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Styles has been champion for a while now, and we're all happier for it. After the disaster which was Jinder Mahal, Styles has brought a lot of stability to the prize, holding on to it since November 2017. He has taken the belt through Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, and even WrestleMania. He is the gold standard of SmackDown right now.
However, every champion's reign comes to an end eventually. We have seen our fair share of transitional champions, and we have also seen epic reigns. Be it Bruno Sammartino eight years as champion or John Cena's two-minute reign, WWE has given a whole spectrum of title lengths. Even though Styles' reign is one of the longer WWE Championship reigns in the past decade, it will end soon. So, keeping that in mind, let's look at who all will be the next 5 WWE Champions.
#5 Shinsuke Nakamura at Money in the Bank 2018
I mean, this one is obvious. If Nakamura does not triumph over Styles at Money in the Bank, his character can be considered dead in the water. Even though this rivalry has been tepid at best, Nakamura needs to unleash a vicious side and absolutely pummel AJ Styles for the championship. If he doesn't do so, it would be a massive disservice to his work and his character.
We know how the story has been building, with low blows being a big part of this feud. Styles can try and be resilient, but a hyper and brutal Nakamura attack eventually puts him out. This match can be a spectacle of violence and storytelling which established Nakamura as the next big threat. The match can have a wonderful end sequence, where Nakamura, who is frustrated with the resilience of Styles, low blows him and Kinshasa's him to finish him off. This would be a great exclamation point to the rivalry, and Nakamura can begin his reign as the King of SmackDown and the WWE.
#4 Jeff Hardy at Survivor Series 2018
Even though this may be a left-field shout, Jeff Hardy is and always will be tremendously over with the crowd. Even though he makes a great United States Champion, he should eventually ditch the title to someone like a Big Cass or an Andrade Almas, as they could benefit from that belt to establish themselves on the main roster. In the meantime, Hardy begins his ascent over the WWE ladder and becomes number one contender to the tyrannical Nakamura.
Nakamura has been a dominant champion, as he uses his cleverness and deviousness to win matches and stick on to the strap. He has put aside makeshift challengers in the form of Randy Orton and Rusev and has properly put AJ Styles to rest. Now Jeff Hardy rises to the top to challenge the Japanese sensation. Hardy uses his grit and determination, coupled with his flying abilities to put away Nakamura and celebrate with the fans. His return has been completed, and he has ascended the WWE mountain successfully again.
#3 Samoa Joe at Royal Rumble 2019
Jeff Hardy's fairy-tale can't last longer than a few months, however, as the Samoan Submission Machine set his eyes on the prize. After Joe went on a rampage over the roster, dispatching all his opponents in a short space of time, Paige has decided to make Joe the next contender. Hardy won his rematch against Nakamura at Clash of Champions in December but fell to a Samoa Joe post-match attack.
Joe had been feuding with Bryan and has put him temporarily out of commission, and does the same to Hardy at the Rumble. Hardy tried his level best to use his speed to avoid the attacks of the clever Joe, but eventually, he was overwhelmed, beat down and made to pass out in the Coquina Clutch. Joe holds the WWE Championship over the lifeless body of Hardy and promises to be the most destructive WWE Champion ever.
#2 Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35
Daniel Bryan returned from injury after the Royal Rumble and vowed to get revenge on Samoa Joe. While Joe was busy dealing with the challenge of Jeff Hardy, Bryan won an Elimination Chamber match to make himself the number one contender to Samoa Joe's WWE Championship, as the Royal Rumble was won by Braun Strowman from Raw. With his eyes set on exacting revenge from the man who put him on the shelf after using a top rope muscle buster, Bryan walks into WrestleMania 35 with his career on the line. Joe has promised to leave Bryan alone if Daniel wins the match.
Joe walks into WrestleMania as a braggadocios heel who hasn't taken the Bryan threat seriously, considering how easily he put Bryan aside the last time. However, a resilient and determined Bryan brings the fight to Joe. Even though he is being overwhelmed by Samoa Joe, Bryan uses his technical prowess and high octane style to somehow win the match by the skin of his teeth. An enraged Samoa Joe assaults Bryan post-match and walks out of the arena in frustration knowing that he can't challenge for the belt again.
#1 The Miz at WrestleMania 35
The Miz won the Money in the Bank briefcase in 2018 and has been holding on to it ever since. Even though he teased cash-ins on Nakamura and Hardy, he never did it. Meanwhile, he has been in and out of feuds with The New Day, Shelton Benjamin and Randy Orton. Even though he has been carrying the briefcase around, he has been busy as a mid-card hand but winning most of his feuds nonetheless.
After losing to Randy Orton earlier in the day, The Miz pounces on an unconscious Bryan. He tries to get him into a Skull Crushing Finale, but Bryan tries to escape the move. the second Bryan wriggled free, Miz took him down with a big boot, picked him up and finished him off with a Skull Crushing Finale. He holds the belt over his blood-rival Daniel Bryan, who's WrestleMania redemption has been spoiled. The crowd rains boos on The Miz, and everyone knows that we are finally getting Bryan vs. Miz over the next few months.
