5 veterans who could become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion

Can Chris Jericho become WWE Champion again?WWE has reached an interesting time – with many veteran full-timers out injured, there is no experienced wrestler base to guide the up and comers. True, Triple H is the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, but he doesn’t wrestle week in and week out.So does this mean that the younger lot will usher in a new era by becoming WWE World Champion?Well, that might not happen as long as the following list of WWE veterans remaining put with the company. This article takes a look at 5 veterans who can become the WWE World Heavyweight Champions in the future.No, the list does not contain those veterans like Kane, The Big show and even Chris Jericho who have no realistic chance of becoming the WWE Champion again.Note: A wrestler qualifies as a veteran if he has had at least 10 years’ experience with the company or if he made his main roster debut over ten years ago.

#1 John Cena

The most obvious choice.

It is a given that John Cena will once again climb to the top of the wrestling mountain once he returns from injury. There isn’t anybody in the WWE other than Cena and Randy Orton who have seen it all in the company.

A near 15-year presence on the main roster, Cena has won championships, main evented every PPV imaginable and is undeniably the synonym for the WWE over the last decade.

Hardcore fans might boo and dismiss him for being too cheesy, however, the truth remains that Cena always generates a reaction from the crowd.

No other main eventer has put so many young talents over and it is a testament to Cena’s love for the business that he has remained rooted to the one-dimensional good guy image whereas it would have been more satisfying for him to accept a heel persona and relive his former ‘Chain gang’ avatar which suits him best.

Sooner or later, WWE is going to want to have the king back on top – no, I am not talking about Roman Reigns or the self-booked King of Kings who is the current champion. The current break might just do Cena a world of good, giving time for the fans to miss him and want him back.

#2 Randy Orton

The only other WWE veteran other than Cena to have a realistic shot at winning the title in the near future is Randy Orton.

Unlike Cena, Orton has shown great prowess in developing various layers of his persona over the years. His progression from being the Legend Killer to the Viper via being one-half of Rated RKO and the IED prone psychotic heel is nothing short of legendary.

Orton had been booked quite shabbily for a couple of years before winning the WWE title from Daniel Bryan, and even after that, he had to remain in the shadow of the spotlight-hungry faction of the Authority.

However, we did see the glimpses of the old Viper when he unleashed his fangs on a naive Seth Rollins prior to last year’s Wrestlemania, which was one of the few positive things of the year from the company.

Booked right, Orton is one of the hottest acts in the industry today and it will only be a matter of time before an RKO hits the WWE World Heavyweight Champion out of nowhere and we once again usher in the age of Orton.

#3 The Undertaker

Normally, the Deadman would not have made this list. It seems inconceivable that a 50-year-old would have a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight title.

However, with the WWE happy to usher in the ‘part-time’ era where even the sport’s greatest prize can be won (and rarely) defended by special occasion wrestlers like Brock Lesnar and Triple H, I am inclined to give the Deadman a shot as well.

WWE seems ok with the champion defending the title once in two months and not even entering into a physical confrontation in the ring. The Deadman persona is ideally suited for the same.

A couple of typical Undertaker promos and a title defence might be all that is required to continue the trend in the WWE, though, it remains doubtful whether a person like Mark Callaway, who has great respect for the business would want to take up the mantle at the expense of younger talents.

#4 Dolph Ziggler

It is difficult to consider Dolph Ziggler as a veteran – but Ziggy made his debut in the company in 2004, as the caddie for the golfer persona of Chavo Guerrero.

He further made a name for himself as a member of the Spirit Squad before starting his singles run under his present name. What separates Ziggler from someone like The Miz who also started out on the main roster around the same time is the fact that the fans love his wrestling talent.

While the Miz has improved leaps and bounds since being carried by John Morrison during the initial days of their highly successful tag team, he is no match for Dolph who is on another level altogether.

Ziggler might be languishing in the mid-card now, but he was in the same position before being surprisingly booked to be the man to drive the Authority out of the WWE two years back.

With CM Punk gone and Daniel Bryan likely to follow suit, Ziggler might be the next peoples’ wrestler and the WWE might just have to reward him with the gold for that alone.

#5 Brock Lesnar

Lesnar has not spent 10 years in the WWE – but he made his main event debut in 2002.

That was a time when the nWo were wrestling in WWE main events, Shawn Michaels had not even begun his second wrestling run and guys like Stone Cold, The Rock and even Mr.Perfect were part of the WWE roster – meaning that Brock Lesnar has to be counted as a WWE veteran.

Lesnar is the strongest booked superstar in the company and it seems increasingly likely that he will once again get his hands on WWE gold in the future. It might not happen at this year’s Wrestlemania as a battle with Bray Wyatt looms, but Brock cannot be written off.

Brock hasn’t had feuds with any of the younger talent other than Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins and has never had feuds with the more seasoned bunch of wrestlers as well, most notably Randy Orton.

The title might just be introduced as the accessory to fuel the beast’s rage.