NFL Conference Championship teams and their WWE counterparts (Year 8: 2017-18)

NOTE: To see the previous years, follow these links: 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17).

It may not seem like it with the rarity of my publishing schedule, but I always look forward to sitting down and writing, and this is an article I am sure to prioritize.

This will be the eighth year of comparing WWE superstars and NFL teams playing for the AFC and NFC titles, but this year sat with me as a challenge this time around. In the last year, my passion for the NFL has waned in favor of the Premier League and the NHL, and my excitement for wrestling has drifted away from the WWE toward the international circuit. I'm subscribed to New Japan World to see all the NJPW events, and I have even taken to watching CMLL shows from Mexico City on their YouTube channel.

I actually started to consider using NJPW wrestlers in favor of WWE wrestlers because I had more interest in it, but WWE is still good at creating defined characters and has a slew of good male and female talent. Plus, the language barrier does make it somewhat difficult for me to fully define the characters of the Japanese talent.

It really took some time to match the NFL's teams this year with their counterparts, but I eventually was able to put this together by making a slight adjustment: The teams this year will be matched with stables, not individual talent. Makes sense, right? Team sport; use wrestling teams.

Let's give this a go!

New England Patriots - The Shield

The Shield made their grand return to WWE television this year, and I have largely thought the idea was a good one. If they want Roman Reigns to be a big deal at WrestleMania, then returning him some popularity by restoring the faction that made him popular was an inspired plan. Shame about the meningitis outbreak and the Dean Ambrose injury botching those plans.

Fact is, though, the Shield is the most successful of WWE stables post-Evolution, not only winning the tag titles multiple times, but also producing World title reigns for all three members. At this point, only Seth Rollins isn't a Triple Crown champion, and he only needs an IC or US title reign for that.

Likewise, New England has been the most successful team in the last decade-plus. Admittedly, the last couple of years have been the failure of the AFC to produce talented challengers, but still, it's an impressive feat.

If the Pats are a long-running contender, then the Shield would be the recent faction that works best.

Jacksonville Jaguars - The Balor Club

I really lucked out that the Balor Club finally became a real thing in the last couple of months, but it is a group that kind of fits the Jags perfectly.

First of all, both have come into their own very recently, at least on television. The Balor Club has a history of success, but it was years ago, in another company, and with a better, cooler name.

Likewise, the Jags history of success pretty much stopped in the early 2000s. Their return to success is welcome, but it does feel a little out of nowhere.

Additionally, while Anderson and Gallows have been limited in their main roster success, Balor was the inaugural WWE Universal Champion before getting injured and shoved down the card. This has made the man fly well under the radar when he should be prominent.

Jacksonville has also been under the radar because defense doesn't catch attention the way that the offense does. But if people aren't careful, both the Club and the Jags will sneak up on you.

Philadelphia Eagles - Absolution

For those who have no idea who Absolution is, they're the stable Paige created upon her return, featuring Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose. And yes, this team is getting the nod for the Eagles because their head member, Paige, is on the IR like quarterback Carson Wentz,

It's really hard not to immediately bring the injuries to mind when looking at these two. All I can think of when seeing both is how much better they were early when everyone was healthy and they were dominating.

That said, both teams have shown merit recently with how their non-focal members have handled themselves. Deville and Rose appear like they can be good hands on Raw, and the Eagles have done solid work the last few weeks in earning themselves this NFC title opportunity at home.

It remains to be seen whether Absolution breaks up in the near future, and the Eagles will most likely need to hope for Wentz to return regardless of the result this weekend. But the members that are healthy helped get where they are too, and they deserve the opportunity to make something happen.

Minnesota Vikings - The New Day

These two teams share more than just being excessively colorful and having eating being part of their histories (Booty-O's and the Purple People Eaters).

Both teams have qualities that would make you think they wouldn't be able to succeed, and yet somehow, the combinations make them great.

The Vikings have lost a running back and are using their third choice to lead their offense as quarterback. And yet, I don't think this team would be as successful at full strength and with either Teddy Bridgewater or Sam Bradford behind center. It's just an offense that is efficient and does what it has to do.

The New Day's comedy schtick should have been enough to shove them out of the picture long ago, and yet they remain the biggest tag team act in the company. They probably should have gone over the Shield at Survivor Series, but then again, the Shield are a nostalgia act to some extent, and those always win in WWE... I'm not bitter.

At some point, this team may break and one of them may make a singles run that gets them up the card, but if I'm blunt, I'd rather they be successful in the tag division for as long as humanly possible. As for the Vikings, if I'm assessing honestly, they're the best team still standing.

My pick is the Vikings to win it all, at home, against New England.