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Predicting The Next Holder Of Every WWE Championship
1/26/2024 1:58 PM
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The Big Dog's Big Reign is almost over; no surprises for guessing who topples him...
To be a champion in WWE means you’re immortalised forever - but that didn’t always mean something.
The inconsistency with which Vince McMahon booked championships caused great suffering for decades. Long-reigning absentee champions, such as Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, wrecked the prestige of the now-unified WWE and Universal Championships. WWE’s mid-card titles hadn’t meant anything for years. Only in 2022, when GUNTHER lifted the Intercontinental Championship, did that belt begin to mean something again. The majority of NXT’s championships now mean more than they have since the brand’s golden age, with the NXT Championship itself being contested in such epic wars that it’s a true accolade to leave with the belt intact.
This new-found prestige for WWE’s belt collection makes it impossible to dictate where each of them will land next, especially with thirteen active championships across Raw, SmackDown, and NXT - but when has that ever stopped us from putting on our thinking cap?
Considering current WWE booking patterns as of this article's writing and the upcoming schedule of events, here’s our take on WWE’s next crop of champions…
Though recent stints across SmackDown and Main Event may hint at an imminent main roster call-up for Axiom, he’s far from the finished article in WWE’s books and could do with a longer spell in NXT. His lack of character development will damage his progress beyond Raw and SmackDown, so sticking with NXT will help the masked Spaniard in the long run.
Softly rebooting the former A-Kid with the Heritage Cup, the same trophy he established as being worth fighting for in NXT UK, would allow him to refine the skills he’s missing to thrive on the main roster when the call comes, while also salvaging the wreck the trophy currently finds itself in. It’s doing nothing otherwise, acting as no more than a prop for Noam Dar to throw around.
Strapping up OTM may seem like hotshotting Bronco Nima and Lucien Price, but what other choice does WWE have beyond Tony D’Angelo and Channing ‘Stacks’ Lorenzo? Gallus are reportedly on their way to the main roster. Chase U just disbanded. Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams are now predominantly two singles wrestlers. The LWO could, but they’re a main roster act at heart.
That leaves OTM.
Nima and Price have come into their own, having initially struggled to make the audience believe in their street thugs gimmick, but their bold confidence paired with their gritty in-ring style has made them a pair of exciting prospects to keep a tab on. That they were booked for their second title opportunity within four months of debuting speaks volumes to WWE’s belief in them, too.
There is a glut of monster brutes who would serve as the perfect foil for newly-crowned champion’s Oba Femi time with the NXT North American title, with Bron Breakker, Dijak, and Baron Corbin fitting the bill, but if WWE is to restore the feeling of the title, Nathan Frazer is their go-to champion.
Since its 2018 inauguration, the purpose of the North American Championship has been that of a workhorse title, a constant source of Match of the Night discourse. This has long been established, with Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole, Ricochet, Carmelo Hayes, and Wes Lee among the names who’ve put the title on such a high pedestal. While WWE could go down the monster heel route, that’s best saved for the NXT Championship; the NA title needs to go back to its epic roots and Nathan Frazer, at 25 years old, is more than good enough to help achieve that.
It’s either Kamille or Giulia, and the latter is reportedly taking some time away from pro wrestling to brush up on her English before she commits to WWE.
Kamille it is.
A dominating, destructive ruler of the National Wrestling Alliance, Kamille comes into NXT with a warrant to search and destroy, backed by an era-defining 812-day reign as NWA World Women’s Champion. Dubbed ‘The Brickhouse’, she possesses traits which can’t be taught, exuding the sort of confidence, power, and athleticism that will make her the star of this era in the same vein as Asuka and Shayna Baszler’s powerhouse performances did in the black-and-gold era.
Reaching that level will require a clearout of the division, but with Tiffany Stratton, Roxanne Perez, and Cora Jade all expected to depart for the main roster, Kamille should have no hesitation in Spearing her way to the top of the NXT mountain.
Trick Williams is the real deal. A WWE-desired athlete at six-foot-four and 240 pounds, Trick moves with the speed of a supersize cruiserweight, carries himself with just the right level of overconfidence for a babyface, and wrestles every match as if he’ll face the firing squad should he lose.
He’s a long-term project for WWE and should be NXT Champion someday - but recency bias indicates that it’ll happen sooner than once thought.
Booked to challenge Ilja Dragunov on the New Year’s Evil special, that match never occurred, owing to an injury suffered by Dragunov. Now scheduled to go down at the February 4 Vengeance Day event, a Trick victory is likelier than you realise and could set up a showdown vs. Carmelo Hayes, should WWE pull the trigger on their DIY-like dissolution.
It’s going to be heartbreaking.
Predicting the future of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships is impossible.
The titles’ defining booking pattern has been to shoehorn two singles acts together, give them a run as champions, and then break them up for literally no reason. Asuka and Charlotte Flair, Carmella and Queen Zelina, Aliyah and Raquel Rodriguez; the list is eternal.
Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark are the best bet to topple Katana Chance and Kayden Carter, though this all hinges on whether or not Triple H ever ditches the style of booking that has encompassed the belts thus far. Shayna and Zoey are two of WWE’s gnarliest performers, and having them work across all three WWE brands would put some much-needed importance back into the white-and-gold straps, while also reminding fans that Baszler and Stark can go in-ring.
Though BWE and Cultaholic Wrestling have both reported that WWE is looking to split the Undisputed Tag Team Championships, that doesn’t appear likely to happen before The Judgement Day’s reign is over. Their unbalanced dominance of the doubles division would be mocked if WWE were to simply create a new set of championships for the opposing brand; that’s precisely what happened in Roman Reigns’ case with the World Heavyweight Championship’s creation.
For now, The Creed Brothers are the guys to take charge. Both Brutus and Julius are ultra-talented barbarians of the squared circle, each possessing an adept ability that makes them a pair of underrated singles athletes. Thrust into life on the main roster after an astounding NXT run, the brothers have taken to it like Charlotte Flair to a Women’s Championship.
They’re the guys.
One of WWE’s most complete performers, LA Knight was World Championship-ready from the minute he walked back into WWE - but he’s not currently on WWE’s books to topple either Roman Reigns or Seth Rollins.
A Crown Jewel loss to Reigns and the forthcoming Royal Rumble four-way, in which Knight is evidently the fall guy, has confirmed this to LA loyalists, so a secondary title will have to suffice; namely, Logan Paul’s United States Championship.
It’s currently the only US title showdown worthy of the WrestleMania billing, plus it would add significant prestige back into the much-maligned championship. Poor booking and a series of lacklustre reigns on top of the constant comparisons to the royal Intercontinental Championship have done nothing but hamper WWE’s disregarded strap, but a Knight vs. Paul collision that concludes in a title switch would benefit WWE immensely, as well as ‘The Megastar’.
In theory, Chad Gable is a modernistic Kurt Angle. He’s a technically sound in-ring genius who’s capable of hanging with the best of the best and is similarly as proficient in a comedic role, as his work in Alpha Academy has been some of the best of his career… but it’s no long-term role for one of WWE’s biggest assets.
Gable was established as the guy to conquer GUNTHER from the minute he first shared a ring with the Austrian tank. He drew raw emotion from the audience that made them want to see Chad, more than anyone else, dethrone the record-breaking Intercontinental Champion.
He’s the obvious choice, too; toppling GUNTHER should be a star-making moment, so it’d be foolish to give the strap to Sheamus or Ilja Dragunov. Instead, give it to someone who has deserved a breakthrough singles run for almost a decade.
Bayley was a top ten WWE babyface as ‘The Hugger’, but her heel ‘Role Model’ character has brought out the best in her. Angles with Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair, the formation of Damage CTRL, and hot performances in War Games and Royal Rumble matches have seen Bayley transcend, becoming WWE’s most consistent act over the past five years.
It’s time she’s rewarded with another championship run and if rumours are to be believed, it’ll come as a babyface.
Her looming exile from Damage CTRL has comfortably been one of WWE’s best-booked storylines in recent memory. Each week brings forth another subtle detail that she’s getting kicked out, which only makes her expected Royal Rumble victory taste sweeter. She and IYO SKY could steal the show at WrestleMania but regardless of the bout’s quality, another Bayley title reign is long overdue.
Current speculation has Becky Lynch dethroning Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 40, however, WWE must ask themselves where the benefit of this is. Lynch is already a needle-mover of the division whose booking has kept her as one of Monday night’s strongest stars.
Becky Lynch isn’t the right choice. Naomi is.
Naomi was never treated as a Superstar in WWE. A solid hand between the ropes known for her uber-athleticism and outrageous Royal Rumble spots, sure, but never someone who could carry the company. That derogatory perception has changed, thanks to her work in TNA, and it makes her the perfect candidate to step up to The Judgement Day’s ‘Eradicator’. A win over Rhea would put Naomi in the upper echelon of WWE, continuing the work she’s put into her character since leaving the company, and would give Raw its next female headliner.
If you clicked on this article expecting anything other than CM Punk as Seth Rollins’ successor, then apologies, but CM Punk is the only option.
He’s winning it. He just is.
Unless Damian Priest cashes in on Seth between now and WrestleMania.
But he’ll be unsuccessful because it’s CM Punk and only CM Punk who can end Seth Rollins’ almost year-long run as World Heavyweight Champion.
Again, he just is, isn’t he?
Roman Reigns can’t be toppled as Undisputed Universal Champion by anyone other than Cody Rhodes.
Outside of Rhodes’ ‘Finish The Story’ saga, he’s WWE’s top star. A merchandise-mover, a best bout machine, and someone who is adored by the audience, Cody Rhodes is WWE’s alpha. Furthermore, WWE wouldn’t have teased a second meeting between the two if it wasn’t the plan; The Rock’s Raw return and desire to sit at the head of the table shouldn’t scupper those plans either. He’ll get his crack at Roman, but there’s no redeemable quality in him going over.
It’s Cody Rhodes’ time. ‘The American Nightmare’ is ready to write his American Dream.
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