Throughout the history of the WWE, there have always been those who deserve a world championship run but never received one. No matter what era, there was someone there who should have been a world champion. Just to name a few, the prime examples include Rowdy Roddy Piper, Jake the Snake Roberts and Owen Hart.
These days in WWE, ever since the hiring of extremely talented independent wrestlers from all around the world, there seems to be a number of superstars on the roster who deserve a run with the World title. If you disagree with anybody on the list or believe I left someone out, drop a comment!
7. AJ Styles
I know, AJ Styles has already been given two world title shots before (three if you include the actual Royal Rumble match for the title), and he is receiving another shot at WWE Backlash on September 11th. Regardless, I felt I needed to put Styles on this list as he isn’t getting any younger, and I feel he shouldn’t just win one world championship, but should have multiple reigns as both the Universal and WWE World champion.
For years, the question wasn’t “will AJ Styles be world champion in WWE?”, it was “will AJ Styles ever join the WWE?”. Now that Styles has debuted and has a few months in the WWE under his belt (and a few huge wins during the time), I feel like now is the time to cement AJ as a multiple time world champion and one of the biggest stars of the so-called “New Era”.
6. Bray Wyatt
Bray Wyatt is one of the most underutilised and misused wrestlers on the current WWE roster. If you are as obsessed with pro wrestling and have read a fair share of pro wrestling articles just like me, then you will have heard that first sentence a million times. But, that is because it is the truth.
Bray Wyatt’s character and aura truly was something special when he first arrived with his Wyatt Family. Earmarked to be a top heel main eventer, it all went downhill when Bray began to lose most of his feuds. But, there is still time to salvage him. Now that Bray is on Smackdown Live (which is in need of a top heel besides AJ Styles), Wyatt can finally be elevated to main event status and hopefully win the WWE World Title sooner rather than later.
Bur first, let’s just hope he wins his feud against Orton.
5. Cesaro
Cesaro is one of the best wrestlers in the world right now. Even though his move set and athleticism is incredible, Vince Mcmahon has said on multiple occasions (especially on Stone Cold’s podcast) that he doesn’t think Cesaro has what it takes. This is a horrible judgement by the Chairman. Not only is Cesaro incredible in the ring, but he is more over with the crowd than anybody Vince Mcmahon thinks has what it takes right now (cough..cough, Roman Reigns).
Rather than just remaining stagnant in the mid card, Cesaro should be feuding with the likes of Seth Rollins in the main event scene on Raw. Until a possible trade to Smackdown Live is on the cards, Cesaro doesn’t look to be rising to the main event anytime soon, no matter how much he deserves the Universal Title more than superstars such as Roman Reigns.
4. Bobby Roode
Bobby Roode is glorious (pun intended). Although he just joined WWE and is currently serving as a top star in the developmental brand NXT, Roode is world champion material. The fan’s reactions to him at Takeover Brooklyn II proves that. There’s no doubt that he has the promo ability and wrestling skill to be a main eventer on the main roster too.
I don’t know about you, but Bobby Roode (heel) vs Seth Rollins (face) for a world championship is incredibly appealing.
3. Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe has been in NXT for too long now. Much like Finn Balor, Joe should’ve been on the main roster right from the moment he signed with the WWE. That doesn’t mean he still can’t be a world champion, though. Whether Joe debuts on Raw or Smackdown Live, it would be a crime not to push Samoa Joe as the monster he has been presented as in NXT.
A potential feud with Brock Lesnar sounds incredibly tantalising, or maybe a feud with AJ Styles on Smackdown Live for the WWE World Championship. Either way, Joe should be on the main roster very soon, and will hopefully win the gold one day.
2. Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn, in my opinion, is one of the most underrated superstars on the entire roster. So far this year, he has already put on three Match of the Year contenders (vs Nakamura at Takeover Dallas, vs Kevin Owens at Battleground and vs Owens, Miz, and Cesaro at Extreme Rules). Not only is he brilliant in the ring, but he has the underdog character that is so easy to love.
He should hopefully be one of the top babyfaces of the “New Era”, and maybe soon, he can challenge KO for the Universal Title. As a matter of fact, Kevin Owens’s first defense would be against Sami Zayn and Seth Rollins at a WWE Live Event at the O2 arena in London on Wednesday, September 7th. So just maybe, WWE may go back to Zayn vs Owens, but this time around, with the World title as the focal point.
1. Shinsuke Nakamura
Yes, my number one pick for a current wrestler deserving of a world championship is still in NXT. But, he really shouldn’t be in NXT. Shinsuke Nakamura, like AJ Styles and Samoa Joe, wrestled for years in other promotions (especially in Japan) before coming to the WWE. Now that he is finally in the WWE, he is 36 years of age. Yet, he is still in NXT.
Although he has been very successful in NXT and is the current NXT champion, Nakamura should have debuted straight to the main roster, with a number of dream matches finally being on the cusp of coming to reality (Nakamura vs Rollins?). Despite the time being wasted in NXT, Nakamura still has time to become a world champion, and is the most deserving of a world title reign among those in the WWE today.
Thank you for reading, be sure to leave your opinion about the topic in the comments section below!
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