Ice Chilled Presents: My Likely/Unlikely Predictions for 2018

My Likely/Unlikely Predictions for 2018 

Based on the annual PostWrestling.com tradition

In addition to their best and worst ofs, the Post Wrestling guys have an annual game called "Likely/Unlikely" where bold predictions are made and everyone chimes in on whether or not they are likely. This year, I'm jotting my answers down to see how well I do come 2019.

Aleister Black wins the NXT Championship.

My Take: Likely. He's definitely a guy who's been quite protected in the booking of NXT. I'll go one step further and predict that he'll be the one that beats Andrade "Cien" Almas for the NXT Championship.

Lucha Underground tapes season 4 and the full season airs on the El Rey Network.

My Take: Unlikely. Season 3 was split into two parts and the wait between the two parts was a long one. In addition, the seemingly ongoing uncertainty makes me think that this is unlikely.

At least one football game funded by Alpha Entertainment takes place.

My Take: Unlikely. I feel as though a sane person (who learns from the past) would run their own football league during the NFL offseason and not try to compete with it. The trademarks are in place but it looks as though there are a lot of logistics left to be figured out and I don't think they'll all be done in time to run a season of this XFL 2.0 thing during the NFL's 2018 offseason. I would think that Spring/Summer 2019 would be the ideal time to launch.

A price increase is introduced on the WWE Network.

My Take: Unlikely. I go back and forth on this one. I wouldn't be surprised if a price increase occurred this year but I'll just say that they'll refrain from rocking the boat and keep the $9.99 price, especially if their main goal is to continue to attain new subscribers. If a tiered system is implemented then I'd suggest that the $9.99 bracket include everything that is currently included with it and that a higher price point would include new and extra content such as perhaps certain live events like a Starrcade or Indy shows.

The WWE leaves the USA Network.

My Take: Unlikely. I feel like the UFC/FOX situation would definitely affect WWE's home status with the USA Network. As far as a move goes, I'll say not yet. My nostalgic side wants them to stay there for a long time.

Chris Jericho is a part of the G1 Climax this Summer.

My Take: Unlikely. Chris is a busy dude. I feel as though his Summer will likely be spent touring with Fozzy and/or perhaps WWE. I would LOVE to see that but he would burn through tons of potential future opponents in this tournament that would slightly take some bloom off of the rose for potential future feuds with some of his G1 opponents. If Jericho in NJPW is strictly a short-term thing then I can definitely see a Jericho G1 being more possible. However, if NJPW is going to be a thing that he does in between his WWE deals then I can see him not competing in the G1 and concentrating on proper builds such as the one with Kenny Omega leading up to Wrestle Kingdom 11.

Bobby Lashley faces Brock Lesnar on a WWE Pay-Per-View.

My Take: Likely. It seems as though a Lashley WWE return is becoming more and more likely. If "Walking Armageddon" does return to the WWE then I can't possibly see them restraining themselves from booking these two behemoths go at it...Unless they're patient and go for the slow burn build to a match at WrestleMania 2019.

Ronda Rousey has a wrestling match with Stephanie McMahon.

My Take: Likely. I know that Rousey/Asuka has been the talk of the town as of late but I could definitely see Stephanie on the other side of the ring against "Rowdy Ronda" instead of "The Empress of Tomorrow". In the minds of the company, Steph may be more of a marquee name in their eyes over Asuka. More often than not, WrestleMania cards are more about the company wanting to create "moments" rather than put on great matches like Wrestle Kingdom shows do. So in that regards, I would not be the least bit surprised if Ronda vs Stephanie goes down.

The Bray Wyatt gimmick is abandoned.

My Take: Unlikely. They would have done so already. However, I can see them wanting to alter the character a little bit with that whole Sister Abigail deal.

Don Callis and Scott D'Amore are still executives at Impact Wrestling.

My Take: Likely. At least I hope so for the company's sake because it is in sore need of some stability. With all of the turnover in the company throughout 2017, I can see the smart money being on one of these two guys being gone from the company at year's end but for positivity's sake let's hope that they can stay for a while. 

The Wrestler featured on the WWE 2K19 video game is CM Punk.

My Take: Unlikely. If you're going to see CM Punk in a video game this year it's going to be in EA UFC 3...or maybe unofficially in Fire Pro World...or maybe as a great looking CAW on WWE 2K18. As far as WWE 2K19 goes, I'm betting that Ronda Rousey will be the preorder bonus.

Jeff Jarrett appears on WWE programming.

My Take: Unlikely. I guess it's not impossible but it doesn't seem likely. I honestly don't know where Jeff will end up next. Obviously not in Impact, not in the WWE or Ring of Honor. I can't see him wanting to get entangled with Lucha Underground's crazily constrictive contracts. AAA may be a possibility if they're not still salty over his last appearance with them. Last time he appeared on NJPW, it was with The Bullet Club but I don't know what role he would play there in 2018. I definitely don't see him starting yet another company from the ground up. How about Billy Corgan's NWA? It seems like a natural fit if there aren't any hard feelings over the whole Impact fiasco. 

Brock Lesnar is a WWE performer on December 31st.

My Take: Likely. Although I can definitely see the WWE and UFC working up some kind of deal similar to when Brock had his last UFC fight against Mark Hunt. If it were to occur, I could see it happening sometime this year (perhaps against Francis Ngannou), but I don't see him passing up another lucrative contract with the WWE.

A deal is in place for NXT to begin airing on regular television.

My Take: Likely. Tough one! When NXT aired on the USA Network as part of WWE Week, it aired one hour earlier than when RAW and SmackDown Live usually start. Despite that, NXT was the highest rated show of the night for the USA Network. If NXT were to start airing weekly on USA, it could likely see a further increase in viewership as you're more likely to get more casual viewers than you would on the WWE Network. The question I have here is this: does the USA Network really want yet another night of wrestling? Granted NXT is only an hour which leaves the network with a free hour to air NCIS or other programs.If the WWE moves to FOX then I could definitely see NXT airing on FS1 or FS2. Should the WWE start airing NXT on their current home before a possible move? What if NXT starts airing after a month or two of promotion only to leave the network however many months or year(s) later? It all hinges on the UFC's status with FOX. With that I'm mind, I'll go ahead, be bold and say likely. I can see USA putting NXT on at 7PM (just like they did last month) so as to leave their prime time slot open for whatever. If anything, this move would keep people from tuning away from USA at 8PM who would probably otherwise be all like "wrestling tonight? Again?!". This scenario is the network having their cake and eating it too because wrestling fans will tune in whenever it's on and 7PM isn't a difficult time slot to follow.

Conor McGregor vacates the UFC Lightweight Championship.

My Take: Likely. It's been over a year and we haven't seen one defense yet. I think it's time.

Conor McGregor has a boxing fight booked.

My Take: Unlikely. I see his 2018 with one (maaaybe two) UFC fights at the maximum. If he were to go back to boxing it would likely be against another big money fight draw such as Manny Pacquiao (unless Floyd Mayweather were to come out of retirement for a rematch but I don't see that happening). Also, if Zuffa goes into boxing, I can see Conor being their big star but this would probably all go down next year if at all.

Georges St-Pierre fights at welterweight.

My Take: Unlikely. With Dana White constantly being down on the dude as well as GSP's bout with colitis, I could seem him being all done.

Daniel Cormier retires as UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

My Take: Unlikely. I can see him wanting to prove himself especially after that loss to Jon Jones before "Bones" got into more trouble again. After that funny business, I can most definitely see Cormier want to go through as many bad ass motherfuckers as he can. Why retire when you still have what it takes to strengthen your legacy?

Francis Ngannou is the UFC Heavyweight Champion at the end of 2018.

My Take: Unlikely. Now I'm not saying that he won't win the championship. All I'm saying is that the heavyweight division can be unpredictable. Anyone can knock anyone out at any time if they have the power (and especially if we're talking about Stipe Miocic here). Due to this nature, I'm going to say that whatever happens, he won't be champion at year's end. Maybe he fights twice this year and loses that hypothetical heavyweight championship in the second fight.

The UFC leaves FOX.

My Take: Unlikely. Looking at the landscape, I'd say that despite looking for the best deal, they'll probably end up staying on FOX.

The UFC leaves TSN in Canada.

My Take: Unlikely. Who else do they have up there? The Fight Network? Aren't they owned by Anthem? It would appear as though their hands are full enough with Impact Wrestling for them to make any kind of serious bid for the UFC.

Brock Lesnar has a fight.

My Take: Likely. I originally wrote down unlikely but as I think about it, Lesnar's WWE contract reportedly ends around WrestleMania and although I see Lesnar resigning with the WWE, I could also see the UFC or even Brock himself make a major play for a fight in the octagon this year. In a landscape where Ronda Rousey no longer fights and Conor McGregor is surrounded by a field of uncertainty, the UFC needs all of the star power that it could get this year.

Paul Heyman joins Bellator as an executive.

My Take: Unlikely. He seems content with what he's been doing.

CM Punk has a fight.

My Take: Likely. The logical thing to do would be to put him on a prelim on a FOX card but let's be real. Pro wrestling fans are going to be tuning into this one so why not capitalize and put it on PPV?

Joe Rogan leaves the UFC.

My Take: Likely. In 2016 he said that he'd 100% leave if the Fertitta brothers sold. Welp, they sold and he resigned with the UFC for at least one more year but with a reduced schedule. Could that be his way of softening the blow before he leaves completely?