5 WWE superstars who should be involved in the title picture in 2017
The WWE Universal Championship and the WWE Championship are arguably the two biggest prizes in the pro-wrestling world at present. Since the brand split between Raw and SmackDown took place a few months back, the red brand has been home to the Universal title whereas the WWE title (previously known as the WWE World Championship) has been owned by the blue brand.
Kevin Owens is the current WWE Universal Champion and has been holding the title since winning it in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination match against Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Big Cass on the 29 August episode of Raw. Since then, Rollins and Reigns are the only ones against whom Owens has defended his title, with his present feud being against ‘The Big Dog’.
WWE Champion AJ Styles, meanwhile, claimed his title at the Backlash pay-per-view against Dean Ambrose and feuded primarily against ‘The Lunatic Fringe’ ever since. However, after beating Ambrose at TLC thanks to James Ellsworth’s interference, Styles put his championship on the line against Ellsworth and beat him easily.
On the latest episode of SmackDown Live, he successfully defended it in a triple-threat match against Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin. Earlier in the night, a returning John Cena had vowed to pursue the title, irrespective of who wins the match, and so ‘The Phenomenal One’ will be facing Cena at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
There are a number of superstars on either show who have largely been out of the title frame for most of 2016 but will be hoping to make up for it in 2017. This includes former champions, long-time performers who are yet to win the ultimate prize and impressive newcomers who have looked championship material from the very outset.
Here are 5 WWE superstars who should be involved in the title picture over the next 12 months:
#5 Cesaro
Despite possessing all the skill sets to be a ‘top of the card’ athlete, Cesaro has spent most of his WWE career being a mid-carder with just one U.S. title and a couple of Tag Team championship reigns to his name.
‘The Swiss Superman’ was sidelined for the first few months of 2016 due to a shoulder injury he had suffered towards the end of last year. He returned to Raw during the post-Wrestlemania episode of the show and found himself in a fatal four-way match to decide the #1 contender for the WWE World Heavyweight title, which AJ Styles eventually won.
The only other occasion this year when Cesaro vied for a shot at the top prize in the WWE was his involvement in the Money In The Bank match at the eponymous pay-per-view. However, he could not get the win once again as Dean Ambrose grabbed the briefcase with the contract for a championship match.
There are already rumours that a major push may be around the corner for one-half of the current Raw Tag Team Champions. So, it may not come as a surprise if Cesaro becomes a more prominent face in the title picture for the year 2017 and also ends up conquering one of the two major championships in the WWE.