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While WrestleMania essentially rebooted the WWE in terms of the champions in the company, there will likely be some turnover between now and the Biggest Show of the Summer, SummerSlam. A few top stars will likely keep their titles while unfortunate situations in a few divisions will probably lead to some new champions sooner rather than later.
Money in the Bank will also play a big part in the top championships as WWE has traditionally had one winner cash in rather quickly while saving the other cash-in for the second half of the year.
Another thing to consider is that because 'Mania took place in New York/New Jersey, a few champions from that area were crowned. Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins were victorious against the Revival and Tony Nese, a New Yorker, ended Buddy Murphy's impressive reign as Cruiserweight Champ and Carmella, 'the Princess of Staten Island', won the Women's WrestleMania Battle Royal.
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Since a good deal of title changes will likely take place between now and SummerSlam, here are my predictions for just who will be holding particular titles within WWE once the Biggest Party of the Summer takes over Toronto.
#10 Raw Tag Team Champions - Viking Raiders
It appears that The Usos and The Revival are going to feud with each other at the moment, leaving the current champions, Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins, needing a new set of challengers. Since the Authors of Pain aren't back yet and due to how the Viking Raiders have been booked upon debuting, I think that they will win the Raw Tag Team titles within the next two months.
That could set up a match for SummerSlam between The Raiders and The Usos. It's apparent that The Revival aren't going to be treated seriously going forward. As an adult fan, the whole back-shaving skit was more embarrassing than funny. Both teams are so much better than that.
Other than The Usos, Viking Raiders and Revival, there aren't any other teams on Raw that are on their level. The Good Brothers could be, but will likely be a secondary act since they are reportedly leaving in the Fall once their contracts expire. The Ascension and Lucha House Party are novelty acts, and Ryder and Hawkins probably won because they wanted to end Hawkins' losing streak and have the hometown boys win at WrestleMania.
Of course, makeshift teams could always arise between now and the Summer, but based on the division as it currently sits, I think the Viking Raiders make us all forget about their originally terrible first name on the main roster by walking into the Biggest Show of the Summer as Raw Tag Team Champions.
#9 SmackDown Tag Team Champions - The New Day
Big E is currently out recovering from surgery for a torn meniscus. A time table for his return is close to two months, which means he could be back by July. With the Hardyz having to relinquish the titles due to Jeff Hardy's unfortunate injury, the SmackDown Tag Team division is in shambles.
The B-Team is still a joke, and that's okay because that's their gimmick. The same likely goes for Heavy Machinery, but if Mr. McMahon enjoys the awkward comedy from Otis, then they might get a run. The Colons are non-existent so they won't be getting the titles, unless it's a shock win to at least have champions on Tuesday nights.
That leaves the best possible option for the SmackDown Tag Team Champions in the interim to be Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev. They are talented enough as singles competitors, but as a heel tag team, they could easily be given a run with the titles until the New Day can regroup as a team. Some makeshift teams could also be formed with anyone from Chad Gable, R-Truth or Apollo Crews.
As much as I am tired of the New Day, the Bar and the Usos always being tag team champs, the fact is that both brands need them to lead their respective divisions due to injuries and depth issues that the WWE is now facing after WrestleMania.
#8 Women's Tag Team Champions - Asuka and Kairi Sane
Unfortunately for the Women's Tag Team titles, they've been booked a lot like the Raw Tag Team titles. Yeah, it's great that certain teams win the titles, but the Revival lost more matches than they won as champs and the IIconics have lost every match they've participated in since winning the belts at 'Mania.
Bayley and Sasha Banks at least defended it successfully once, but it would have likely been better had they lost the titles after WrestleMania. Paige's new team of Kairi Sane and Asuka has been booked as a formidable duo right away, more so than the current champs. Both women are more than capable as singles stars who could routinely be challenging for the top prizes, but as things are currently, they will likely be calling the tag team division home for the foreseeable future.
Although WWE does often book some champions to lose leading up to a defense, that tactic cannot always be done. Not only would it devalue the titles but also the performers holding them. I think the IIconics might win a few defenses in questionable ways, but I think Asuka and Sane win the titles at some point in the near future and hold them at SummerSlam.
#7 Cruiserweight Champion - Mike Kanellis
Just as the Raw Women's and Tag Team divisions were hit hard by the Superstar Shake Up, so was the 205 Live roster. Over the past eight months, its top three superstars - Ali, Buddy Murphy and Cedric Alexander - have all 'graduated' to the main roster. That leaves a lot of superstars who were around at the recent inception of 205 Live, but some have already won the title and had their time in the sun.
The latest was Tony Nese, and although he's a fantastic athlete and great wrestler, he doesn't have the charisma beyond looking at his abs to carry the division. The division did lose the three aforementioned stars, but they also gained Oney Lorcan, Humberto Carillo and the Singhs.
One under-the-radar addition to the show was when Mike and Maria Kanellis debuted on the show during the Fall. Although Mike is a good enough pro wrestler, I was never a fan or thought that he was someone that WWE had to sign.
But over the last year and change, he has overcome a drug addiction and completely remade himself. He's totally ripped now and along with his wife, is a part of an act that would be perfect to carry the brand for the foreseeable future. I think he beats Nese some time soon and holds the title at SummerSlam.
#6 United States Champion - Ricochet
I am a fan of Samoa Joe and hope he has a long and fruitful reign as United States Champion. But, after analyzing the reigns of the previous champions since the start of 2018, it doesn't appear that Joe, and maybe even the man who might defeat him, will enter SummerSlam as US Champion.
The longest reign since the start of 2018 was Shinsuke Nakamura's near five-month reign as champion from mid-July of Summer 2018 until the end of the year. Ever since then, the average time span for a US Title reign has been a little more than a month. R-Truth and Randy Orton had reigns around a month and Jeff Hardy's was a little over two months.
That's not even considering Rusev's short reign, Jinder Mahal's two-day reign and Nakamura's other reign in-between. For those reasons, I think Joe drops the title in June to one of the most exciting superstars in all of pro wrestling, Ricochet.
Now, Ricochet might hold the title until August, getting the right to defend it one on of the biggest PPVs of the year, but it wouldn't surprise me if he wins and loses it before then. The booking patterns over the last year and a half might dictate that he walks in but not out with the title.
#5 Intercontinental Champion - Finn Balor
The Intercontinental Championship did change hands a decent amount of times over the last year, but it needs a stabilizing superstar to hold it for a while. The current champion, Finn Balor, is not only one of the most popular superstars in the WWE but he's also one of the most talented as well.
He's taking part in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match so he won't be defending the title until after that. A feud with Andrade has already been established, but Andrade might not win the title right away. Once the move to Fox is made, however, I could easily see him taking the title from Balor at SummerSlam due to Fox wanting to promote Latino stars on Fox Deportes.
Andrade might get one shot right after MITB but some other challengers like Aleister Black and Buddy Murphy might also challenge Balor. That's not even considering the direction which WWE wants to take with Lars Sullivan. Will he be feuding with Roman Reigns before he is a champion? Or will they strap the rocket to his back sooner rather than later by winning the IC Title? I think Balor holds it until August but loses it once the move to Fox nears.
#4 Raw Women's Champion - Becky Lynch
Between Raw and SmackDown, Raw needs Lynch more than SmackDown. Any number of women from Bayley, Asuka, Charlotte Flair or Ember Moon could likely anchor SmackDown's women for most of the year. On Raw? It's not the same situation.
Naomi and Natalya are both former champions in their own rights, but they have both been surpassed by the Four Horsewomen, Alexa Bliss and Asuka in terms of the pecking order. And that's not even considering the directions WWE takes with Lacey Evans, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, Sasha Banks (when/if she returns) and Nikki Cross.
The fact is that the division on Raw isn't as deep as SmackDown's and there isn't a huge line of women that are credible threats to Lynch. She won both titles at 'Mania for a reason and isn't going to be losing them to the likes of Alicia Fox, Natalya or Dana Brooke. For those reasons, 'The Man' still holds at least one of her belts once SummerSlam rolls into focus.
#3 SmackDown Women's Champion - Ember Moon
WWE needs to create new stars across every division, and the SmackDown Women's Division is one that has some currently waiting to break out. Asuka is already a star but is currently amidst a tag team run. Kairi Sane is also fantastic as well, but the jury is out as to how she will be booked now that she's on the main roster.
Mandy Rose will be a champion later rather than sooner and Bayley can always be relied upon as a champion. I'm hoping WWE doesn't immediately give the SmackDown title back to Flair. She's had enough time with it and like Roman Reigns, needs some time away from the title scene.
Other women should be given a chance atop the division, and Moon is one lady that is primed for a break out this year. She's never really been given title shots on the main roster but is over with the fans, exciting in the ring and is in the infancy as a character. Although I wouldn't put it past WWE to have Flair beat Lynch at MITB only for Moon to cash in, I think regardless of when, Moon will walk into SummerSlam as SmackDown Women's Champion.
#2 WWE Champion - Kofi Kingston
Just as WWE invested good four-plus months into Daniel Bryan's run as 'the Planet's Champion', they also need to invest a good deal of time into Kingston's reign as WWE Champion. If he loses it to Kevin Owens or drops it within the next month, it will do damage to his credibility. Although there is more to the story in him chasing the title, he needs to hold the belt until at least August.
Whatever happens after that is anyone's guess. I hope Roman Reigns doesn't win it immediately after a heel beats Kingston, but this is WWE. Reigns needs a long layoff from the title scene so WWE can cultivate some other of the great talent they have on their roster. They have so much talent from Balor to Kingston to Owens to Andrade to Black to Buddy Murphy to Ali to Elias. Reigns doesn't need the title.
Depending on the plans for the Biggest Show of the Summer, Kingston might drop it there but he deserves a lengthy reign as champion since it is his first reign atop the WWE. The plans for the move to Fox might also factor into his reign but here's hoping it's more than a one-and-done situation.
#1 Universal Champion - Seth Rollins
Like Kingston, Rollins triumphed at 'Mania and wrested the Universal Championship from 'the Beast Sporadic', Brock Lesnar. Anyone who was going to defeat Brock Lesnar was going to be treated like a big deal. It happened with Reigns and Rollins was built up for almost a year as one of the biggest deals in WWE.
For that reason, I don't see him losing the title any time soon. He might hold it until the Fall or even the Royal Rumble. But concerning SummerSlam, I think he walks into the PPV holding the red belt.
But after that, anything is game. Drew McIntyre will likely win the Money in the Bank match for the men, so he'll be lurking for most of 2019. Hopefully he won't be booked to cash it in right away because Rollins should continue to carry Raw for the rest of the year. McIntyre will likely be the next Universal Champion, but it should happen after the Summer.
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