WrestleMania 40 showdowns, a quick turnaround: Predicting the next holder of each title in WWE
Becoming a Champion in WWE is a huge deal. It's often a sign of faith from the management and bookers in a star. Some performers get more chances than others, so winning a title can sometimes be a tougher path for certain wrestlers.
With RAW and SmackDown, each show has its own set of titleholders. This at least allows stars on each brand a chance at becoming a Champion. If WWE only had one brand or set of belts, fewer stars would capture gold.
While WWE's current crop of Champions features some of the usual suspects (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Rey Mysterio), the field of champs also features some exciting up-and-comers like Gunther and Iyo Sky.
How long will each current Champion have their titles? Here are some predictions for the next holder of each title in WWE.
#8 The recent fate of the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions
It's been all downhill since WWE unified the NXT/WWE Women's tag team titles. Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre recently captured the NXT belts but were then drafted to Smackdown, where they lost the titles to Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler.
Rousey and Baszler quickly lost them to Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan so Rousey could take a hiatus. Raquel and Liv then had to relinquish them due to injuries to Raquel. Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville were the new champs until Deville then suffered an unfortunate ACL injury.
So many swaps have devalued the titles, so having Piper Niven simply grab Deville's title to join Green was a good move. As for the team to dethrone Green and Niven, the new Champs should be Dawn and Fyre. They haven't been seen since losing to the MMA fighters and could provide a steady force in the division.
Prediction for next Women's Tag Team Champs - Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn
#7 Which WWE duo will be the next Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champs?
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens won the titles at WrestleMania 39 but are both suffering injuries. WWE opted to keep the belts around their waists instead of vacating the titles. Owens and Zayn worked extremely hard during the Bloodline saga, so vacating the belts would have been disappointing.
There are a lot of great teams that are worthy to be champions. The Judgment Day could add more gold to their assert their dominance. Alpha Academy is incredibly over at the moment while Pretty Deadly was impressive until Elton Prince got hurt.
Since the Street Profits are joining with Bobby Lashley, a good way to sell that would be to have them defeat Zayn and Owens and capture some gold. They sat in the background while the Usos ran roughshod over the division. It's their turn to be champions.
Prediction - The Street Profits solidify their new partnership as the next WWE Undisputed Tag Team Champs.
#6 Chasing history with the Intercontinental Championship
Like the Undisputed Champion, Gunther has been booked on a rather lengthy title run. The person who beats him for the title must be a legitimate superstar. Chad Gable gets the next shot at The Ring General this Monday.
Unless he battles Drew McIntyre at another time, it appears that The Scottish Warrior's chance has come and gone with SummerSlam. Looking at the current RAW roster, there aren't a lot of believable names in the fray.
One star who has a history with Gunther is Tommaso Ciampa, from their NXT days. WWE will build him up over the next few months as a face alongside Johnny Gargano. Ciampa tried once and couldn't beat Gunther. He'll be successful the second time.
Prediction - Tommaso Ciampa adds an Intercontinental title to his resume.
#5 How long will Rey Mysterio be the United States Champion?
With names like LA Knight, Santos Escobar, Grayson Waller, and Solo Sikoa on SmackDown, WWE opted for Mysterio beating Austin Theory for the title.
Rey is still a popular veteran star, who is part of a face faction. The switching around could have been to sow dissension in the LWO, but the group formed only months ago.
When it comes to the person who takes the gold from Rey, it could be a few people. LA Knight would have made sense to beat Theory as he's the most over star in the company currently. Seeing Rey is a face, a heel turn from Escobar could end his reign. To cement Waller as a future player, however, he'll beat Rey for the belt.
Prediction - Grayson Waller defeats Rey Mysterio for the US title.
#4 How long will Iyo Sky reign as the WWE Women's Champion?
It was refreshing to see a new face win a major women's title in WWE. After Bianca Belair strangely regained her title from Asuka after only two months, Iyo Sky shook things up by cashing in her Money in the Bank briefcase on Belair at SummerSlam.
There are currently several women involved in the title picture, but it will likely again come down to the two same women - Flair and Belair. WWE likes to have Flair as Champion or challenging for a title when WrestleMania season approaches.
They also seem to be holding off on a one-on-one match between The Queen and The EST of WWE. Asuka and Damage CTRL have been side players in the ongoing angle.
It would be nice for some other women to get a spotlight at The Show of Shows, but it probably may not happen. Flair wins the title from Sky at some point at the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024.
Prediction - Charlotte Flair wins title number 15.
#3 The Eradicator rules over RAW as Women's World Champion
While many women are gunning for the WWE Women's Championship, the same hasn't been the case for the Women's World Championship. Rhea Ripley hasn't had many meaningful feuds as she's split time between RAW and NXT.
Her latest match with Natalya was among the better contests of 2023, but since then, nothing much has happened. Mami is headed toward an eventual showdown with Raquel Rodriguez, but it's taken a long time to get to an actual match.
The Nightmare hasn't faced much danger of losing her Championship, so she'll hold the title until WrestleMania 40. In Philadephia, she'll likely be opposed by Becky Lynch. Like Flair, WWE likes to have The Man in title matches at The Show of Shows.
Prediction - Becky Lynch finally faces and beats Ripley for the title.
#2 Who will be the second World Heavyweight Champion?
Seth Rollins won the title at Night of Champions in May. Over the last few months, he's been in a cycle of battling both Finn Balor and Damian Priest. While Balor has been unsuccessful in dethroning The Visionary, Priest has the Money in the Bank contract in his back pocket.
Will the next Champion come from the Judgment Day? It remains to be seen. If the Judgment Day is imploding, with Priest on the outs, he probably won't successfully cash in on Rollins. Balor or the rest of the group could prevent him from doing so or he could wait until after WrestleMania 40.
The earliest Rollins should lose the title would be at the 2024 Royal Rumble event. Due to his dominant reign as Intercontinental Champion, Gunther looks like the best bet to be the next World Heavyweight Champ.
Prediction - Gunther trades the Intercontinental title for the World Heavyweight belt.
#1 Roman Reigns is likely headed for a WrestleMania 39 rematch.
Many of WWE's top names have already fallen to Roman Reigns. WWE wants to make The Tribal Chief the greatest of all time and it has often been at the expense of other worthy top stars.
He hasn't defeated most of his opponents cleanly, including Drew McIntyre (Clash at the Castle), Seth Rollins (Royal Rumble, lost via DQ), and Cody Rhodes (WrestleMania 39).
Because of that, any one of those three men would have a claim for a rematch. Each star would also be a worthy choice to dethrone Reigns.
It seems like The Tribal Chief will be Champion until WrestleMania 40. He could lose sooner, but it makes sense for it to happen on a huge stage like The Show of Shows next April, to cap off his epic 'reign'. At this point, Cody Rhodes seems like the most likely star to take the title from The Tribal Chief.
Prediction - Cody Rhodes is the next Undisputed Champion.