shoved back into where it is now straight away. Alas…

Andy Clark

5. The Legacy will be broken up by no later then August– When I first heard about Orton getting this group together, I hated the idea of Orton being dragged down by midcarders. Then it picked up steam with some good interaction between everybody and looked like things would be good. But factoring in Ted DiBiase being gone, Manu apparently being kicked out, Sim Snuka joining up, and the fact that Orton is just head and shoulders above everyone else just dooms this stable.

4. JBL will return to the announce desk– I’m not saying JBL will necessarily full on retire (although before he got into shape recently I would have gone that far). But JBL has done pretty much all he can do and the massive amounts of heat he’s receiving in this HBK angle will probably be a nice swan song for him. He’ll join Cole and Lawler on Raw and still wrestle occasionally, much like King in the early Raw days.

3. Finlay will turn heel on Hornswoggle– Quite frankly I’m surprised this hasn’t happened already. Hornswoggle is over with the kids, and Finlay can offer something as a heel. Eventually Finlay will get tired of his happy go lucky son and turn into the badass he used to be, allowing Horny to team up with another face and feud with his dad on ECW.

2. Brock Lesnar will make an appearance at WrestleMania XXV– I’m going out on a limb on this one, but I don’t see any Trump or Mayweather type celebrity that can help boost the WrestleMania buyrate, so if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. With Brock scheduled to have his big Undisputed Heavyweight Title fight at the April UFC PPV, a bit of cross promotion wouldn’t be bad. While its possible Dana White wouldn’t be thrilled with his champ on a wrestling show, some promotion and a nice check should do the trick, plus it will make Brock an even bigger heel to hardcore MMA fans. I’m not saying he’d wrestle as that would stupid, but a role as a guest referee/special enforcer wouldn’t be out of the question.

1. John Cena will NOT Turn Heel– Sorry, folks, but it ain’t happening. People have been calling for Batista to turn heel for almost three years and it hasn’t happened. You think it’s going to happen with the No. 1 face in the company? Those that “predict” a heel turn are just wishfully thinking at this point. Divisive face Cena is a much bigger draw then cool heel Cena (because the fickle smarks will no doubt start cheering him once turns heel).

Owain J. Brimfield

5.Christian main events a WWE PPV – I’m still not entirely sold on Christian returning to the WWE (the idea is great, I’m just not fully confident it’ll actually become a reality). However, if he does the man is too good not to make his way to the top level. The potential of either an Edge/Christian or a Hardys/Edge & Christian feud is off the charts and given how much all of those guys have upped their game since the last time round, it’d be a sight to see.

4.Evan Bourne captures some form of gold – And gives brief hope to millions that the little guy really can do it in the WWE. While the ECW championship would seem the most likely, I’m going out on a limb and calling US title victory for Evan, who’ll then proceed to feud with Shelton Benjamin and be given far too little time or booking to do the thing justice. And before long, he’ll be back where he is now as “creative” struggles to find anything for him.

3.Impact scores a 1.3 – And people everywhere spazz out in disbelief until they remember that it’s just as much fun to bitch about TNA’s booking as it is to moan about their ratings. The company is bigger now than it ever has been, regardless of the fact that the ratings have hovered around the same level for a good while, and there’s no reason that expansion shouldn’t continue. Especially on the back of my next prediction.

2.AJ Styles and Samoa Joe feud for the TNA world title – This one writes itself doesn’t it? The MEM/Frontline feud for ages, AJ eventually captures the big one and Joe either turns or has already turned to set up a purist’s dream of a main event. If it’s done properly and built strongly, ideally with a returning Chris Daniels in the mix, maybe this could finally be the catalyst TNA needs to make it to the next level. Well, even if it doesn’t, it should at least give us a few MOTY candidates.

1.Steve Austin is somehow involved in the main event at WM25 – Sorry, it’s too obvious not to call. Even if it’s just an obligatory Stunner/beerbath, the crowd will go nuts and everyone will go home happy after ol’ Stone Cold does his thing. And I for one am looking forward to it!

Stephen Randle

5.Kurt Angle will not end the year actively competing in TNA – That doesn’t mean he’ll return to WWE. He could retire, he could just take some time off. But I believe that Kurt Angle has done everything that he can in TNA, feuded with everyone that he could possibly get a decent match out of, and its time for him to move on from the organization, or at least take a substantial break from appearing on TV.

4. John Morrison will receive a minor singles push – Possibly on Smackdown, because I just don’t see him getting a chance on a stacked Raw roster. By minor, I mean secondary title, with an outside shot at a Money in the Bank win and CM Punk-like title reign. Hey, they already gave him the ECW title once on a whim, nothing says they can’t do it again with a bigger belt. Morrison (and Miz, admittedly) have honed their craft in 2008, and given the strong showings they were allowed against the big stars like Triple H and Shawn Michaels, it’s a fair bet that WWE has noticed that the only real success story from the Tough Enough program is quickly becoming their best bet to make a future giant Superstar.

3. Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon will kiss and make up – Resulting in Hogan making another appearance on WWE TV, possibly to shill a second season of CCW. Screech was robbed, by the way. Not really a prediction as much as it is a foregone conclusion, Vince and Hogan break up and make up nearly as much as Ross and Rachel did, and its hard to say which dysfunctional relationship irritates me more. Then again, I never stopped watching WWE over Vince-Hogan…

2. Randy Orton will be World Heavyweight Champion by SummerSlam – Another obvious choice, because otherwise building this big Legacy stable means less than nothing. The purpose of any stable has always been to win titles, and Orton, at this point, is the only guy in the group who looks like he has a shot at gold. Frankly, with the top of Raw in such flux due to Batista’s injury, Orton is the obvious choice to slot into a big feud with John Cena. Besides, they never did get that real one-on-one definitive blowoff match from Cena’s first injury back in 2007 (no, the No Way Out match when Orton got himself DQ’d does not count).

1. WWE will rebound in 2009 – I don’t think we’ve seen such a good influx of new, young talent in WWE since the rise of the Cena-Batista-Orton triumvirate, with Evan Bourne, Kofi Kingston, CM Punk, The Legacy, The Stampede Bulldogs (eventually), Jack Swagger, Miz and Morrison, and several others all poised to take big steps towards upper card status. Toss in the peaking of Edge, Randy Orton, and The Hardys, the resurrection of Chris Jericho, an already solid midcard with a ton of upside (MVP, Kennedy, Helms, Shelton), and the money trees of John Cena and Triple H, and you can’t help but feel like 2009 could see some of WWE’s highest quality product since early 2001. Hopefully the writing staff can find something for all those really, really talented wrestlers to do, because that’s the only thing I could see sinking this ship full of potential.

Ryan Byers

5.Triple H will win the a major WWE championship. – Hey, I have to make at least one safe prediction so that I can look back on this column at the end of 2009 and not feel like a complete moron. With no new faces anywhere near the heavyweight title chases on Smackdown or Raw, one of the two top WWE belts is bound to be shuffled to the H’s at some point. It’s not something that I necessarily want to see again, but it’s something that I probably will see again.

4.At least one of the three major Japanese promotions will fold or merge with a competitor. – New Japan Pro Wrestling recently posted a surprising profit for its most recent accounting period, but for years prior it had been in dire straits financially. All Japan Pro Wrestling has actually been doing worse in terms of bringing in money. Though I’m not sure of the financial status of NOAH, they did recently lose their television deal, which will definitely not lead to good things for them. With problems mounting for all three companies and nothing in sight which will spike the popularity of pro wrestling in the country, I have a feeling that at least one will not survive for the next twelve months.

3.Nothing will change in TNA. – And by nothing, I mean NOTHING. What am I basing this on? History. Over the last several years, TNA’s viewership and profit has only inched forward. Creatively, at least last I was watching, their product remained horrendous for over two years and showed no signs of consistent improvement. However, despite all of this, “insider” reports for that entire period indicated that the powers that be were perfectly happy with how the company was progressing. Because there has been no change in the past and no indication of dissatisfaction, I predict TNA will remain exactly the same in 2009 as it was in 2008, 2007, and most of 2006.

2.Christian will return to WWE . . . but with no increase in push. – Many of my fellow writers are predicting big things for Captain Charisma in 2009, but to me that sounds like nothing more than the smarky wet dream of an internet wrestling scene that has always overrated the guy and not taken in to consideration what WWE opinion of him is. Yes, he’s a talented performer in the ring and he pulled off some cute lines as a comedy character, but I’ve never seen in him the ability to be a serious main event heel, nor did WWE based on how they treated him last he was there. His TNA stint provided no evidence which could change that opinion, as his appearances in the company did little to nothing to move their ratings and his promos sounded completely forced. So, yes, I see him coming back to WWE. Yes, I see him being associated with Edge in storyline. However, I doubt that he’ll be a headliner and will instead be to Edge what Chavo Guerrero is to Vickie.

1.Steve Austin will not significantly affect the Wrestlemania buyrate. – Even with Floyd Mayweather appearing and with Ric Flair’s retirement, this past year’s Wrestlemania did not set the record numbers that many were expecting of of it, and sales of the DVD featuring Flair’s Hall of Fame induction were outright disappointing. I attribute this largely to the fact that, despite his popularity with hardcore fans, the casual audience currently watching wrestling has gotten young enough that they don’t remember the Nature Boy during his peak. I have a feeling that, though more current fans remember Austin in his prime, the majority of his biggest supporters from the late 1990’s cannot be convinced to spend upwards of $50.00 to see him in a performance that may be substandard.

Jeremy Thomas

5. A New Crew Dominates the WWE’s Upper Midcard – John Morrison, Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, Brian Kendrick, Jack Swagger, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase. These guys (and more) are the face of the ‘E’s future. You’ve got a lot of guys who are most likely on their way out, such as JBL, possibly the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, maybe even Batista, and they’ll need some guys to fill those roles. And those upper mid-card roles that will be left vacant will be filled by the talented young crew that’s slowly inching their way toward bigger and better things. I really see this as a year in transition for the ‘E, and that could mean huge things for some of the guys just itching for a shot.

4. The WWE’s Women’s Division Outdoes the Knockouts – The ‘E’s been paying more attention to the Women’s Division on Raw and even the Butterfly Division on SmackDown for some time now. They’re developing their talent more and actually building some feuds, and while the talent isn’t at the glory days of Trish, Victoria, Molly and Lita it’s certainly on an upswing. Meanwhile, the Knockouts in TNA have been getting a bit stale lately, and what started out exceptionally strong is starting to peter out a bit. Factor in that the ‘E’s managed to sign Gail Kim away (if she ever ends up debuting) and the continued improvement of Kelly, Maryse and the Bellas, and I could see this prediction easily coming to pass.

3. Jeff Hardy Outdoes Everyone’s Expectations – Honestly, this prediction is probably like shooting into a barrel of fish; how hard would it be to outdo expectations when everyone’s watching for your next screw-up? But by this, I mean professionally, and as long as Jeff can keep his nose clean—which I think he will—I could easily see his title reign (and possibly another one) being far more successful then anyone thinks it will be. I’m not going as far as to say he’ll be headlining WrestleMania, though that’s sure as hell not outside the realm of possibility. All I’ll say at this point is that come this time next year I think we’ll be very pleasantly surprised by what Jeff’s done.

2. A ROH Wrestler Will Find Success in the Big Two – There are several guys I could see pulling this one off. Tyler Black is an obvious possibility, or Claudio Castagnoli (who had a contract with the ‘E a couple years ago before visa issues got in the way). Perhaps it could be Kevin Steen or even Nigel McGuiness himself. I don’t think anyone can deny that it was a real wake-up call when people realized that CM Punk and Samoa Joe, both ROH alumni, were holding the top belts of their respective companies at the same time. It’s only a matter of time now before one of the key members of ROH’s talent roster gets signed and goes something as great as those two; my only hope here is that ROH doesn’t suffer from the “talent raids” that plagued ECW and still manages to flourish.

1. JBL Moves to a Non-Wrestling Role – This one seems obvious to me, and it’s the one major hope I’m hanging on the HBK/JBL storyline. JBL hasn’t been good since he’s been back in the ring, and I think everyone, including him, knows it. He excels on the mike, but just can’t get it done once the bell rings, and it’s time for him to move on for the good of the company and his reportedly suffering health. I can see this storyline building through the Royal Rumble when Shawn finally snaps and costs JBL the match against Cena, and then the two really kick off their feud. This would lead into a Retirement match at WrestleMania where the loser retires, and Shawn repeats history by sending yet another guy off to the sunset. This will set things up for JBL to return as the General Manager of Raw, and everyone will be happy. Seems like the perfect finish to the storyline to me, really.

Michael Bauer

5.Tyler Black will be Ring of Honor Champion, but not be the one to defeat Nigel McGuinness – I had to throw in one one true Ring of Honor prediction and I will take one of the ones I previewed on Ari’s Column of Honor. You have to imagine Tyler Black is being built perfectly for a title reign, but as the FIP World Champion right now, it looks like they are willing to wait and see how he does first before hadning him the keys to the Ring of Honor kingdom. So instead of beating Nigel early in the year, Aries could possibly do it and then Tyler could score the ultimate revenge.

4.Nothing will change in TNA. – I have to agree with everything said before. Byers hit the nail right on the head with how TNA’s head office views the company. But I think they are set for a slight downturn and the powers they be will be unable to figure out what to do. And it won’t get better as long as Sting or Kurt Angle is the face of the company.

3.John Morrison dumps The Miz and becomes a Smackdown Main Eventer – I’m reaching here, but let’s face it. John Morrison is more money than The Miz and he has been ever since we saw him win the third and final “real” Tough Enough competition. So why not have him pull a Shawn Michaels, dump The Miz, and go on to bigger and better things on Smackdown, where they need another main event caliber wrestler.

2.The Undertaker’s Legendary Wrestlemania Undefeated Streak Ends – I have made the mistake every Wrestlemania Roundtable of saying this is the year the streak ends. I said it with Orton. I said it with Batista. And I said it with Edge. Now I will say it again. The Undertaker’s streak will end this year. Now, who will get the chance to do it? I am still unsure, but after sixteen Wrestlemanias and fifteen victims, it is time to end it and give somebody who deserves it the rub as the man to beat The Undertaker at Wrestlemania.

1.Bryan Danielson will sign a contract with the WWE – I hate and I mean HATE to eevn say this, but Bryan Danielson has done everything humanly possible in the Indies. He had the third longest streak as Ring of Honor Champion and held both the RoH and FIP World Titles at the same time. He has also held gold in the PWG and Japan, as the GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion. And in a world full of overlooking the Indies, heading into 2008, Bryan Danielson is the three time and reigning Most Technical Wrestler of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, as well as the two time and regining Most Outstanding Wrestler by the same newsletter. In other words… what more can he possibly do?