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With the end of 2019, WWE wrapped up yet another decade of its programming. The company reached some new heights, but had a few low spots as well. As the company enters 2020 they hope to put their best foot forward and continue their run as the premiere wrestling promotion in the World.
In 2019 we saw the WWE give us some massive shockers with many unexpected story lines including Kofimania, Women main eventing WrestleMania for the first time, Brock Lesnar winning the MITB, and CM Punk returning on a WWE show - albeit on another network. One thing that was made clear once again was - you can expect the unexpected to happen in this business.
In this article, we'll take a look at 10 unexpected things that could happen in WWE by the end of this year. Be sure to comment down and let us know which of these would you be most excited about?
#10 New Day breaks up
New Day has been one of the most successful factions in WWE since they first joined forces in 2014. Though initially starting as three heels coming together, the group has been a massive baby face ever since. Thanks of course to the power of positivity!
Last year we saw Kofi Kingston realize his dream and win his first WWE Championship. While many were expecting Big E to turn on his brother, WWE kept the trio together. This may not be the case in 2020, especially with Xavier Woods not in the mix due to an injury. Big E has always had the potential to become a top singles star, and if WWE shows faith in him, 2020 could be his year to shine.
As much as we love New Day, they might soon become stale. Big E turning on Kofi would be a massive story line, and would allow both men to grow individually and stand on their own. The question becomes, what happens to Woods when he's healthy enough to return?
#9 Dominik turns on Rey Mysterio
Rey Mysterio is arguably the greatest masked wrestler in WWE's history. Even at the age of 45, he moves as swiftly as anyone inside the ring. This past year we saw him introduce us to the next generation of Mysterio, as his son Dominik accompanied him in various story lines.
Dominik Mysterio has been training to become a WWE Superstar, and if all goes well, we might see him make his in-ring debut this year. At the recent Survivor Series PPV, we saw the father-son duo show us their chemistry when they double-teamed Brock Lesnar.
We saw Rey Mysterio tease a retirement last year, only for Dominik to convince him to not give up yet. According to previous rumors, the master of the 619 wants to lose his mask to his son in a WWE match, passing on the torch.
"Apparently what Rey wants is to pass the mask on. And that’s what he said to WWE that he wants eventually for Dominick to wear the mask. He wants a match with Dominick where he loses and he passes the mask on."
What if the WWE books Dominick to turn on his father and retire him? A compelling story line inside the ring, but a heart warming end for Rey in real life. The father and son duo could battle it out for the mask, allowing Rey to share the ring with his son before walking away from a Hall of Fame career.
#8 WWE vs UFC Four Horsewomen feud begins
The WWE vs UFC Four Horsewomen feud was teased long ago but the company hasn't rushed into it. Ronda Rousey first got into a contest with Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Sasha Banks, and now Shayna Baszler has locked horns with them after defeating The Man and Bayley at Survivor Series. This all seems to be a slow build-up towards the massive feud that we could witness as early as this year.
Shayna Baszler is rumored to be in a program with Lynch at WrestleMania this year, and Rousey is also set to return in the near future. The WWE has an ideal platform to set up the stage for this feud, which could have a long build-up, resulting in a match at WrestleMania 37.
With four former top UFC Stars involved, the rivalry will give WWE all the mainstream attention and publicity. WWE can raise the stakes by even involving the UFC President Dana White and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon in the feud. All in all, we can't wait to witness this grand rivalry.
#7 Drew McIntyre wins the WWE Championship
Ever since his return to the company in 2017, Drew McIntyre has been one of the brightest prospects for the company. Many Hall of Famers, including former RAW General Manager Mick Foley, have highly praised McIntyre - referring to him as a championship-worthy Superstar.
The Scottish Psychopath impressed everyone with his amazing body transformation, improved in-ring skills, and killer attitude in the first two years since his return. However his 2019 was underwhelming as he spent a majority of the year as Shane McMahon's enforcer.
With him back to his old destructive ways, 2020 could very well be the year of Drew McIntyre. He has recently teased turning face, and if that happens successfully, the company might have their answer to who should dethrone Brock Lesnar as the WWE Champion.
McIntyre winning the Royal Rumble and defeating the Beast Incarnate at WrestleMania 36 would be the best way to establish him as the next big thing in the company. Even WWE COO Triple H is full of praises for the former NXT Champion:
#6 Roman Reigns turns heel
Throughout his WWE career, Roman Reigns has often been compared to John Cena, mainly because of WWE pushing him to become their next poster boy. Another major reason for the comparison is because he's never really been a heel since splitting off from The Shield. That despite months of negative crowd reactions.
Last year was the least-accomplished one for the Big Dog as he didn't get his hands on any championship in 2019. However, his return to the top of the card might be on the horizon as the Reigns has long been rumored to win the Royal Rumble.
If he does, the WWE would most likely set up a program between him and "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania. Reigns has been getting monster crowd reactions since his return to the company just a few months after his cancer diagnosis. That love from the crowd could be seriously tested in a match with The Fiend. The WWE could pull off the ultimate swerve by letting him win the Title and turn heel in the process.
As has been the case with Wyatt's other opponents, will we see Reigns also go through a character change? Whatever be the case, heel Reigns is money and the WWE Universe is sure to enjoy the ride.
#5 Triple H retires from in-ring action
WWE COO and Hall of Famer Triple H has played a huge part in the transition of WWE to the new era. Currently spearheading the production of NXT, the King of Kings has been one of the biggest Superstars in the history of the company and is the frontrunner to lead the company if\when Vince McMahon decides to walk away.
Last year at WrestleMania 35 Triple H took on Batista, and put his career on the line in the process. While The Game came out victorious against his former Evolution partner, he would later mention in his WWE Network special that he might be close to the end of his in-ring career.
Recently, in a conference call ahead of NXT UK TakeOver Blackpool II, Hunter mentioned his desire of taking on some current NXT Superstars. However, he added that his age won't allow him to do that.
"Sometimes I look at the talent and I think, oh man, if I was 25 and could step in the ring with them – but then the reality quickly comes back to me. 'You’re not 25 and you can’t do that!'"
2020 might be the year when Triple H decides to hang up his wrestling boots. The best way to do this would be to have him put over a current Superstar at WrestleMania 36. Someone like Finn Balor would be an ideal choice and could push him back to the top of the WWE mountain.
#4 The Fiend retires The Undertaker
2019 was the rebirth of Bray Wyatt as he shocked us all with his new sadistic gimmick, while winning our hearts at the same time. The Fiend is arguably the best Supernatural character produced by WWE in a long time and has been the hottest thing in the world of pro-wrestling since his debut.
Wyatt's previous character seemed to grow stale with the audience, mainly due to his booking. The leader of The Wyatt Family hardly ever came out on top in his most high profile feuds. That includes his match up against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 31. Wyatt claimed he was "the new face of fear", but ultimately fell victim to the Deadman.
With the emergence of this new demon incarnation of Wyatt, WWE has a chance to rectify that mistake by giving us the dream feud between The Undertaker and The Fiend. It would be a treat for the WWE Universe to witness the mind games played by both these out-of-world characters.
Taker will be completing 30 years with WWE at Survivor Series this year. That would be the ideal place for him to have his final match, and pas the torch to Bray Wyatt. For all the amazing work Wyatt has put into his new gimmick, he certainly is the best choice to retire the legend.
#3 Charlotte-Andrade relationship gets included in a storyline
Throughout their history, WWE has seen numerous of its Superstars wind up in relationships with one another. One of the recent top couples in the company is none other than that of Charlotte Flair and Andrade. The couple recently announced their engagement to the WWE Universe.
The current United States Champion, Andrade is managed by Zelina Vega on-screen, but WWE has been teasing a split of the duo for some time now. Who better to replace her with than Andrade's real-life girlfriend. Of course, Charlotte is too important of a Superstar to not be around the Women's Title scene for long, but WWE might pair them up for a brief stint The pair would be especially entertaining if the company plans to bring back the Mixed Match Challenge.
Last year we saw Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch's relationship being featured heavily on WWE programming. While that wasn't appreciated much by all of the fans, things could be different for Andrade and Charlotte. An on-screen association with a Flair would help Andrade establish himself as a main-event player as well.
#2 CM Punk and AJ Lee return
The biggest shocker of 2019 was arguably the return of the most controversial WWE star of the modern era, CM Punk. Just when fans were starting to believe we might never see Punk back in the company, the Best in the World joined WWE Backstage on FOX as an analyst.
While he still is not a WWE-employee, this association was enough for fans to speculate his in-ring return. Things heated-up even further when Punk himself didn't deny the chance of him coming back to the ring, albeit mentioning that it would require both the parties to build some bridges before anything happens.
The WWE Universe is more convinced then ever that Punk returning is more of a when and not a question of if. Only time will tell if that happens or not. Additionally, it's interesting to note that ever since the return of Punk, fans have been very vocal about wanting to see his wife and ex-WWE Superstar AJ Lee back as well. So much so that she was at the top of the list of Superstars whom the fans wanted to see returning for the all-women's Evolution PPV.
While I speculate this without any confirmed sources and more based on my personal desire, wouldn't you all love to see these two back in WWE?
#1 John Cena returns to become a record 17-time World Champion
While 2019 saw many new and upcoming Superstars get an opportunity to shine and claim their spot at the top of the mountain, one seasoned veteran who was missing was none other than the face that used to run the place, John Cena. He even broke his 17-year record of not wrestling at a PPV for the entire year, mostly due a myriad of Hollywood projects.
That said, a recent report by WrestleVotes states that the 16-time World Champion wants to do something substantial at WrestleMania 36, unlike his Doctor of Thuganomics segment at WrestleMania 35.
As of now, there is no proper information on what plans WWE might have for the Champ. However, him coming back for one last major run and winning his record 17th World Championship to break Ric Flair's record would be a huge story line.
There's no denying the fact that even after being absent from WWE programming for quite some time now, Cena remains one of the most popular Superstars in the company. The Leader of Cenation making less in-ring appearances in the past couple of years, has only made the fans appreciate him more. A return would certainly be best for business.
