MR. TITO: 15 Pro Wrestling Predictions for 2025 (WWE, AEW, etc) + Reviewing 2024 Predictions
Well, well, well… It ‘tis I, Mr. Tito and I’m back here on December 31st to reveal my 2025 predictions that are sure to be 100% correct (or mostly wrong). I have to say that writing these predictions columns are very difficult because the news headlines since 2022 have been completely erratic thanks to Vince McMahon and his insanity… Hopefully, with Vince now fully out of the picture, maybe we’ll see a stable year? Probably not…
But before we even dare get into the 2025 predictions, we must review the 2024 predictions. Oh boy!
Now keep in mind, heading into 2024, CM Punk was healthy, Vince McMahon was TKO Chairman, the Rock was not on TKO’s Board of Directors, and several free agents were deciding where to go (Okada and Mercedes, in particular). Both AEW and WWE’s television deals were up in the air, too, without much indication where they’d go. I wrote and published this on 12/31/2023 without any edits, so keep that in mind for context.
Yeah, I’m making excuses, but I think it’s valid given how unpredictable wrestling has become lately with Vince McMahon’s antics and Triple H having the WWE Creative Team making fans second guess everything (which I think is a good thing).
Here we go…
Oh, one last thing… Gotta give credit where credit is due. This idea of reviewing last year’s predictions and then presenting new ones is 100% the idea of Karl Denninger @ Market-Ticker.org. Interesting no-holds-barred economic blog that is worth a bookmark. Here is his 2025 Financial Predictions which created the idea and format for this annual column. Karl hits pretty hard, so be ready for it!
2024 Predictions Review
#1 – WWE’s RAW television deal with be either with Disney or Warner Bros. Discovery, but not doubling up with Comcast/NBC/Universal.
Ooops, that didn’t happen. At the time, WWE was in serious discussions with WBD and I thought Disney would get serious about putting WWE on FX.
#2 – Terms of AEW’s TBS/TNT television contracts will be changed during 2024, whether that’s extending but with shows being terminated/changed/moved or outright being terminated.
I’ll take the point, as AEW signed an extension with WBD. Funny how predictions 1 and 2 contradict each other, which I’m now just noticing.
#3 – CM Punk will win at least 1 WWE World Title during 2024.
Damn injury bug bit CM Punk at Royal Rumble. Otherwise, I believe Seth Rollins drops that title to him on Night #1 at Wrestlemania 40.
#4 – The Rock will NOT wrestle any matches during 2024.
Ha, missed that! I should have predicted that “Rock vs. Roman won’t happen” and I would have won a point. Keep in mind that I wrote this without any knowledge he was about to join the WWE Board.
#5 – Demolition will finally come home to the WWE and be inducted into the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame.
Damn it, why can’t this prediction be true? Hopefully, they are in for 2025. I would hate for one of them to pass away and not enjoy this moment.
#6 – Sasha Banks returns to the WWE as a wrestler for 2024.
AEW threw tons of money at her, while WWE refused. Simple as that.
#7 – Endeavor will be acquired by a foreign company during 2024.
Missed on this one. There were Middle East countries in discussions to purchase them, but ultimately, they were acquired by Silver Lake based out of California.
#8 – Either Pay Per View will return or a more expensive version of WWE Network shall appear during 2024.
Missed on this, though WWE Network is finally being dissolved everywhere to sort of make me technically right here.
#9 – Nick Khan’s role within TKO or possibly Endeavor will significantly increase during 2024.
No official titles handed to him since this prediction was made, but without Vince McMahon, his role within TKO increased. Point.
#10 – Roman Reigns will join RAW full-time following Wrestlemania 40.
I figured with FOX’s deal ending during the Fall, Roman would move to RAW following Wrestlemania. Miss. But he’ll be on Netflix RAW weekly, coming soon!
#11 – AEW won’t do a third show in Wembley Stadium during 2025.
Point. They’ll be in Dallas for 2025.
#12 – Kazuchika Okada will re-join New Japan or possibly try WWE (maybe TNA?), but not officially join AEW with a full-time deal.
$4.5 million was paid to Okada to join AEW. Missed that one, but I can’t control what someone wants to foolishly pay. By the way, how did Okada do during 2024 for AEW? Oh yeah, wrestling for half empty Dynamite and Collision arenas. Just because you are big in New Japan does not translate to popular in the United States.
#13 – AJ Lee will return to the WWE during 2024 in some capacity.
Damn it, missed here. I think that we’ll see her sometime during 2025.
#14 – At least 2 ex-WWE wrestlers will leave AEW to rejoin the WWE during 2024.
Andrade and Ethan Page, thank you very much! Point!
#15 – Stephanie McMahon will make big headlines, professionally or personally, during 2024.
Appeared both at the WWE Hall of Fame and performed on Wrestlemania 40. I’ll take it, point.
OK, so I’m looking at 5 out of 15 points. 1/3 of predictions… However, context is key here. I could NOT have predicted CM Punk getting injured at Rumble, Vince getting cancelled thanks to his lawsuit, and the Rock joining TKO’s Board of Directors. But I’ll take it, as an unpredictable wrestling product is a GOOD wrestling product. Honestly, I’d rather miss more than hit because wrestling is boring when it’s too predictable.
Let’s look back at the year that was 2024…
Things got HOT and HEAVY early on the week before the Royal Rumble. First and foremost, The Rock is announced as a new TKO Board of Directors member and given a large stock bonus in doing so. This was a curious move early in the week, but then we’d learn why it was possibly announced… A lawsuit was filed against WWE (now under TKO) and Vince McMahon for Vince ignoring the terms of the NDA agreement and not fulfilling the millions owed to Janel Grant. Ms. Grant was the subject of the Spring of 2022 complaint made to the Board of Directors, as she was someone Vince befriended and then took advantage in his personal life that translated to her being hired by WWE Corporation and passed along, like a joint, to John Laurinaitis allegedly.
But it wasn’t so much the lawsuit that would finish Vince McMahon’s 2024 WWE and TKO run… It was the DETAILS released from the lawsuit that were very humiliating. Initially, WWE and TKO stood with Vince but then sponsors, such as Slim Jim, began to pull their ads from the 2024 Royal Rumble PLE. That was the last straw and Vince McMahon fully resigned as TKO Board Chairman and agreed to sell back much of his shares. Vince has remained quiet for much of 2024, as this lawsuit kept brewing but also for the Department of Justice beginning its investigation of Vince McMahon’s workplace antics in addition to financial statement fraud relating to the payouts.
So Royal Rumble happens and it appears that we’d get Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes Part 2 at Wrestlemania 40 based on Cody Rhodes winning the 2024 Royal Rumble match. APPEARED that way, but WWE was still dizzying from the Vince McMahon scandal. In my opinion, in order to squash that story, I believe TKO and the Rock agreed to push Rock vs. Roman at Wrestlemania 41 instead, hence why we saw that Smackdown angle of Cody giving up his opportunity to wrestle Roman on the Smackdown after the Royal Rumble.
A funny thing soon happened… WWE immediately fielded TONS of online complaints about shoehorning Rock vs. Roman and disallowing Cody Rhodes to “finish his story” by being the guy who defeats Roman Reigns instead. Ironically, it was 2023 where everyone was clamoring for Rock vs. Roman to happen and was disappointed when it didn’t happen… But for 2024, apparently, the online segment of wrestling fans didn’t want it. The rebelled and it was convincing enough to the WWE to make the change back to Rock vs. Roman.
This reaction had a major side effect that actually made WWE better and gave us an even larger Wrestlemania 40. The heat of taking Cody’s match turned the Rock heel and instead of wanting to wrestle Roman, he wanted to join the Bloodline and feud against Cody. This created a match on Night #1 between Cody Rhodes/Seth Rollins vs. Rock/Roman Reigns. And unlike the Rock we saw during 2012 and 2013 who seemed a big off inside the ring, the Rock of 2024 looked amazing and performed at a high level. This tag match was incredible and should gain even more notoriety considering how badly injured Seth Rollins was not just for this match, but his match with Drew McIntyre but also when Seth came out during the Cody vs. Roman match that headlined Night #2. Seth was a warrior! Cody finally defeated Roman to end a great Wrestlemania 40 which should easily go down as a top 5 Wrestlemania of all time, if not the best of all time.
After Wrestlemania 40, we didn’t see Roman Reigns until SummerSlam 2024. The Rock appeared on the RAW after Wrestlemania 40 to hand Cody a note and told him “don’t break my heart again” or something like that. However, after the RAW after Wrestlemania 40, we didn’t see the Rock until his one-off PLE appearance but then never again after that.
Between Wrestlemania 40 and SummerSlam 2024, the WWE came down from a high. They tried revamping the Bloodline with Solo as its leaders and rushing the Haku brothers on screen without any introduction, much like Jacob Fatu, and it just didn’t work out as well as it could. That and Roman didn’t appear for 4 months to respond to it, even after Paul Heyman was brutally attacked. Eventually, Roman would reconstruct the OG Bloodline with the Usos and Sami Zayn and they’d feud with the “New” Bloodline through Survivor Series 2024. New Bloodline added Bronson Reed to their team, while the OG Bloodline, with Paul Heyman returning, added CM Punk. Seems like this match and finish set-up CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns down the line.
Interestingly enough, Roman Reigns vs. Solo Sikoa is set to headline the first ever Netflix RAW and the question is this… What will happen to possibly set up Wrestlemania 41? Is that going to finally finish off the “New” Bloodline or will the Rock make a massive return on the first ever Netflix show. OH YEAH, let’s talk about that… WWE signed 2 massive new deals for the next 5 years, possibly 10 with Netflix. To air Smackdown on Friday nights on USA Network, WWE signed a new 5 year, $1.4 billion deal with USA Network (translates to $280 million per year, up from their RAW deal of around $200 million). But with Netflix, WWE signed a 10 year deal for $5 billion! That translates to $500 million per year, though Netflix has the option to OPT OUT after the fifth year.
WWE heads into the year with lots of intrigue, particularly on the “will they, won’t they” have the Rock performing front and particularly based on how exciting 2024’s Rumble to Wrestlemania was.
For All Elite Wrestling (AEW), I just don’t think they’ve recovered from losing CM Punk. In my view, they’ve lost a lot of TRUST with wrestling fans based on how Tony Khan let his Young Buck EVPs make a mockery out of the promotion. They act too childish and petty to be EVPs, and neither has a shred of accountability for any actions or antics they’ve done. Meanwhile, Tony Khan is spineless as a manager and a TERRIBLE creative writer. He assumes that wrestling is just about workrate inside the ring and that storylines, promos, or credibility is secondary.
During late 2023, he signed Adam Copeland (Edge in WWE)… While he’s still a good worker, he’s an older worker that we’ve already seen the best of inside the ring. While the same can be said about Christian, Christian is able to change his character and have a believability about him that Copeland cannot do. However with Copeland, being in AEW, whom he defended after the WWE signed CM Punk, caught up to him and he broke his leg jumping off the top of a cage.
AEW also signed Will Ospreay to perform full-time with AEW during 2024… He’s been a solid performer, no doubt, but just brings quality inside the ring but struggles with character, storylines, or anything to hype the match he’s about to have. Okada spoke to both AEW and WWE, but it was $4.5 million and fewer dates that caught his attention. Upon his debut, he turns heel and joins the Young Bucks to be their flunky. Complete struggle for him to gain any traction in AEW ever since, appears to be a flop as a signing because of this booking decision.
And then there’s Mercedes Moné, who also negotiated between WWE and AEW. Mercedes wanted “Charlotte Money” to return, which his reportedly around $1 million base (others are reporting $550,000, which I believe is old data or wrong) plus incentives, so probably $2 million. Remember, though, Sasha Banks walked out of the WWE not once but twice. That and Sasha is older with lots of in-ring miles accumulated which caused a few injuries to her smaller frame. There are rumors that Tony paid her around $3 million and while maybe that number can’t be substantiated, Mercedes herself has bragged that she’s making more money than she ever has.
For Copeland, Ospreay, Mercedes, and Okada being added to the AEW roster, what was the return on that likely $10 million+ per year investment on those 4 talents?
Bad attendance.
Weak merchandise sales.
Declined viewership of ALL shows.
Now, you’d probably see that last point about declined viewership and think that I’m CRAZY for stating that when Warner Bros. Discovery just signed them to a 5 year extension worth up to a reported $180 million per year. GREAT point, but we’re living in an age where Cable channels are overpaying on live sports content. WBD is the same idiot network who overpaid for the NHL only for that league to draw poor viewership patterns. Because the streamers have killed the movie and rerun market for channels like TBS and TNT, they’re desperate for live content that the streamers are still struggling as a market to enter.
However, Warner Bros. Discovery is a ticking timebomb. They are $45 billion in Debt, with many properties losing value, movie studios struggling to see returns, and their Cable channels keep declining. They are big into publications, too, which is also failing with nobody buying magazines. There is a legitimate chance that this company changes its make-up during 2025, as that big pile of debt needs to be paid off.
Problem with AEW is that it started with pushing their own stars but has since morphed into what TNA became and that was employing wrestlers who had already given their best stuff to another promotion. Excuse me, not employing, but overpaying.
AEW needs drastic changes both at Creative but also Talent Relations & Development. Until that happens, expect more of the same from AEW during 2025.
With that said, let’s get into the 2025 predictions. Again, I’m writing this stuff on or before 12/31/2024, so many unexpected things could happen during the dangerous waters of January where contract rollover or expire and the Rumble to Wrestlemania season begins.
Personally, I’m GLAD that I get my WWE predictions wrong because Triple H and his Creative Team are doing a good job at building and delivering on surprises. Yes, wrestling is scripted, but Triple H’s management makes you build anticipation and suspend disbelief. Wrestling is fun when you cannot predict it!
2025 Predictions
#1 – Vince McMahon will force his way back into the WWE or TKO, or sue them.
Thanks to his buddy Donald Trump, those Department of Justice investigations will be dropped and maybe Vince gets pardoned? Then, I’d expect some legal threats will be pushed to Janel Grant or Vince will just settle with her to go away once and for all. However, I could see Vince McMahon going after TKO/WWE for this situation, as he was acting inappropriately at a workplace and the liability of what happens on company time falls on the company. Vince could argue that this lawsuit defamed him and that many company details were leaked. I think he could argue that he was pressured to leave the company unprofessionally as their TKO Chairman. I could see TKO possibly settling with Vince and bringing him back on for some advisory role to possibly ease a legal challenge.
#2 – AJ Lee will return to the WWE and wrestle at least once.
Appearing in the 2025 Royal Rumble match makes too much sense and I think that will happen. If that’s all we get, that’s perfectly fine. But she left abruptly, too, and was put in a difficult situation after CM Punk left and then there was the Stephanie McMahon tweet… As CM Punk redeems himself upon his WWE return, it’s a perfect opportunity for AJ Lee to redeem herself too. Rumble return is happening and if that goes really well, I could see a big return for her.
#3 – WWE will change its Premium Live Event model and make it more expensive for WWE fans.
Look at UFC… They make a killing on Pay Per View revenues. I could see WWE having their PLEs on a separate streaming network and then maybe creating a separate “WWE Network” like service for archived shows. Giving all of that stuff away for just $9.99 or slightly higher on Peacock will go the way of the dinosaur and I expect TKO/Endeavor to make clear how they’ll monetize the PLEs more for 2025 and moving forward. Having a cheap outlet for live PLEs had a great run from 2014-2024, I’m afraid.
#4 – Kevin Owens will be tempted to join AEW, but ultimately remains with WWE.
Much of Owens’s PWG friends are in AEW, but he’s already wrestled many of them before. What does he need to prove against any of them? Well, AEW could overpay for him and give him less dates… But I think there is such a TRUST built between Owens and Triple H, and overall, it doesn’t seem like Kevin Owens is struggling as a husband or dad. Seems like WWE accommodates him quite well and he seems personally and professionally happy. I could see WWE offering Kevin a trainer and maybe a creative role packaged in at the tail end of his newer deal. Kevin is smart enough to know that AEW isn’t the best place to be right now and WWE is.
#5 – The Rock will perform, inside the ring, at Wrestlemania 41.
I initially predicted Rock vs. Roman happens at Wrestlemania 41, but I’m suspicious of recent news headlines and Cody vs. KO being booked at Royal Rumble 2025. However, I could see the Rock’s full heel turn on Roman Reigns happening at the end of Punk’s reported match against Roman, possibly forming an alliance with CM Punk and Paul Heyman.
#6 – The Rock will hold a WWE World Title at least once during 2025.
We keep hearing rumors of Rock not performing during Rumble or Wrestlemania… I’m calling bluff here, but maybe it’s just not the Royal Rumble. I think Rock will come back and maybe build something for SummerSlam 2025 which is now a 2-night event. Maybe Rock defeats Cody for the WWE Title and then defends it against Roman to headline SummerSlam?
#7 – Paul Heyman is definitely turning heel on Roman Reigns during 2025.
No doubt in my mind. Heyman is too good of a heel asset and can build up anyone to face the newly turned babyface Roman Reigns. And I think he’ll turn heel to join CM Punk to create a series of matches between the two, possibly forming an alliance with the Rock and the Solo Bloodline.
#8 – WWE and TNA’s relationship will expand during 2025.
Say his name and he’ll appear… I thought that WWE and TNA struck gold on a few moments and I expect things to really happen between both promotions during 2025. It would NOT shock me if TNA becomes a second developmental territory of the WWE and WWE active roster wrestlers are sent there to refresh their characters. They worked well together during 2024 and I expect more of the same. I wouldn’t be surprised if, for example, Tessa Blanchard was signed to TNA to test the waters out for her to join NXT and eventually WWE.
#9 – Shane McMahon will join AEW.
Here comes the money… From Tony’s bank account. I fully expect for Shane McMahon to be revealed as an on-screen authority figure for AEW during 2025. They actually need someone like that, so it could be a good fit. But I just don’t see any role for Shane in the TKO owned WWE.
#10 – Demolition finally gets into the WWE Hall of Fame.
This is the year, folks! Demolition squashes their beef with WWE and rejoins the family.
#11 – Major restructuring changes are in store for Warner Bros. Discover that will have an impact on AEW.
$45 billion in debt and their CNN channel has seen a massive viewership drop following the election. Print media continues to die, while their movie properties are losing money. Trust me, there is a LOT riding on James Gunn’s Superman next year as the success from that film could make or break their movie studio. Meanwhile, Cable/Satellite subscriptions continue to decline as we were once around 95 million households during 2012 and are cling to hold around 70 million. Remember, the WBD CEO/President is hostile towards the MAX streaming channel. Even if that channel should be part of their modern business model, HE hates it just like he hated the NBA and refused to pay for it. I could see WBD doing exactly as FOX did a few years ago by selling all of their intellectual properties, movie/TV archives, and several channels to an Apple, Google, or Amazon That will leave WBD (probably renamed) with Discovery, TBS, TNT, CNN, and maybe a few other channels to operate like a media company as FOX has been doing since selling out to Disney for over $70 billion. But, there is also a chance that they sell TBS and TNT and that could greatly affect AEW who just signed a 5 year extension.
#12 – WWE and UFC will try to cross-promote, but it shall fail miserably.
They key person in this equation is Dana White and the last thing he wants his legitimate UFC promotion tied up with is scripted wrestling. Now, there is a difference between a UFC star retiring and joining the WWE versus the promotions heavily cross-promoting on each other’s events and hosting a reported boxing match between a UFC fighter and WWE wrestler. Stuff like that won’t work… Endeavor/TKO has to realize that both have separate worlds and entirely different fanbases. The ONLY way I see both cross pollinating is if WWE incorporates even more MMA moves than before (they’ve taken a lot already) and if UFC improves its television production and hype to resemble WWE shows. Other than that, I just don’t see Dana White cooperating.
#13 – Jordynne Grace will join AEW, not WWE.
Reportedly, Jordynne Grace’s contract is up in January, therefore, we’ll know instantly how right (or very wrong) my prediction is. Everyone senses that she’s a shoe-in to join WWE, based on her previous work with WWE… But hold on, her only “WWE work” was participating in the 2024 Royal Rumble match while she performed only in NXT afterward. If that is how WWE views her, then I could see her taking a bigger payday from a desperate Tony Khan. And I just don’t see the demand from the WWE, given their roster of developed women that they take pride in pushing. Tony breaks that checkbook out and will make it happen. Not saying this is a bad thing, as AEW needs more depth in their women’s division and she could instantly be a top star there compared to the WWE with several older stars coming back and Rhea/Bianca pretty much ruling the roster now.
#14 – Tony Khan is going to shake up his back-stage management group.
While many can show that the new WBD deal is a measure of success for AEW, their declining viewership, attendance, and merch sales paint a different story. I see Tony pivoting possibly on Talent Relations and Creative, with him trying to promote other internal candidates or hiring someone from the outside to help manage the company (adds to that Shane McMahon discussion). He needs help and he’ll soon realize (hopefully) that WWE has grown because they are now a TEAM instead of a dictatorship as they had under Vince McMahon. The EVP Bucks probably won’t like this and will probably leak many details about these plans to the Observer boys, but it needs to happen. Tony is doing too much and he’s just not talented at doing it, while Talent Relations needs a ton of help.
And finally….
#15 – Cancel culture is coming for Triple H.
I expect those in the online community, particularly those with rooting interests for AEW, to drum up some older stories about Triple H. For example, there is that Joanie Laurer (Chyna) story claiming that Triple H “sexually assaulted her”. There could be stories implicating both Triple H and Shawn Michaels, maybe something involving Shawn during 1996-1998 that Triple H may have covered. There might be other WWE scandals that Triple H had full knowledge of but he helped cover up as an EVP. Maybe something else? There is a brewing jealousy among the AEW fanbase on how good WWE has it now with Triple H in charge and I expect some online sleuths to come up with “controversies” to bring HHH down. Then, someone like Dave Meltzer will take the bait and parrot those same conspiracies. As WWE gets even bigger for 2025 with Netflix kicking off, the target on Triple H will only increase as well.
LAST WORD: 2024 was a FUN year, holy cow, particularly on the WWE side of the ledger. BUT, AEW, to their credit, did put on Pay Per Views that their fans enjoyed and at the end the day, that could matter for them. What WWE is doing, however, is gaining mainstream appeal again and that’s going to continue to grow professional wrestling in the future. However, WWE needs to look in their rear view mirror… They are still too dependent on Roman Reigns and they need to start focusing on pushing the next big star to eventually take their place. I’m not sure if that’s Bron Breakker or not… Meanwhile, AEW has to figure out a way to manufacture their own talents instead of signing WWE or New Japan leftovers. They’ll become TNA who ditched creating their own talents by instead signing ex-WWE/WCW/ECW stars instead and hence their doom through the early 2010s. Promotions WIN wrestling wars when they can feature new stars or repackage talented ones in ways that other promotions haven’t seen before.
Anyway, enjoy your 2025 and I’m grateful for YOU as a reader. I wish you the best!
Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ