10 Predictions for 2022 made in 2012

>>2418027
>Shane McMahon Will Be the WWE Chairman and CEO

This may appear to be counter-intuitive as sister Stephanie McMahon and her husband Triple H are high profile executives in the WWE already. However Shane will ultimately take over the reins from Vince McMahon.

Shane's time away from wrestling as Chairman and CEO of YOU On Demand is key to modernising the WWE. Arcane practices still litter the WWE landscape and this is unlikely to change until Vince steps down as commander in chief.

When Vince steps down, Shane will be able to come in with modern practices and update the system from a position of experience. His leadership and independent success will continue the reputation of the WWE which would not be guaranteed if someone was promoted from inside the company.

A suspicious person may even suggest this has been the plan since Shane left in 2009.

>John Cena Will Be The Face Of Another Wrestling Organisation

John Cena loves being a professional wrestler, but he has experienced stardom that very few wrestlers can contemplate. Many of those, like Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair, have found the slide back down the order difficult to adjust to.

As Cena becomes replaceable, the relationship between him and the WWE will deteriorate. Eventually, John Cena will leave the WWE and look for a new challenge.

A free-agent Cena would be a big enough name to create an entire wrestling company around him. This would be a huge move for the wrestling world as enough investment and John Cena could see a genuine contender emerge for WWE's crown as top wrestling promotion.

>>2418028
>More Than 50 Percent of WWE Revenue Will Come from Outside the United States

Despite selling themselves as a worldwide brand, the WWE still receives a disproportionate amount of the company's total revenue from inside the US. This situation will have been reversed by 2022 and that will have a significant effect on WWE programming.

One of the biggest changes will be the reduction in the pro-American stance. This panders to the current audience but turns off viewers from other nations. Once more profit can be made by keeping the outside audience, then the wrestlers will become more neutral.

Another big alteration will be the mix of wrestlers on the roster. Most wrestlers currently performing for the WWE come from the US, Canada or Mexico. A worldwide sport will need heroes from every region so the diversity of the roster will be greatly increased.

The early signs of this are already in motion as shown by the prominent contingent from Great Britain and Ireland.

Such a change may seem insignificant, but the changes will be widespread.

>CM Punk Will Be Seen As A Pioneer But Only As A Transitional Champion

CM Punk's reign as champion has been one of the longest in recent WWE history, but his run will be seen as the bridge between two eras.

The WWE is moving away from the much maligned PG era and moving towards a product that will entice a more general audience. Future stars are being established at a brutal rate, and these will be the champions of the future.

Through no fault of his own, CM Punk will lose out in the mix.

However many of these champions will be former ROH members who were only given the opportunity because of the initial success of Punk. This will secure Punk's role as a wrestling pioneer forever.

>>2418030
>WWE Will Get A Reputation As The Place MMA Fighters Go To Retire

If Zuffa continue with their current pay-scale structure, many MMA fighters will look to join the WWE when their competitive career comes to an end.

The WWE will initially see this as a good idea, as this will add big-name fighters to their product; however, the situation will quickly unravel. Too many fighters who are past their best, and have no experience in the professional wrestling ring, will soon bore fans and create a spectacular backlash.

However the chance of quick cash may be too tempting for WWE officials so the regularity of ex-MMA guys appearing will be a common occurrence and then the reputation will stick.

>TNA Will Be Part Of The Zuffa Group

Currently owned by Panda Energy, TNA has been a financial burden for some time. The recent signing of a new television deal has guaranteed TNA's survival for the short-term but changes need to be made for TNA to become a successful business.

The best way of doing this is for a new owner to come in and make the necessary changes.

The obvious company to do this is UFC's parent company Zuffa. As mention before, the UFC has a strict policy on salary and needs a place to put performers who are no longer winning. This could be a solution that resolves both companies issues in one fell swoop.

>>2418033
>WWE Pay-Per-Views Will Be Reduced to Eight a Year

Storylines such as John Laurinaitis' rise to power have shown the WWE's desire to create longer, more complicated story-lines. One of the main handicaps to this currently is the abundance of pay-per-view events that need to be sold.

The general decline of pay-per-view sales over the past three years suggests that a few could be removed from the calendar, so this is an obvious move to make.

However, each pay-per-view could cost up to $100 per event, so fans will still be paying through the nose.

>WWE Will Have Moved to Three Two-Hour Shows a Week

This change will go hand in hand with the WWE's desire to connect with their whole fan base rather than being concentrated on one specific group.

The addition of adding an additional show, probably in a children-friendly timeslot, will allow the WWE to bring Raw up to a TV-14 rating once again. The WWE may even decide to have a sub-roster, similar to how NXT works, concentrated on the younger audience.

If the WWE were especially clever, they would have a new generation of wrestlers every two to three years which would allow younger fans to access the two main shows while having characters that they were familiar with.

Of course this means the failure of the three-hour Raws that the WWE plan to move to on July 23.

Appeasing the whole audience base while continuously adding younger fans in one of the WWE's biggest objectives for the next 10 years, and this could be the solution.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1181663-wwe-ten-predictions-for-10-years-in-the-future

>Richie Steamboat Will Be The Face Of The WWE

What a fucking shit

WWE goes bankrupt after Romanetty's non stop push leads to record low ratings and their TV deal getting cancelled.

>>2418027
>Richie can't even wrestle anymore

it HURTS

>>2418162
Thanks Bill!

>>2418034
>WWE Pay-Per-Views Will Be Reduced to Eight a Year
lol