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Whether Nakamura will be crowned the WWE Champion less than two week's time at Money in the Bank or not, his work since turning heel warrants a WWE Championship victory. Nakamura turned heel at WrestleMania, following his WWE title bout against AJ Styles. After a false showing of respect, he viciously low-blowed the WWE Champion. Since then, he has been on a barrage of low-blows and forgetting the English language in the process.
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His character work has been stellar and is currently light years ahead than when he was a babyface. He is one of the most entertaining parts of a severely rejuvenated Smackdown. After two disappointing non-finishes between Styles and Nakamura, they are set to collide again at Money in the Bank.
The two former New Japan stars will face each other in a Last Man Standing match at the pay-per-view in a match which will surely produce a definitive winner. This feels like Nakamura's time to hold the WWE Title, especially since AJ's reign as champion has not exactly been great due to no fault of his own. But even if he does not win the belt here, he is sure to receive his due, especially with his excellent work as a heel. Shinsuke Nakamura is surely a future WWE Champion.
Here are five other WWE Superstars on the main roster who are going to become the WWE or Universal Champion at some point in the near future.
#1 Braun Strowman
The most obvious first-time World Champion in the WWE would be Braun Strowman. After an annoyingly long year of building him up, his match with Brock Lesnar at No Mercy was highly detrimental to him. Strowman luckily recovered from the setback but has not exactly been showered with creative gold. He does remain one of the most entertaining parts of Monday Night Raw, even if the show has fallen off a cliff in recent weeks.
In terms of looking strong, Strowman is quite heavily protected. With such a strong portrayal of his character, it is baffling that he isn't being used properly. He won the Raw Tag Team titles with a 10-year-old at WrestleMania before relinquishing them on the Raw after 'Mania.
He then went on to team with Bobby Lashley to decimate Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. All of this is happening while Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar are having a stinker of a feud for the Universal Championship.
Braun Strowman won the Greatest Royal Rumble Match and broke the record for most eliminations in a Rumble match (if it counts). That certainly warrants a reward better than a showpiece championship belt and trophy. Brock Lesnar's reign as champion has become monotonous and we need a way out of it soon.
The best person to save us all from Big Bad Brock is The Monster Among Men, as Strowman wins his first World Championship by slaying The Beast. SummerSlam would be a great place for WWE to crown their new male megastar but if it doesn't happen then, Braun Strowman will become the Universal Champion by WrestleMania 35.
#2 Samoa Joe
When Samoa Joe arrived in NXT, he was told that he wouldn't be on the main roster. That thought is completely baffling. Joe is one of the best all-rounders in WWE today. He can wrestle, he can talk, plus he is a competent and believable threat to anybody in the company. Samoa Joe is one of the few guys who has the "It" factor.
Everything about Joe clicks perfectly and he certainly has the tools to be a main-event mainstay on Smackdown Live. He is going to be part of the 2018 Men's Money in the Bank Ladder Match and he may very well win it.
However, Joe would be equally as dangerous without any briefcase. Any man with the athletic ability he possesses, with his size, deserves to be a world champion in WWE.
Despite all of his injury problems, Joe has been remarkably consistent on Raw and Smackdown since getting the call-up from NXT. He could be the next challenger for the WWE Championship if AJ Styles manages to keep his WWE title from Nakamura. Either way, it would be safe to say that Samoa Joe will win the WWE Championship this year, briefcase or not.
#3 Big E
Big E has been earmarked for success in the WWE. One would say it is purely down to his size, but he has bundles of charisma. He is more than competent in the ring, as he and his New Day brothers are producing some stellar singles and tag team matches on a consistent basis on Smackdown. The roll they have been on has led them to a spot in the Money in the Bank ladder match.
The likeliest member to represent the New Day in the match is Big E. He is rumored to be the recipient of a big singles push. Hopefully, WWE doesn't break the New Day up, as it has single-handedly rescued the careers of three flailing mid-carders and made them certain future WWE Hall of Famers. All three members can branch out into singles runs and still be a part of the faction.
If Big E can continue the fine form he has been in, there is no reason to believe that he will not become a World Champion in the near future. Despite all the comedy he does outside the ring, he is a hard man when he's inside the ropes. His speed and athleticism are bettered only by a few big men, while his promo ability ranges from goofy to intense. It would not be a surprise to see Big E become a WWE Champion within the next couple of years.
#4 Elias
Elias is a man who seemed to have a very low ceiling for him in WWE. He did not do very well as "The Drifter" in NXT, but his work on the main roster has seen him reach levels of popularity that nobody thought he could reach. Elias's push has been slow and gradual since he surfaced on the main roster during the 2017 Superstar Shake-Up. Weekly concerts were interrupted by various babyfaces on the roster, while sometimes they went uninterrupted.
As a guitarist who has the freedom to sing any song about any city, it is pretty easy for Elias to get heat from live crowds. His schtick has gotten remarkably over from city to city. So far, Elias has been an absolute success on the main roster. He shared camera time with Chris Jericho and John Cena on the 25th Anniversary of Raw, standing tall over Cena at the end of their in-ring segment. Elias even appeared as a major troll to the audience at WrestleMania, when the crowd was expecting The Undertaker.
Elias is scheduled to face Seth Rollins for the Intercontinental Championship at Money in the Bank. This match could take him to the next level as he is facing one of the best in the business. However, Elias would have thrived as a potential Money in the Bank winner.
Imagine a scene where the WWE Champion is down and weak in the ring, and we hear Elias's signature guitar strum. The arena would go crazy! With the way Elias is gathering momentum, WWE will soon stand for "WALK WITH ELIAS".
#5 Drew McIntyre
On a mid-to-late 2009 episode of Smackdown, Vince McMahon was in the ring with a young and fresh Scotsman named Drew McIntyre. Mr McMahon publicly declared that he is a future World Champion. It may have taken a failed run, a release, self-realization, a run on the Indies and a return in NXT, but Drew McIntyre is finally going to become a World Champion in the WWE.
His journey back to WWE has been well-portrayed. He was released from WWE in 2014 as a boy, and he returned to WWE in 2017 as a man. McIntyre truly became one of the biggest non-WWE wrestlers and worked tremendously hard in the process. His work was noticed when he was re-signed by WWE and won the NXT Championship. After returning from a bicep injury on Raw, McIntyre has claimed to be the "wake-up call" that the locker room needs.
He was the 'Chosen One' in 2009, but he has tremendously improved since then. McIntyre does not seem to have any weakness as a wrestler, he is the total package. He is huge in size, as evidenced by a brief moment with Braun Strowman on the 14th May episode of Raw. He can also move like a smaller wrestler, while his promo ability has improved leaps and bounds since he was fired in 2014. His current partnership with Dolph Ziggler is a vehicle on Drew McIntyre's pathway to greatness. Now if only WWE brings back "Broken Dreams".
Who else can be a possible champion in the future? Let us know in the comments section below!
