Predicting WWE's Next Champions

WrestleMania 35 and the Superstar Shake-up are now behind us, which means we've entered a new year on the WWE calendar. Since the last time I did this, after Survivor Series, all but one of the championships in the company have gone on to change hands, and the one that remains now can't change hands in the way I predicted, so it's time to read some tea leaves again.

I was correct 6 out of 14 times, or 42.7% of the time. Not bad in this business, though there's still room for improvement. Even more titles have been introduced since then, with the launch of the UK and women's tag team titles, so there's more predictions to make. Let's get right on to it!

#17 Cruiserweight Champion: Drew Gulak

Tony Nese "stopped the unstoppable" at WrestleMania 35, ending Buddy Murphy's six month reign and making the purple brand his own. With Buddy Murphy, Mustafa Ali, and Cedric Alexander all gone, 205 Live is wide open, but lacks brand names - except for one. Drew Gulak is still around in the post-SmackDown hours.

Drew Gulak is the one remaining big name (as far as 205 Live standards go) and a rivalry between him and Tony Nese is only a matter of time. Such a rivalry can anchor the division as it rebuilds. Drew Gulak also needs to eventually be rewarded for all the work he's done on 205 Live since its inception in 2016, being consistently one of its best personalities.

A title run for him is inevitable at some point. There's nobody better positioned to eventually take the purple strap from Tony Nese than Drew Gulak while the division shifts and rebuilds beneath them. It might not come until SummerSlam, but it's the likeliest outcome.

#16 NXT UK Tag Team Champions: Moustache Mountain

At UK TakeOver: Blackpool, Trent Seven and Tyler Bate failed to capture the new NXT UK Tag Team Titles, but they'll be back in contention before things are settled. Admittedly, this is more a process of elimination than anything else, as the UK division is still very much in its infancy and needs to build bigger names. As two of the leaders in the brand from its embryonic stages in 2017, the Moustache Mountain team will eventually wear some gold.

It simply makes sense from a drawing standpoint if nothing else. Their rivalry with Zack Gibson and James Drake will get renewed sooner or later, and when that time comes, Moustache Mountain will avenge their loss in Blackpool and claim those shiny new titles (which are some of the best looking in the entire company) for their own.

#15 NXT Tag Team Champions: Undisputed Era

It seems like a regression to put the NXT Tag Team Titles back on the Undisputed Era. They did everything they could as champions throughout 2018. However, the surprise call up of the War Raiders (now agonizingly rebranded as the Viking Experience - thanks, Vince!) puts the yellow brand in a pickle. The current champions will need to drop the titles soon to somebody and The Undisputed Era is the safe choice.

There's also the matter of the Era claiming that they would "wear all the gold in 2019." That seems far off now, since there is dissension in the ranks, but it's all probably a swerve. Look for Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish to reclaim the titles they originally wore by the June TakeOver at the very latest. That will be the first step back to the pinnacle for the Undisputed Era.

#14 SmackDown Tag Team Champions: The Bar

There's no doubt that SmackDown lost in the tag team department via the recent Superstar Shake-up. The blue brand lost The Usos and missed out on Black, Ricochet, and the Viking Experience (I still dislike saying that name). It gained Heavy Machinery, but that doesn't begin to compensate for those losses.

The division will be led by the Hardy Boyz for a while, but it seems that it's only a matter of time before The Bar get the titles again. Whenever Sheamus comes back from injury (and hopefully it's only a minor one), they'll get back into title contention.

They're a safe choice to take the titles from the Hardys at some point, who are in turn a safe choice to lead the division until then. Honestly, the SmackDown division could use the services of the Undisputed Era, but that would gut NXT even further.

#13 Raw Tag Team Champions: The Viking Experience

They will always be the War Raiders to me!

All time unfavorable name change aside, it looks like the former War Raiders are going to get a big push on Raw, and Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins certainly won't reign for long. The champions have already been pinned just this week by these very guys, and though that usually doesn't spell the best news for potential title challengers, those two are so low on the totem pole that standard WWE booking probably won't change the outcome.

I expect The Viking Experience to be Raw Tag Team Champions by June 1st at the latest. From there, mouthwatering possibilities await with The Usos, and a renewal of their excellent clash earlier this month with Black and Ricochet will also be on the horizon. Raw's tag team division has suddenly become must see after a year in the doldrums.

#12 WWE UK Champion: Jordan Devlin

This is admittedly a wild stab in the dark. It's difficult, if not impossible to predict who will unseat WALTER after he just won the title and ended Pete Dunne's historic reign. Nevertheless, this time, it feels like a cop out to simply avoid the question, so I'll do my best.

Jordan Devlin has risen through the ranks to become one of the top heels on NXT UK. He took out his opponent in Blackpool before the match even began, necessitating the surprise appearance of Finn Balor.

WALTER isn't truly a babyface or a heel. He's just a warrior that feels like an Achilles or an Ajax - someone who will brutalize you, but not for good or evil reasons. How do you overcome such a warrior? Through trickery.

Like Paris getting lucky and hitting Achilles' heel with an arrow, at some point, Jordan Devlin will get his lucky shot.

#11 North American Champion: Roderick Strong

I really resent making this prediction. To replace one of the most colorful personalities in wrestling today, the Velveteen Dream, with the much blander Roderick Strong feels almost like a crime, but the Undisputed Era did vow that they would wear all the gold in NXT at some point in 2019. With Bobby Fish back from injury and alongside his natural tag team partner, Roderick Strong will have to set his sights elsewhere, and it won't be the NXT title.

At some point this summer, I expect Dream and Strong to do battle, and though the latter won't be able to overcome his opponent cleanly, he'll have the numbers advantage on his side. That's what will make the difference. That's the Undisputed Era's ace in the hole. Score another title for the Undisputed Era. That's three of the four male championships.

#10 United States Championship: Braun Strowman

This isn't a prediction I like making, either. There's still plenty of mileage left in Samoa Joe's reign. To end it now would be premature. The man has done a great deal to revive the fortunes of the United States Championship.

Yet, it feels like Braun Strowman needs some sort of spark more than Samoa Joe does right now, and WWE probably values the former more than the latter. That's why, much as I'm looking forward to seeing their feud, I fear that the wrong man will win it.

One could argue that Joe losing the title here would permit him to challenge Seth Rollins, but we all know how his prospects for world championship gold always go. Joe could do much better for himself and the US title by being the anchor at the top of the midcard.

#9 Intercontinental Champion: Buddy Murphy

Now this is a prediction I do like making. Buddy Murphy has been one of WWE's biggest success stories recently, going from a guy that fell through the cracks of NXT to completely reinventing himself on 205 Live and taking the purple brand by storm. Because of that, he's now finally going to get his shot at the big time. Few promotions are more well deserved.

As soon as Buddy Murphy announced his arrival, everyone had one match in mind. Murphy. Balor. Intercontinental Championship. If Buddy Murphy gets the chance, he's easily the guy best poised to take that title from Finn Balor and anchor SmackDown's midcard.

There is the danger that he could become the next Andrade on the blue brand. After all, many people, myself included, said the same thing about him last year, but with Murphy's superior look and mic skills, he should have an easier time.

#8 WWE Women's Tag Team Champions: Asuka and Kairi Sane

Paige brought in Kairi Sane to join forces with Asuka and go up against The IIconics this week. Sure, it's a slapdash tag team, but it's an exciting one nevertheless. Right off the bat, they're the best female tag team in the company by miles - and better than many of the men as well.

There are dangers here. The IIconics bear more than a little resemblance to Carmella last year and we saw how that feud turned out. WWE also usually don't push an NXT call up to a title so fast - though with The Viking Experience on Raw, that might be changing.

However, the presence of Paige makes me breathe a little easier. Paige is someone that the company clearly values and with her doing the talking, any weaknesses that Asuka and Kairi Sane have are solved. There's no doubt it would be the better choice for those titles.

#7 NXT UK Women's Champion: Piper Niven

Toni Storm's NXT UK title reign hasn't been very notable so far. Rhea Ripley was a lot more interesting, but since she's injured and no longer in title contention, she won't be the next champion. A new contender will need to be found.

To that end, an old rival of Storm's from the independent circuit recently emerged on the NXT UK brand. Toni Storm and Piper Niven have battled before. Strong and supremely agile for her size, Niven was a great pickup for the UK brand. Her performances in the Mae Young Classic were impressive and now she's poised to repeat those feats with much higher stakes.

Out of all the possibilities in the UK brand currently, Piper Niven is best positioned to eventually rise to title contention and dethrone Toni Storm to become the third NXT UK Women's Champion.

#6 NXT Women's Champion: Io Shirai

Kairi Sane had her NXT swan song this week, in a sad ending to her career at Full Sail, but Shayna Baszler's attack only succeeded in making Io Shirai angry. As this week's episode of NXT faded to black, Io yelled that she was going to kill Shayna and her goons.

If this doesn't end in Io Shirai capturing the NXT Women's Championship, it will be the most nonsensical decision in the history of the highly praised developmental brand.

The attack succeeded in creating a new story around Io and the title, making the coming rivalry with Shayna Baszler personal. It has to end the right way for the story to make sense, though, with Io Shirai hoisting up the gold.

Shayna Baszler's booking has been bizarre and destructive, but this time, the stakes finally feel higher, and this time, it feels like she went a bridge too far, meaning that it's time for her to pay the piper.

#5 SmackDown Women's Champion: Charlotte Flair

Becky Lynch won't hold both titles for long. Doing so creates too many confusing logjams for the women's division. With her set to defend her Raw Women's Championship against Lacey Evans at Money in the Bank, it probably means that a SmackDown title defense won't be happening on that pay-per-view.

Enter the Money in the Bank ladder match. The person likeliest to win it this year? Charlotte Flair, because of course. There, she'll cash in on Becky Lynch after her match with Lacey Evans to get the title back.

Doing so allows Becky to move to Raw permanently and lead that depleted division while SmackDown will have a reliable, if tiresome, champion before its big move to Fox. It's the most WWE of all WWE things to do, so you better believe that WWE will do it. After all, Charlotte needs yet another reign so she can eventually get to 16 or beyond.

#4 Raw Women's Champion: Lacey Evans

Don't take this the wrong way - I think Becky Lynch will retain her championship when she faces off against Lacey Evans, this time, anyway. In fact, I think Becky Lynch will retain that title for a long time, though that's partially dependent on what Ronda Rousey does. A one on one match between them has to happen whenever she decides to come back. However, Ronda Rousey isn't likely to be champion again. She's done as a full time performer. It will be the Brock Lesnar situation for the women's division.

The Lacey Evans push will probably continue in the background during that much more exciting match, to a varying degree, anyway. I don't think she's going to get over like they want her to, but if Vince McMahon is that high on her, that won't stop him. In Raw's depleted division, Lacey stands the highest chance of succeeding Becky at some point or another.

#3 NXT Champion: Adam Cole

Johnny Gargano may have won the epic battle to finally claim his ultimate moment, but the war isn't over. Adam Cole hasn't abandoned his NXT title ambitions, and he did vow that the Undisputed Era would hold all the gold in 2019. He's the last piece of the puzzle and you better believe that he's going to succeed Johnny Gargano as NXT Champion, probably at TakeOver: Toronto in August, marking the high point of his two year journey on the yellow brand.

This is one of the most predictable title changes in WWE, but it nevertheless will be one of the most enjoyable stories to watch. Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole will bring out the best in each other. Expect another feud of the year to come from these two to complete the promise that he made that the Undisputed Era would hold every available title in NXT.

#2 WWE Champion: Kevin Owens

Kofi Kingston may have had a memorable rise to the title, but don't expect him to hold it for long. He just isn't the type that WWE usually sees as main event material and his rise very much happened by accident. For better or worse, expect to see him drop the title in short order, and the story has already begun.

Do you seriously believe that Kevin Owens is going to wear a unicorn horn, dance around, and eat pancakes? The turn is visible a million miles away. Too bad Kofi Kingston can't see it coming.

Kofi Kingston will drop it to Kevin Owens at Money in the Bank in an attempt to put as much heat on him as possible. Kevin Owens will in turn drop it to Roman Reigns at SummerSlam just in time for the move to Fox. Again, it's the most WWE of WWE things to do, so expect WWE to do it.

#1 Universal Champion: Drew McIntyre

This is actually one of the hardest title changes to predict. While the match will certainly be thrilling, I don't think AJ Styles is going to defeat Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship, and beyond him, there are no obvious contenders. The Architect is set to have a long and prosperous reign.

Nevertheless, while he hasn't won a big title yet since his return to the main roster a year ago, Drew McIntyre is still someone that the people backstage are high on and is heavily featured each and every week. Rumors suggest he might be the first to feud with Seth Rollins, but that doesn't preclude him winning the title at a later date if those rumors turn out to be true.

Unless some new NXT call up radically changes the game, Drew McIntyre is best poised to dethrone Rollins in the long run.