The Importance Of... 01.02.09: 2009 Predictions

Posted by Mike Chin on 01.02.2009

Who will headline Wrestlemania? What former WWE star will TNA sign next? Who will move up to the main event scene? No one knows these answers to these questions for sure, but I'm going to give it my best shot!

Happy new year to all! With the turn of the calendar, I'm hopping on the bandwagon with my fellow IWC pundits to take a look ahead at 2009. Year after year, the professional wrestling world proves itself to be unpredictable, and yet we still do our best to look ahead. Without further ado, here we go with The Importance of 2009: Predictions.

Jeff Hardy retains the WWE title at Wrestlemania
This is by no means a sure thing. Hardy has a history of getting himself into a trouble, and with that in mind, there's always a question of just how much trust Vince will put in him. With all of that said, Wrestlemania is the event where legends are born. It's where Hogan established himself as the dominant star of the eighties and early nineties. It's where Randy Savage, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, John Cena, Batista, Rey Mysterio all won their first world championships (Chris Benoit, too, if you exclude the disputed WCW title). It's an event where the tradition is for good to overcome evil (Lesnar over Angle, Undertaker over Edge, etc.), as well as for the torch to be passed (Warrior over Hogan, Rock over Hogan, etc.).

All of this points toward Wrestlemania XXV being Jeff Hardy's night. Sure, there's no longer the opportunity for Hardy to win his first world title at the big show, after his victory at Armaggeddon. But there is the opportunity for Hardy work his way into more rarefied air. Few and far between are the world champions to walk into Wrestlemania with the title, and walk out with the thing still in hand. In fact, in 24 years, only six men have done it—Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Triple H, Eddie Guerrero, John Cena and Randy Orton. That's a fairly elite list, and should Hardy defy the odds and add his name to it, it will go a long way toward cementing his place in the main event scene—and that may be just the sort of moment WWE is building toward in the decision to give Hardy the title four months earlier than so many of us expected.

There are many fitting opponents for Hardy to go over. The buzz as of late has surrounded a program between Hardy and his older brother. It's definitely questionable whether Vince will trust such a marquee spot to two guys who are new to the Mania main event scene, but given their name value as a duo, I wouldn't rule it out. There's also the possibility of having Hardy go head to head with Edge, or to insert Edge into a triple threat scenario, adding a main event name who has plenty of history with the Hardys. If Jay Reso does make good on the rumors and sign, there's also the four-way potential that I've been harping on for weeks—I still can't say if it's realistic, but can you imagine a more potent battle for the big show?

What may be most interesting about Hardy is that he has a profound history with a number of upper echelon guys. Beyond the three suggested above, he has had his wars in both distant and recent memory with The Undertaker, and his series of world title contests with Triple H—giving either potential program some extra story-weight. While I wouldn't necessarily like it, there's even some case to be made for Umaga challenging Hardy, given their history around the Intercontinental title that went a long toward pushing Jeff up the card.

The possibilities abound, but I predict Hardy will hold onto his strap going into Wrestlemania, and walk out with the belt still around his waist.

Cena-Orton main events Wrestlemania
With the Smackdown side of the Wrestlemania main event out of the way, it's time to turn to Raw. Like so many others, I predicted Cena-Batista up until the two clashed early at SummerSlam. And even though the first encounter had happened, I also leapt on the bandwagon, and smelled a rematch in Houston. When Batista first got drafted to Monday nights, this main event seemed like a no-brainer.

Batista has been hurt and is out until next summer. A handful of folks smell a rat, and are suspecting an early return for The Animal, a la what happened with John Cena in early 2008. While it's possible, I don't think WWE would play that card so soon again. There's potential for Triple H to be the one to fill in Batista's spot. After all, he has a hell of a history with Cena, and the two are tied at one-a-piece in one-on-one matches. But I suspect that WWE will, instead, maintain its original focus of having the biggest stars of the new generation go head to head. There are three leaders of that generation—Cena, Batista, and Randy Orton.

Orton and Cena have a history of their own, complete with plenty of unfinished business from their incomplete program in 2007, and Orton twice beating Cena by dubious means in multi-man main events in 2008. The one legit, one-on-one, WWE match these guys did have (excluding their brief encounter on the Eddie tribute Raw) delivered big time, at SummerSlam 2007. With both men about as over as they've ever been, I'd say it's high time for a rematch.

Ric Flair goes to TNA
I hope this one doesn't come true. Ric Flair just can't seem to stay away from wrestling, though, and once he's legally able, I foresee him jumping to TNA. Despite receiving a hero's sendoff from WWE, I can't say I'd be surprised to see him surface with the competition, against his better judgment, much the way he did in going back to and sticking with WCW for the better part of a decade after his first WWF run.

Out of respect for his WWE send off, it's my hope that Flair will only fill an authority or managerial role with the company, and not go so far as to appear in a nationally televised match for TNA. We'll see…

Shelton Benjamin gets his shot in the main event
I'm not convinced that Shelton Benjamin has arrived at a level where he's a legitimate threat for a world title. Regardless, he may be the most talented and most long-standing WWE star to never get a meaningful shot at the big belt. I don't expect that he'll win it, but I do see 2009 as the year Benjamin gets to headline a PPV.

MVP heads to Raw or out of the company
What a downward spiral MVP has been on for the last two thirds of this year. After Jeff Hardy's suspension, MVP headed into Wrestlemania as the odds on favorite to win Money in the Bank, and with that, to likely get a world title run. Matt Hardy stepped in to cost MVP the MitB match, in so doing, reigniting their red hot feud from the year before. And so, it looked like MVP was poised for another high profile feud, with his US title as a focal point. A month later, Hardy took his strap, and it was the last time he so much as sniffed gold in 2008.

MVP's losing streak is not a good program for him. The character needs revitalizing badly, and I don't expect he'll get it if he doesn't have the opportunity to reinvent himself on another brand. ECW would be a step down. Raw seems to fit MVP like a glove.

Of course, if MVP doesn't go to Raw, it'll mean he probably didn't escape the doghouse, in which case, his days with WWE will almost certainly be numbered. I'd hate to see it happen, but it's entirely possible MVP won't be with WWE in one year's time.

A homegrown TNA talent wins the world title at Bound for Glory
The booking of TNA is exponentially more difficult to predict than that of WWE. Some would argue this is a good thing, but I am not commenting on TNA being innovative or original, but rather on the company's booking team being just stupid enough that you never know what they'll pull next.

Regardless, the natural, poetic way in which to play out 2009, the MEM story, and perhaps even Sting's TNA run is for Steve Borden or another established import to drop the world title at Bound for Glory. For three straight years, Sting has won the title at this show—a hero against Jarrett and Angle, a rising villain against Joe. None of these wins were inherently bad booking decisions, as they did mark meaningful moments for TNA. However, if this is really supposed to be their showcase event, the company should take a page from WWE and use it elevate new main event talent. True, WWE hasn't always done this (the first few Manias revolving around Hogan, the XXIII and XXIV main events featuring no new main eventers), but they have done it when they had the talent to do so, and when it made sense in the larger scheme of the booking. TNA is burgeoning with guys who could be major stars, and it's time to see how high they can soar.

I'm not saying that Sting needs to hold onto the title for a full year to do this, but having him or another performer of his stature walk into the biggest show of the year with the title and drop it to an up-and-comer, and a homegrown talent—Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, hell, Eric Young—would be perfect way to tie up loose ends and set the company moving forward in a meaningful way.

CM Punk heads to Smackdown
As regular readers know, I am a fan of CM Punk, and was quite sorry to see his star burn so bright, then burn out so fast on Raw this year. Things change, but the amount of star power—and, specifically, star power that WWE wanted to protect, probably doomed Punk's underdog run from the beginning. While his IC title chase is fun, it's a bit beneath him now, and the guy would benefit from a fresh start. A move to Smackdown should be just the ticket.

That's all for this column. Next time, we take a look at the importance of injury angles. See you in seven.