WWE Predictions 2018: Royal Rumble Winner, WrestleMania 34 Main Event, MITB

The start of a new year means big things on the horizon in WWE. The Royal Rumble is the first pay-per-view of 2018, and WrestleMania 34 will be here before you know it.

Here are five predictions for the next 12 months in WWE:

Shinsuke Nakamura will win the Royal Rumble

The most logical WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 34 is AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. The easiest way to get there is by having the Japanese star win the 30-man battle royal. John Cena and Roman Reigns might be the favorites to win the match, but Nakamura would get the best reaction from the live crowd. WWE teased a match between Styles and Nakamura at Money in the Bank in June, and it’s time that they pull the trigger on making it happen.

Roman Reigns will beat Brock Lesnar in the WrestleMania 34 main event

This has clearly been WWE’s plan since WrestleMania 33, and there’s no reason to believe the company has changed course. Lesnar has looked strong as the WWE Universal Champion, defeating the likes of Samoa Joe, Braun Strowman and AJ Styles. Roman Reigns defeated John Cena and Samoa Joe clean in the last few months of 2017, and he joined Lesnar as the only other wrestler to defeat The Undertaker at WrestleMania last April. Seth Rollins interfered when Reigns and Lesnar met in the WrestleMania main event three years ago, but Reigns will pin Lesnar in the rematch.

Dean Ambrose will turn heel

An Ambrose heel turn has been a long time coming. He’s always been a babyface as a singles star, and a turn could be just what his character needs. His injury makes the timetable hard to gauge, and Ambrose might not be ready for WrestleMania. Whenever it happens, you can bet that Seth Rollins will be the wrestler that’s on the other end of Ambrose’s turn. Reigns will probably be involved, as well, since The Shield reunited a few months ago.

Rusev will win Money in the Bank

Big things are coming for Rusev in 2018. WWE didn’t give him much of a push in 2017, but he organically got over with the audience and has quickly become one of the most popular superstars on “SmackDown Live.” Even before Rusev became a fan favorite, he was one of the most underutilized heels on the roster. Let’s just hope he doesn’t suffer the same fate as Baron Corbin and have an unsuccessful cash-in attempt.

Samoa Joe will win a world title

On the New Year’s Day edition of “Monday Night Raw,” Joe cut a flawless promo on both Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. It was just another reminder that Joe might be the best heel in WWE. He made his 2017 feud with Lesnar more interesting than anyone could’ve imagined, and his hard-hitting in-ring style almost always produces compelling matches. Whether he eventually takes the WWE Universal Championship from Reigns or moves to “SmackDown Live” and wins the WWE Championship, Joe deserves to hold the No.1 title on one of the brands.