We’ve gone down the list of wrestlers down in NXT and on WWE’s main roster who look to be struggling for 2016, but now it’s time to set our sights to the opposite group—the people who will succeed.
For one reason or another, the following assortment of superstars stand out to me as people who will take dramatic steps forward in their careers this year in some fashion, whether it be winning championships, advancing from midcarder to upper midcarder, or something else along those lines.
Before we begin, it’s worth noting that plenty of other people not listed here are going to have great years, but have been doing so for a long time. Would anyone be shocked if John Cena were to win the majority of his matches once he returns? Is it going to surprise anyone if Seth Rollins comes back from injury and wins the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at some point? Scenarios like this are highly likely and to be expected, so in a way, they’re not worth talking about.
AJ Styles
It doesn’t take a genius to understand why AJ Styles is on this list. He’s a new acquisition to the company, an established name, and someone that has a sizable fan base. Since he’s a seasoned performer, WWE has rightfully not hesitated in pushing him to the upper midcard of the roster, which is where I think he’s going to continue to shine throughout the year.
Many people would probably be quick to assume he’s getting a world title reign, but while that’s a certainly a possibility, I wouldn’t be shocked if it doesn’t happen this year. 2017 is a different story, as 2016 will probably be used to test his staying power with the crowd. I expect Styles to only increase in popularity as he has more matches and his character can grow. Without any injuries to get in the way, WWE will likely give him better and better spots as the months go on, to the point where he’ll be one of the top five contenders to win the Royal Rumble, if not the favorite.
While I don’t think AJ Styles will win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship this year, I fully anticipate either the Intercontinental Championship or United States Championship to be around his waist soon enough. My guess would be the IC title goes his way before the summer kicks in and he’ll be filling a consistent role pay-per-view after pay-per-view of putting on some of the best wrestling matches of the night.
Alberto Del Rio
If history has shown us anything, it’s that when WWE doesn’t know what to do and they can’t push John Cena, they push Alberto Del Rio. I don’t know why that’s the case, as I’m not exactly the biggest fan of Del Rio, but it happens so often that I can’t keep him off this list out of spite.
Del Rio has a great look to him and he is definitely talented, but by no means do I think he should have had as many title reigns as he did, nor do I think those runs should have lasted as long as they went on. For some reason, though, it seems like every few months, WWE gets the itch to give him another championship. We’re only in February and he’s already been the United States champion twice with the possibility of winning it back again at Fastlane.
The League of Nations has a ton of potential to win the Tag Team Championship down the road this year and Del Rio is also someone WWE might want to pull the trigger on for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship reign as well. Even if he doesn’t win either of those belts, he’s certain to be one of the top heels in an environment where so many people are injured.
WrestleMania season is different than building up to Extreme Rules and after. Triple H is likely dropping the belt to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania and not continuing to wrestle after that, while Brock Lesnar will be sitting off on the sidelines, too. Since Reigns already had his feud with Sheamus, Del Rio is probably going to be the next in line to feud with the new champ. He’ll lose that feud, but then WWE will want to rehabilitate him so he doesn’t look too weak, meaning he’ll get lots of wins as an upper midcarder. Come SummerSlam, Del Rio could be someone in a high profile match against Brock Lesnar if WWE’s hurting for people to fill that role, or he could be feuding with someone like AJ Styles over the Intercontinental Championship with ease. Don’t underestimate WWE’s willingness to push Del Rio.
Braun Strowman
The biggest man in The Wyatt Family has a long, long way to go before anyone wants to see him in an Iron Man match, but that’s not going to stop WWE from pushing him in 2016. It’s going to take a truly awful performance for Strowman to be forgotten about by Vince McMahon, as his giant size is the selling point and that’s not going away any time soon.
If the rumors are true, Strowman could face The Undertaker or Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, which would be absolutely huge. The bad thing is that it would also be absolutely horrible. The intensity of his push depends entirely on WWE’s point of view regarding how green he is in the ring. If the powers that be are so mesmerized by his stature that they’re willing to sacrifice the quality of a match for the stock increase he’ll get just for having been in it, look out for Strowman to wrestle something very high profile like those two men. Hopefully, calmer heads prevail and Strowman is only involved in a tag match of some sort, but even if that’s the case, he’s definitely going to be the biggest obstacle to overcome.
WWE has protected Strowman 100% of the time he’s been on screen. He is always decimating people, never gets pinned (that’s Erick Rowan’s job) and he barely wrestles while they try to figure out what direction they want to go with him. “Up” is the clear navigation in mind, but just how far, and how do they get there? Whatever decisions WWE makes, it’s a safe bet that Braun Strowman will be getting a big increase in 2016.
Dean Ambrose
I have a feeling people are sleeping on Dean Ambrose right now, and I’m not exactly sure why. Perhaps it’s because his track record isn’t so great in big matches. Maybe it’s because he’s currently the Intercontinental champion and is booked in a match he has virtually no shot at winning. Whatever the case may be, people are underestimating just how big of a year this could be for The Lunatic Fringe.
I would go so far as to say it’s a guarantee that Ambrose will either win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in 2016 or at least be set up in a way where he’ll have multiple reigns in 2017, possibly starting at WrestleMania after winning the Royal Rumble. Then again, he could very easily become Mr. Money in the Bank and cash in on Roman Reigns down the line, turning heel and getting his first title reign in the summer.
Ambrose wasn’t booked as the final man in the Royal Rumble this year for no reason, nor do I think it was simply to subvert tropes and fool the fans that thought it was set in stone Roman Reigns and Triple H would be the last two in the ring. History has shown that whoever is the runner-up is considered very valuable to the company and goes on to have a good couple of months unless an injury or something gets in the way.
With so many injuries, Ambrose has become the default #2 babyface behind Reigns (and many would argue he should be at the top, since he gets a more consistent positive reaction from the crowd). He’ll spend some time being the guy who takes the fall to make Reigns look stronger, but that isn’t going to continue forever. In due time, Ambrose will break out of that shadow and skyrocket.
Let’s not brush aside the Intercontinental Championship while we’re at it. That in itself is a very important accessory Ambrose is carrying around. Sure, it doesn’t have the prestige it did back in the day, but that doesn’t make it something to gloss over. Ambrose is entrusted in holding the second-highest ranked belt in the company! There’s a good possibility that he’ll be defending that at WrestleMania, too, bringing more spotlight to that championship and boosting its credibility even more. Being a champion is never a bad thing for someone’s status in the company’s hierarchy and nearly everyone in WWE would love to be in Ambrose’s spot right now.
Going forward in 2016, I suspect the number of jealous people who want to take his place will continue to grow significantly bigger.
Kevin Owens
Back when Kevin Owens made his debut late in 2014, he looked like he would be given a decent push, but I don’t think any of us saw it coming that he would get that big of a rub so fast. This guy destroyed the fan favorite NXT champion immediately after he finally won the title, then did the same to him to beat him for that championship the first time they faced off, and proceeded to continue his path of destruction for quite some time.
During that period, Owens was hotshotted up to the main roster where he would defeat John Cena of all people before taking a slight dip down, getting another boost up by winning the Intercontinental Championship and now he’s in a position where he’s one of the prime candidates to wrestle any of three or four of the biggest matches at WrestleMania this year. The jury seems to be out with him against Brock Lesnar, but he could be facing The Undertaker, AJ Styles, winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal or regaining the Intercontinental Championship.
Owens has proven time and time again that he’s reliable not only in the ring, but on the mic. Undoubtedly, his work over the past year has earned him many brownie points with the powers that be, who have to be looking at him now as one of their top guys, as if they didn’t already. Out of everyone on the roster, I feel the most confident in thinking that Owens will win the Money in the Bank briefcase this year as well as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship sometime after that.
In fact, if I were a betting man, I would say Owens has a 50/50 shot at going into next year’s WrestleMania with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on his shoulders if he’s not the Royal Rumble winner challenging for it. He did such a good job in 2015 that it would be tough to beat it, but I’m more than confident he’ll find a way to top himself.
Sasha Banks
WWE’s creative team aren’t deaf—they can hear how much more over Sasha Banks is with the audience than pretty much every other woman in the company save for possibly Bayley. There’s no way whatsoever they would be stupid enough to ignore that and drag their asses on putting Sasha at the top of the pecking order.
In fact, we’ve already seen the seeds planted for this with Team B.A.D. breaking up and Sasha not getting a title match at Fastlane. Oddly enough, not fighting Charlotte for the Divas Championship at this event is the best thing for Sasha in the long run, as it means she has a significantly higher chance of winning the belt at WrestleMania now. Both routes lead to her as the champion, but having the title change happen at the biggest show of the year is much more important.
It’s very possible that Sasha Banks wins the title in April and is still holding it by the time Bayley comes to the main roster, setting up another match between the two to follow their previous stellar performances. Keep your eyes glued to the screen for NXT TakeOver: Dallas, as a title win for Asuka would almost guarantee Bayley’s exit from the developmental brand and her inevitable feud with The Boss over the Divas Championship.
Those are the names that came up in my crystal ball, but who stands out to you? Is there anyone not on this list that you think will end up having an amazing year in WWE outside of someone like Roman Reigns? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
