3 WWE Stories for 2008

As we are about to close out 2007, there appears to be 3 main stories which are at the top of WWE right now. The stories involve the "win or retire" stipulation Ric Flair faces, the new reign for Edge as champ, and the return of John Bradshaw Layfield aka "JBL" to the ring. It appears ECW has not qualified with any major stories, other than the strange fact that Chavo Guerrero has re-emerged to attack CM Punk. Chavo didn't make any appearance at this past Friday's Smackdown and no other mention was made of the feud, yet.

Ric Flair currently faces the "win or retire" clause which Mr. McMahon handed down on Raw weeks ago. Flair's already faced the insurmountable odds of his first two matches under this clause. First he defeated Randy Orton, with the help of Chris Jericho's distraction. Then he defeated Umaga on his own, as he barely avoided a hip splash near the crowd barrier and barely got into the ring before a 10 count. A win's a win, so Flair continues. His next match? He faces his longtime pal and at times rival, Triple H. It's hard to believe that Flair would go out quickly right before we head into a New Year, so you'd have to assume somehow he gets a win here. A few things could happen, including outside interference and Triple H going heel and being disqualified. It seems unlikely that Flair will win cleanly, although Jeff Hardy defeated HHH and not many predicted that one.

Next up we have the new title reign for Smackdown superstar Edge. Edge has aligned himself with the Major Brothers, who are going by their "real names" of Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder. They wear the same Rated R tights as Edge. A ref could easily mistake them for the current champ, as they are almost as tall, have the build and the hair. In an interesting move on Smackdown, Edge's current love interest, Vickie Guerrero, allowed Batista his title rematch against Edge. However, Vickie threw in that Batista would go up against all 3 men in a handicap match. Batista seemed to overcome the odds and thought he had the belt after a pin on his opponent. However that opponent was not Edge and Vickie claimed that Batista needed to pin the champ to claim the belt. It seems strange that this would be stated after the fact, but then again there's nobody governing over Vickie's decisions. In 2008, look for some power shifts, perhaps Teddy Long getting his GM duties back to help out the "good guys". Until then, it appears Edge, Vickie and the new Rated-R wannabes will be keeping the World Heavyweight belt away from Batista or Undertaker.

Finally there is the self-proclaimed "Wrestling God", JBL. On Smackdown, JBL delivered his farewell address and let the fans know, he will become WWE champ and headline PPV's. JBL's been out of the ring for some time now, appearing on financial shows and as a commentator. Now he'll lace up his wrestling boots again to compete. It will be interesting to see who he is given as opponents for tune ups, or if he will at all. Best guesses are that he will find second-tier wrestlers such as Kendrick and London, Cody Rhodes and others who aren't "major players" on Raw. Looking at the roster though it seems thin in terms of guys who JBL can defeat to look good. So he may just wrestle amateurs similar to the way Snitsky and Mark Henry were, until he is put into a Pay Per View match with Chris Jericho.

On a final note, the Jeff Hardy story is also intriguing, however it looks more like a match to stall time. That's no disrespect to Hardy the current Intercontinental champ, but there's several contender-type stars on their way back. Bobby Lashley is the first that comes to mind. As JR says, "business is about to pick up" as we head into an exciting 2008. Stay tuned here at WWE Characters the Blog for a look at the Top 10 stories in WWE 2007.