5 Opportunities WWE Could Potentially Miss In The Future

We’ve seen times where the WWE has missed or blown an opportunity for something brilliant. The Undertaker vs Sting, Flair vs Hogan or The Invasion were all big opportunities that have been and gone. But on the forever winding path of sports entertainment, there is always time to make new mistakes, here are a few of them that we can all pray don’t come to be.

 

5. The Four Horsewomen

When the ‘Four Horsewomen of NXT’ and the ‘Four Horsewomen of MMA’ had a ringside standoff at the 2017 May Young Classic, it instantly became one of those epic moments alongside the likes of Rousey’s debut, Trish vs Lita headlining Raw and the Wrestlemania 35 main event.

The teams consisting of Flair, Banks, Bayley and Lynch against Rousey, Baszler, Shafir and Duke, may not even make for a good match; with Shafir and Duke being particularly green. Even if it isn’t particularly great on the in-ring side, the bout itself could make for a monumental event of overbooked anarchy.

But, with the time it would take to get all eight participants on the same path, the possibility of such a clash grows less likely by the day. I’d like to think there is still time for it to happen.

 

4. A True Heyman and Bischoff WWE

With the appointment of Paul Heyman on Raw and Eric Bischoff on Smackdown as lead writers on their respective brands, it seemed as if a new era was looming upon the WWE. We were all fantasising about the return of unique set designs, pyro, gritty realism and epic storylines; this could still be the case. However, one Vincent Kennedy McMahon still runs the place, and unfortunately for us this means he’s still in control of what happens each week.

Tales of last-minute changes and storylines being outright scrapped still pop up regularly, surprising no one. It has been this way for a long time, but it does look to have a potential end.

With the XFL returning in 2020, Vince may potentially focus solely on his revived brand, leaving Paul Levesque (Triple H) to hold down the fort, and possibly paving the way for a more NXT-esque feel. Hopefully, the former heads of WCW and ECW haven’t abandoned ship before this can come to fruition.

 

3. Great Wrestling

The WWE has always prioritised storytelling over in-ring action, Vince will tell you this himself. Unfortunately, this has been a great injustice for a large section of the roster. While it benefits the likes of a Braun Strowman or a Bobby Lashley, it harms a smorgasbord of some of the worlds best wrestling talent: Nakamura, Andrade, Styles, Cesaro, Bryan, Flair, Banks, Anderson, Asuka, Black, Joe, Gable, Zayn and many more. Just because they’re being pushed doesn’t mean they’re having quality matches, and they should be.

While an occasional Rey vs Andrade or a Styles vs Cena at Royal Rumble 2017 sneak through, they still pale in comparison to the bouts of NJPW and NXT; shows which a large amount of WWE’s main roster talent comes from.

While more exceptional talent will break through the ranks in the future, it would be a great shame to see the current era of superstars slowly fade into obscurity because they aren’t the size of Brock Lesnar or able to talk like The Miz.

Just have Smackdown for great wrestling and keep Raw as it is. The best of both worlds, and it could make them feel like different brands. Maybe even just letting loose on the pay-per-views.

 

2. A Good Retirement Match for The Undertaker

Now that the final chapter of Mark Calaway’s career is seemingly closing, the question looms: When will be The Undertaker’s last match? We thought it would be against Triple H in the ‘End of an Era’ match, then when Brock broke the streak, followed by: Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns or John Cena, to name a few. There’s been plenty of chances for a classy retirement, but ‘The Dead Man’ just keeps resurrecting.

After the disaster of a match against Bill Goldberg at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia, we were all beginning to miss the days of the legends staying retired, a time which seems to have gone by. Looking at you, HBK.

However, there’s still hope. With the tag match at Extreme Rules 2019 showing that ‘Taker, alongside capable workers (and Shane McMahon), can still craft a decent match. A memorable retirement match is needed for a beloved company-man such as Undertaker. Let’s hope WWE can be clever about this, the man deserves it.

 

1. A New Monday Night War

The Monday Night Wars beckoned a rise in popularity, the likes of which wrestling may never see again. WWE and WCW, taking pot shots at one another while attempting to undermine the competition, all making for viewing that fans still crave today. As each company tried to one-up each other on a weekly basis, it garnered the need to provide a superior experience to keep the viewers loyal to a certain brand.

With WCW and ECW gone, it has left in its wake a WWE that seems to believe that they are the only option. Now, however, there is a potential true alternative, All Elite Wrestling. With NJPW being too different for American eyes to be a competitor, it gives AEW a chance to fill the shoes of WCW — they’re even on Turner Network now, too.

This is where WWE comes in. For there to be another war, Vinny Mac must acknowledge that there is competition. It would not only benefit AEW, but WWE as well. If the fans see that AEW is offering something that WWE is not, they’ll leave and not come back anytime soon. I could guarantee that a new Monday Night Wars would bring fans back to wrestling that used to watch back in the nineties and push both companies to improve, therefore making for a better product.

It seems unlikely, though. Consider ’05-’06 TNA, the last time a company attempted to dethrone the WWE via a surge of popularity and a quality product when Vince refused to even regard them as competition, and look what happened. Nothing, that’s what.