The wrestling world was left in a state of shock last night when long-time WWE CEO Vince McMahon announced his retirement from his post. McMahon, who was in charge of the company for over four decades, has been embroiled in a massive controversy over the last few months. For Vinny Mac to retire from these issues (after facing countless others like this for the bulk of his career) is shocking, to say the least.

We can speculate on the whys of this decision some other time. The real question is this: how does Vince McMahon's retirement affect the WWE? Let's take a look at some bold predictions for the WWE in the near-future. These predictions come with the assumption that this retirement, is, in fact, legit, and not a work.

3 bold WWE predictions following Vince McMahon retiring

3. A much better Tag Team scene across both brands

One of the hallmarks of the Vince McMahon era is his apparent disregard for the Tag Team title scenes. It's no secret that Vinny Mac never thought that the Tag Team scene was on the same level as the other singles scenes, such as the US Championship or even the Intercontinental Title. Think about all the one-off teams that won tag gold for jokes.

The problem with the current tag team scene in the WWE right now is that's all too predictable what's going to happen. Once they're at the height of their popularity, one of the members will turn heel and kick-start a singles run for one man while the other gets forgotten. It's why many fans were worried that either Montez Ford or Angelo Dawkins would be thrown by the wayside despite their obvious talent.

Without Vince's stranglehold on the writing room, we should hopefully see a better, revitalized tag scene in the WWE. Perhaps in the next year, we'll see the Tag Team belts be held in the same regard as the other singles titles.

2. Less reliance on former stars

When Brock Lesnar made his return to the WWE in 2012, fans watching from their TV screens were elated. Ten years later, and Lesnar's return to face Roman Reigns was met by an audible sigh from viewers on the internet.

Vinny Mac had this uncontrollable urge in recent years to throw existing talent by the wayside and throw an older star into the main events of pay-per-views. On the surface, it's a great idea: fans love a good nostalgia trip after all. The pop when Goldberg's theme or Lesnar's theme starts playing is unmatched. However, this has always been seen as a short-sighted move by McMahon. The cheap roars of the crowd comes at the expense of building up their existing talents, potentially hamstringing them down the line.

Without McMahon to press the good ‘ol “Brock Lesnar” button, the WWE should see more of their stars get a better shot at the WWE and/or Universal Titles. Talents such as Finn Balor, Austin Theory, Seth Rollins, and Cody Rhodes will likely get a crack at the one of the titles in the future. Hopefully, this sparks the start of a much more diverse title scene, as opposed the Reigns-Lesnar clashes we've been seeing for far too long.

1. Vince McMahon will return to his post eventually

Really, though, the big question in everyone's head right now is when (not if, mind you) Vince McMahon returns. There's a significant portion of the fanbase that believes that in classic Vince fashion, he'll shake off these allegations like it's nothing. In fact, some people believe that this is just a work, and McMahon is still in charge of the WWE behind the scenes.

That very well could happen. It's not impossible for Vince McMahon to eventually return as the WWE CEO at some point. Vinny Mac has always been resilient in the face of adversity. Despite gaining a lot of heat during his career (mostly warranted heat), he's always stayed in the company.

It's hard to imagine a WWE without Vincent Kennedy McMahon. For better or for worse, he'll eventually come back to the company.