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With 2018 fast approaching, we will be taking a look at some of WWE’s most popular Superstars and predicting what may or may not happen in their careers over the next 12 months.
In this article, we focus on Braun Strowman – a man who began 2017 by attacking Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble and ended the year feuding with Kane and Brock Lesnar ahead of their upcoming match for the Universal Championship.
Will he finally win his first title in WWE? Is he going to remain a babyface for the entire year? Will he get a singles match at WrestleMania? What about his rivalry with Triple H?
From the obvious to the not-so-obvious, we predict who “The Monster Among Men” will battle against in 2018 and take a look at what championships he will realistically win by the time the year is out.
#5 Brock Lesnar & Kane feud
The only confirmed title match so far at the 2018 Royal Rumble will see Braun Strowman and Kane challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship.
Strowman and Kane competed in a number one contender match in December to see who would face Lesnar for the title. However, after it resulted in a double count-out, Raw General Manager Kurt Angle decided that both men would get a title opportunity in a Triple Threat match.
Will “The Monster Among Men” exact revenge on “The Beast” for defeating him in such convincing fashion at No Mercy? Or will “The Big Red Machine” surprise us all and take the title from the man who ended his brother’s undefeated WrestleMania streak?
In all likelihood, neither of those outcomes will happen. Lesnar is expected to be victorious before facing Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania, while Strowman will have to wait for another opportunity at the Universal title.
#4 Bray Wyatt feud
With Braun Strowman now a babyface and Bray Wyatt still a heel, one imagines that we will see the two former Wyatt Family members lock horns at some point in the next 12 months.
“The Monster Among Men” was brought to the main roster by Bray and the two monstrous individuals, along with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, were part of the most dominant faction in WWE between 2015 and 2016.
However, ever since they were split up after the WWE draft in July 2016, Strowman’s popularity with fans has only risen and risen while Bray’s villainous character has become a little stale during his 2017 feuds with Randy Orton and Finn Balor.
The two have a ready-made storyline in place for when they inevitably feud with each other, so don’t be surprised if we see them collide in a high-profile rivalry in 2018.
#3 Samoa Joe feud
The Fatal 4-Way main event at SummerSlam between Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe was undoubtedly one of the best WWE matches of the year.
The only problem with the rivalry was the aftermath. While Strowman and Lesnar continued to feud and Reigns had a torch-passing match with John Cena, Samoa Joe was forced to spend two months on the sidelines due to a knee injury.
Thankfully, Joe has fully healed after having two surgeries and his delayed rivalry with Reigns has picked up again, but we’re still yet to see him go one-on-one with Strowman in a pay-per-view feud.
Providing they remain on the same brand in 2018, prepare to see “The Monster Among Men” and “The Samoan Submission Machine” do battle in the not-too-distant future.
#2 Triple H feud
For the ladies, gentlemen, boys, girls and children of all ages who witnessed the Survivor Series main event, we’ve got two words for ya: unfinished business.
The finale to the widely criticised five-on-five men’s elimination match saw Braun Strowman attack Triple H – his fellow surviving member from Team Raw – after being double-crossed in the closing stages of the contest.
Since then, talk of a match between the two has gone quiet and many are expecting HHH’s next battle to come against Kurt Angle, the Raw General Manager, rather than the former Wyatt Family “Black Sheep”.
However, if there’s one thing we’ve learned about “The Game” over the years, it’s that he holds a grudge, so whether it’s at WrestleMania, SummerSlam or another pay-per-view further down the line, get ready to witness another Triple H torch-passing.
#1 Universal Championship or WWE Championship reign
Of all the current WWE Superstars who are yet to hold a title with the company, Braun Strowman is guaranteed to win one – and probably several – in the months and years to come.
In his one-year run with the Wyatt Family, he was never in the mix to win any Tag Team titles, while his battles at SummerSlam and No Mercy for the Universal Championship ended in defeat.
Most Superstars win a secondary title or tag title before winning the main championship on either Raw or SmackDown Live, but “The Monster Among Men” isn’t like most Superstars and has been catapulted to main-event level over the last year.
Strowman is not expected to defeat Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble but don't put it past him to win a major title, whether it be the Universal Championship on Raw or the WWE Championship on SmackDown Live, by the end of 2018.
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