As NXT Stand and Deliver and WrestleMania 39 are just 3 weeks away, I thought it would be interesting to do my predictions for the cards in a year’s time.
NXT Stand and Deliver
NXT North American Championship: Dragon Lee VS Axiom VS Grayson Waller VS Trick Williams
NXT Roadblock happened just a few days ago and they showed Dragon Lee in the crowd. NXT used to do this for all of their new exciting signings and I have to assume that Dragon Lee is going to be a fantastic wrestler. I think he’ll be the champ heading into WrestleMania weekend (mainly because I want him to fight Dijak in February) and I think he and Axiom will tell a great story about why they both wear masks. I’ve added Grayson Waller into the mix because I don’t think he’ll be called up to the main roster for at least another year (this show could potentially be his last on NXT) and I fully expect Trick Williams to thrive as a singles star whilst Carmelo Hayes sits on top of the NXT division.
Lyra Valkyria VS Nikkita Lyons
Nikkita Lyons is meant to be out for up to a year with multiple leg injuries. NXT wrote Lyons out of the show by having her be attacked in the NXT Parking Lot. I’ve gone over the roster and most of the people that it could be will probably be on the main roster this time next year. One person I don’t think will be on the main roster this time next year is Lyra Valkyria. I think Lyra will have a great year and will come close to winning the NXT Women’s Championship (Lyons will cost her after she finds out it was her who attacked her). It’s worth mentioning that I very nearly put Valkyria in the NXT Women’s Championship match.
NXT Tag Team Championships: The Dyad VS Tony D’Angelo and Stacks VS Indus Sher VS Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey
I am almost certain that the Dyad will hold the NXT Tag Team Championships at some point by the end of 2023. I think Tony D’Angelo and Stacks will continue to get more over as a babyface team and this could either be the show that they win the titles or leave NXT for good. Indus Sher are another team I think will hold tag team gold on NXT in the future and I’ve thrown in the team of Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey as I think they have a lot of potential to succeed.
Dijak VS Odyssey Jones
I’m really not sure what NXT are going to do with Dijak. Is he staying on the brand long-term or is he going back up to the main roster in a few months? I definitely think that if he isn’t back on either Raw or SmackDown come this time next year, he will definitely be featured on Stand and Deliver (I also think he might hold the North American Championship within the year). Odyssey Jones is someone NXT really wanted to push early on, but he unfortunately got injured and missed 9 months. I think it’s fair to say that he hasn’t looked like his old self since his return, but I believe that when he does return back to his best, he’s going to be a fundamental part of the show.
NXT Women’s Championship: Sol Ruca VS Blair Davenport
Particularly back in the 2.0 era, I’d watch most of the women’s matches and couldn’t really take too many positives out of it. However, I can’t include Sol Ruca in that category as she really impressed me straight away. I’ve already loads of times that she’s going to be the breakout star in 2023 and that will result in her walking into NXT’s biggest show of the year as the Women’s Champion. As for her challenger, I was torn between two people (Lyra Valkyria), but I went with Blair Davenport as I feel like she has a lot to offer. I expect her to be a really good heel when she finally shows up on NXT and will earn her way into WrestleMania weekend.
NXT Championship: Carmelo Hayes VS Nathan Frazer
If Carmelo Hayes doesn’t win the NXT Championship in three weeks’ time, this prediction will be completely wrong. I think Melo will hold the belt for a whole year as he’s that special and if he’s performing well, there’s no reason for him to drop the belt unless Triple H has big plans for him on the main roster. I’ve gone for Nathan Frazer as his challenger as Frazer is clearly popular with the crowd and is immensely talented. If Hayes goes on a long title run, Nathan’s the best choice to take the belt off him (as of right now).
WrestleMania 40
Night 1
Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match: LA Knight VS Montez Ford VS Ilja Dragunov VS JD McDonagh VS Ricochet VS Solo Sikoa
I fully expect LA Knight to be the star of the SmackDown Midcard division for the next 12 months. I think he’ll win the Intercontinental Championship at some point (off the person who beats Gunther). I believe Montez Ford will be a singles star within the next 12 months so putting him in this match makes sense and I can’t see either Ilja Dragunov or JD McDonagh staying on NXT for too much longer. I’ve put Ricochet in because he’d put on a great performance and he’s also an Eagles fan whilst I expect Solo Sikoa to continue to perform on a super high level. I also love throwing in Ladder matches when predicting shows.
Legado Del Fantasma VS The Hurt Business
Surely the Hurt Business are going to reform sooner rather than later. I think the trio of Bobby Lashley, Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin will dominate Monday Night Raw whilst Santos Escobar, Joaquin Wilde and Cruz del Toro will run the bingo on Friday nights. It would also be cool to see two of the best managers in recent times (MVP and Zelina Vega) tactically plan their way to a victory.
Kevin Owens VS Sami Zayn
If Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn are going to become the new Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions at WrestleMania 39, they’re going to have to have a fall from grace at some point that results in the breakup as a duo. It would most likely be Kevin Owens who would turn heel and this would lead to a match at the biggest show of all one year after they won Championship gold together.
SmackDown Women’s Championship: Raquel Rodriguez VS Bayley
It feels like Raquel Rodriguez’s destiny to become SmackDown Women’s Champion. I actually expect her to be the one to defeat Rhea Ripley for the title (MITB cash-in). In terms of her opponent, Bayley makes the most sense in my opinion. Bayley feels like she should be on SmackDown and she’d be a really good heel that Raquel would have to overcome. Whether the Role Model wins the Women’s Royal Rumble or not is another thing.
AJ Styles VS Shinsuke Nakamura
When WWE arrives in Philadelphia for WrestleMania 40, AJ Styles will be 46 and Shinsuke Nakamura will be 44. Styles and Nakamura feuded in 2018 in what should have been excellent. It was not. I genuinely think that WWE could book a match between these two men at next year’s WrestleMania where the winner is forced to retire/leaves WWE.
Raw Tag Team Championships: DIY VS The Creed Brothers VS The Judgment Day VS Pretty Deadly
One thing you can guarantee is Triple H loves Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa. Triple H particularly loves letting Gargano and Ciampa feud for over half a year. Before he can do that feud on the main roster though, he needs to have them reunite and that’s why I think they’ll become Raw Tag Team Champions. I fully expect the Creed Brothers to move up to the main roster in the near future whilst I’d be very surprised if the Judgment Day weren’t still an act in a year’s time. Finally, Pretty Deadly are destined to succeed and they feel tailor-made for a show as flamboyant as WrestleMania.
Becky Lynch VS Rhea Ripley
WrestleMania is a show where the biggest stars battle to see who's the best. It’s fair to say that there aren’t many bigger stars in WWE than Becky Lynch. Also, if Rhea Ripley beats Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania in three weeks, there isn’t much more for her to do on the showcase of the immortals when it comes to winning championships. However, beating Becky Lynch is definitely something to boost her stature even more.
WWE Championship: Seth “Freakin” Rollins VS Austin Theory
I expect that the two World titles will be split at some point. I think Seth “Freakin” Rollins is the perfect choice to win the WWE Championship off of Cody Rhodes (if Rhodes beats Reigns) and Seth has definitely earnt his spot in the Main Event of WrestleMania. As for his challenger, Austin Theory is going to be having his biggest-ever match in three weeks when he faces John Cena. I expect Theory will only get stronger from that feud and I think he could well win the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble match. Beating Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship would also be a really nice full-circle moment from all the way back in 2020.
Night 2
Brock Lesnar VS Bron Breakker
I’ve seen some things saying that Brock Lesnar is going to retire after his match with Omos. There’s no way that’s happening. Brock loves coming back for WrestleMania as he gets paid well and he’ll have someone exciting to face. Bron Breakker will definitely arrive on the main roster pretty soon and WWE will book him as a dominant force. Bron VS Brock just makes sense given WWE love having two big men brawl for 5 minutes.
SmackDown Tag Team Championships: Imperium VS The Usos
I genuinely believe Imperium will become babyfaces in the next 12 months. Whether that’s down to them changing how they act or just because the crowd gets more into them, we’ll have to just wait and see. I think they’ll go on a pretty decent run as champions and I’ve gone with the Usos as their challengers due to the Main Event more than anything else.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Carmella and Chelsea Green VS Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell VS Shotzi and Tegan Nox VS Piper Niven and Zoey Stark
I think WWE sees a lot of potential in the team of Carmella and Chelsea Green to the point that they will become WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. Indi Hartwell will surely make her way up to the main roster soon and it’s simple for her to slot into a tag team with Candice LeRae. Both Shotzi and Tegan Nox are good guys and they have history together as a team whilst I’ve put Piper Niven and Zoey Stark together just because I think that would be really cool.
Drew McIntyre VS Bray Wyatt
Similar to the Becky Lynch-Rhea Ripley match, Bray Wyatt VS Drew McIntyre is a battle between two huge names in WWE. That’s one of the reasons why I predicted this match, but the other reason is when I was going through the roster page, I couldn’t really see anywhere else for either man to go.
Raw Women’s Championship: Asuka VS Liv Morgan
Given Triple H’s track record of booking Asuka, I’d expect her to win the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania before she goes on a dominant, unbeaten run. I looked at potential challengers for Asuka and I came to the conclusion that Liv Morgan was the best choice. Liv gets better every year and I think she’ll be one of the biggest babyfaces in the company in 12 months (she kind of already is now). She could even win the Women’s Royal Rumble.
United States Championship: Bronson Reed VS Cody Rhodes
Bronson Reed has looked awesome since he returned to WWE in December. He’s dominated basically everyone that’s been thrown in front of him and it will surely lead to Bronson becoming the United States Champion in the near future. His opponent for WrestleMania could and maybe should be the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes. I personally think that this match can/will happen regardless of whether Rhodes beats Reigns in LA in three weeks. Cody going after the United States Championship and trying to take down a force as dominant as Bronson Reed would be really exciting television.
Bianca Belair VS Charlotte Flair
Bianca Belair shouldn’t be involved in the title picture in a year’s time. Neither should Charlotte Flair. Bianca Belair has said many times that Flair is the final woman she has to beat and a match between the two would be really good.
Universal Championship: Gunther VS Roman Reigns
Like I said with Imperium, I believe that Gunther will become cheered over time just simply because he’s awesome (like Seth Rollins, Rhea Ripley and the Alpha Academy right now). I expect Gunther will lose his Intercontinental Championship at some point, mainly so he can win a World title. If Rhodes beats Reigns at WrestleMania, Gunther is definitely the one who should take the Universal Championship off of the American Nightmare. As for his challenger, Roman Reigns Main Events WrestleMania when he’s on the show (I’m not counting Mania 35 as that was under different circumstances). Reigns will want to win back the title that started his legendary run and as of right now, there aren’t too many more exciting matches on paper than Gunther VS Roman Reigns.