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WWE has seen a lot of changes over the last two years. The pandemic forced WWE to make some changes regarding presentation and the WWE Universe. The last two years have also seen the releases of a lot of talent.
2021 has seen perhaps some of the biggest departures from WWE yet as Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman, and Aleister Black were all released. Those are just the biggest names.
Daniel Bryan was one of the most popular stars in WWE history. He is also a multi-time former WWE Champion. His contract expired shortly after WrestleMania 37. Bryan has reportedly signed with AEW.
These roster changes will force WWE to consider a few different Superstars as top Champions. Big E could be one of those, while several others are ready to hoist a Championship on their shoulders.
Here are predictions for the holder of each Championship in WWE at the end of 2021. The options are determined based on the current rosters as well as potential call-ups from NXT. Unsigned stars like Brock Lesnar, Tessa Blanchard, and any other free agents are not factored into predictions.
#7. What new team will win the WWE Women's Tag Team titles?
There aren't many established teams at the moment. Doudrop and Eva Marie aren't on the same page. Alexa Bliss could team up with Lilly. Outside of Tegan Nox and Shotzi Blackheart, the only other team would be the Champions, Natalya and Tamina.
Nox and Blackheart may win the titles from Natalya and Tamina, but they probably won't hold on to them heading into 2022. Charlotte Flair and Asuka had a short reign. Baszler and Jax had a second run of only a few months.
The partnership between Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax should be over. They haven't been on RAW as a team over the last two weeks. Both women will likely be absent from the SummerSlam card.
For that reason, it would be a good idea to keep the duo of Carmella and Zelina Vega together. They came out as back-up for Sasha Banks last week. Staying a duo will give them both something to do going forward.
A tag team title win would also help rehabilitate each woman's 2021 image. Vega and Carmella have lost more matches than they have won so far this year.
Nattie and Tamina will lose their titles soon. Giving them to Blackheart and Nox would help get those two new stars over. Due to the history of shorter reigns behind the titles, however, a heel team will be hoisting the gold. It will probably be Vega and Mella.
#6. The Street Profits and Viking Raiders could become the next faces of WWE's Tag Team division.
It looks like WWE is heading towards crowning RK-Bro the next RAW Tag Team Champs. Randy Orton and Riddle "rekindled" their partnership on the go-home RAW for SummerSlam. AJ Styles is needed in the singles division, so the possibility for a title swap is very high at SummerSlam.
Riddle and Orton should have a decent run with the titles. The formation of the partnership has been volatile at best. Orton also has a history in WWE of turning on someone at a moment's notice. It would be good if RK-Bro won the titles and held them leading up to WrestleMania 38 so that the break-up could lead to a match at 'Mania.
Due to the nature of how tag teams are booked in WWE, their run with the belts may not make it to the end of the year. One will turn on the other at some point. It seems too easy for Orton to turn on Riddle, but who knows what will happen. Riddle could somehow turn the tables and try out being a heel in WWE.
The WWE Draft will take place in October, so teams might switch brands. Unless some new duos are formed on RAW, the Viking Raiders seem like the right team to end the year with the belts.
Erik and Ivar are one of the few remaining teams in WWE and they deserve another title run. They lost in their bid to dethrone Styles and Omos, but they are still one of the most imposing duos in WWE.
When it comes to the SmackDown Tag Team Titles, the Street Profits could enter the same realm of success as the Usos and the New Day. Both of those teams have more than seven runs as Champions in WWE.
Since the Usos won the Championships from the Mysterios on July 18th, they could enter the new year as Champions. They could also lose their titles before the start of 2022. Ford and Dawkins have been out of the title picture for most of 2021.
The Usos may be a part of the biggest storyline on SmackDown, but the landscape of WWE is always changing. Some dissension could cause them to drop the SmackDown Tag Team titles and it should be to the Street Profits. It's still a big-money feud for WWE and SmackDown.
#5. Who will carry WWE's mid-card into 2022?
WWE has plenty of worthy Superstars when it comes to both the Intercontinental and United States Championships. King Nakamura won the Intercontinental title from Apollo Crews on a recent episode of SmackDown.
Crews won the Championship in April at WrestleMania 37 after turning heel. The new character allowed Crews to try something different, leading to a four-month reign as Intercontinental Champion.
Nakamura's first run with the IC title is the longest tenure in the brand-split era. He held the Intercontinental Championship for seven months before losing to Braun Strowman.
WWE has booked the mid-card Champions to have runs of around four months. If that holds true for Nakamura, there's a strong chance he won't be holding the belt once the year ends.
At the very least, Finn Balor deserves another Championship in WWE. There hasn't been any resolution regarding his challenge to Roman Reigns. He may never win a top title in WWE again.
Balor, however, is what the mid-card titles used to stand for in WWE - the work rate. He and Nakamura have fantastic chemistry, so he could very well be the man to beat the new King of WWE. His return to SmackDown would then be justified.
It seems very likely that Damien Priest will take the United States Championship from Sheamus at SummerSlam. Before he became WWE Champion, Lashley had a dominant run with the US title for 175 days. He lost the belt to Riddle but didn't suffer a pinfall. Riddle then lost the title two months later to Sheamus at 'Mania.
If Priest does defeat Sheamus, he'll have to hold the belt for over four months to finish 2021 as US Champion. That could happen, but before Lashley, the United States title changed hands frequently.
With that in mind, a heel could very well end the year with the belt. The 2021 WWE Draft could also see a lot of potential names switch brands. If WWE wants to establish a new heel before 2022 hits, someone like Elias or Karrion Kross makes sense. To sell Kross as one of the next big heels in WWE, he might enter 2022 as US Champion.
#4. Becky Lynch could return to WWE and win back the RAW Women's Title.
Becky Lynch will be gunning for the title she never lost when she returns to WWE. It doesn't matter if an old foe or a new opponent is holding it. She relinquished it in 2020 after a year-long reign and will be looking to pick up where she left off before her pregnancy.
While WWE probably wants another round of Flair vs. Lynch, that feud has been done enough over the last few years. There are many other intriguing stars for Lynch to battle, including Jax, Rhea Ripley, A.S.H., and others. The Man has been training for months and is waiting for the perfect time to make her much-awaited return to WWE.
Nikki A.S.H., Ripley, and Charlotte Flair could all feasibly walk out of SummerSlam with the Championship. Flair needs a change of scenery, and Ripley needs to win the title to cancel out her two losses to the Queen on the big stage.
A.S.H. could sneak out with the title, but her cash-in was done for two reasons. The first reason was so that WWE could add the 11th title win to Flair's resume. The second reason was to come up with a SummerSlam program around the Championship.
Whether it's Flair, A.S.H. or Ripley, the Man should and will target the title. Her return has been anticipated ever since the WWE Universe returned to live events.
John Cena and Sasha Banks have already returned to action, so outside of a huge free-agent addition, Lynch is the next big name that could return to a thunderous reception.
However it happens, the Man will end the year as RAW Women's Champion. All of the women in WWE should be on their toes for her arrival. The night after SummerSlam could also see the return of the Man.
#3. SmackDown could be the home of the Queen after the WWE Draft.
Once Flair returned to WWE late last year, she immediately won the WWE Women's Tag Team belts alongside Asuka. After they dropped the belts back to Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax, Flair wasted little time in challenging Asuka for the RAW Women's Championship at WrestleMania 37.
Flair tested positive for COVID and missed 'Mania. She returned the next night and has been in the title picture ever since. WWE may opt to have Flair walk out of SummerSlam with the title again. Her last reign was one day and they are fast-tracking her to beat her father's record of 16 title reigns.
Whatever happens at SummerSlam, some new women like Alexa Bliss, Baszler, and Jax deserve to be in the title picture in the last quarter of the year.
Now that they have stopped adding her tag team and NXT title wins to the total, she sits at 11 Championships. Becky Lynch will also be back in the picture before the year ends and she might end up on RAW.
While most of the matches between Flair and Lynch have been good, it's not a fresh match-up over the title. Flair and Asuka have also faced each other a lot after WrestleMania.
For that reason, Flair should go to SmackDown. She has faced Bayley, Sasha Banks, and Carmella. The Queen also has a history with Belair dating back to her second run with the NXT Championship. Flair could also feud with Nox, Blackheart, or Storm if and when she wins the SmackDown Championship.
Flair has battled almost everyone on RAW already, so she needs a change of scenery. If Belair is still Champion around Draft time, her chances of losing the title will grow higher with each WWE PPV.
#2. The WWE Draft could provide new challengers for the Universal Championship.
Drew McIntyre cannot challenge for the WWE Championship as long as Bobby Lashley holds that belt. The former WWE Champion has been away from the title picture since failing to capture the Money in the Bank briefcase in July.
The 2021 WWE Draft will take place in October. McIntyre seems like a big name that could change brands, especially since he can't vie for the main title on RAW. He has a history with Roman Reigns, and with the way Reigns has been booked as Universal Champion, he could very well hold the title until Survivor Series.
Reigns and McIntyre have faced off twice over the last few years, with the Tribal Chief winning both times. Reigns defeated McIntyre at WrestleMania 35 and last year's Survivor Series when both were Champions.
It would be good to pay McIntyre back for putting Reigns over in both instances. There aren't a lot of believable names that could dethrone the Tribal Chief, but McIntyre is one of them.
Unless Big E cashes in on Reigns, it's hard to predict which star would make the most sense to dethrone the Head of the Table. McIntyre is a believable threat and someone who could defeat Reigns if they were on the same brand.
McIntyre hasn't reached Reigns' level of stardom just yet, but he is getting very close. If he beat the Tribal Chief for the Universal Championship, it would put the Scottish Warrior in the same conversation as Reigns. Both would be regarded as the greatest current stars in all of WWE and wrestling.
#1. Could Big E cash in to become WWE Champion?
Over the last few years, WWE has occasionally kept fans guessing when it came to Money in the Bank winners and their targets. Brock Lesnar toyed with both Seth Rollins and Kofi Kingston in 2019. He eventually cashed in on Rollins.
Female winners usually cash in on the Champion of their brand. Braun Strowman and the Miz did attempt to cash-in on the Champions of their respective brands as well. Big E could really shake things up this year or even in 2022.
The 2021 Mr. Money in the Bank has primarily been on SmackDown with his briefcase. He hasn't had many featured matches since winning the contract. He has been seen in segments to remind fans (and Paul Heyman) that he has a guaranteed title shot whenever he wants.
Since he is a member of SmackDown, it would make sense for Big E to cash in his briefcase on Reigns. But since the Tribal Chief has been treated as one of the most protected stars in WWE history, Big E could very well cash in on WWE Champion Lashley.
Lashley should beat Goldberg at SummerSlam. If he does not, it would be the perfect opportunity for Big E to cash in his contract. SummerSlam marks Goldberg's second match of his WWE contract.
A win and loss on the same night would essentially write him off of TV until WWE requires his services. However, some recent reports have mentioned that SummerSlam won't be the spot for Big E to cash in his contract.
By cashing in on Lashley or Goldberg, Big E could reunite with the New Day on RAW. That could also happen in the 2021 WWE Draft. His cash-in could also happen after SummerSlam.
Big E is long overdue for a major title run in WWE. He will rectify that mistake when he ends Lashley's reign as WWE Champion in 2021. Lashley is certainly aware of the potential threat that Big E represents.
