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The main roster now has 10 titles on it. All 10 will certainly be defended at WrestleMania 35, and now, we're in the home stretch to the Grandest Stage of Them All. Some titles will change hands there and some won't. Which ones can we expect to swap and which ones are relatively safe on April 7th?
Though the match card hasn't been finalized yet, it's now possible to better read the tea leaves and think about who will probably walk out of MetLife Stadium with gold - and who will lose it.
As WWE gets ready to end one of its calendar years and begin another, here's who we may reasonably expect to begin a WWE New Year with some gold.
Cruiserweight Championship: Tony Nese
Although it doesn't seem like anyone has been properly built up to take the title from Buddy Murphy, by WrestleMania, he'll have reigned for six months, and one feels like it's time for him to move on to bigger and better things. If Mustafa Ali can, Buddy Murphy should get the same chance. The man has completely reinvented himself, and one gets the feeling that 205 Live is now only clipping his wings.
Who to succeed him, though?
Tony Nese has had a well-publicized friendship with the champion for a long time. That would make for a perfect angle as the two move into a WrestleMania match. Nese has also had some momentum of late and winning the title would be a great way to keep it going and transition 205 Live into a new era.
This is by no means guaranteed, though. I'd say that the Cruiserweight title only has a slightly better than 50% chance of changing hands. It would be understandable why Triple H would decide to keep it on Murphy.
Women's Tag Team Championships: The Boss 'N' Hug Connection
WWE is already teasing this match - the very match that everyone knows would signal beyond a shadow of a doubt that the women's tag team division has arrived. If any women's tag team match can be a match of the year candidate, this one is it, and it seems that WWE knows it. That alone would be strong evidence that Sasha Banks and Bayley will still be champions come April 8th. They need to be to have their coming match with the Sky Pirates.
But with their opponents at WrestleMania likely to be multiple opponents in the form of Nia Jax and Tamina, Natalya and Beth Phoenix, and possibly the IIconics, that should be even more evidence in their favor. Beth Phoenix will soon leave and none of the other teams are in any position to lead the division.
Boss 'N' Hug are retaining. This one is a lock.
SmackDown Tag Team Champions: The Usos
Last year, The Usos walked into WrestleMania as champions, but didn't leave that way. This time around looks like it will be different. Their opponents haven't been decided yet, but none of them seem likely to be capable of leading the SmackDown tag team division at the moment. No one has been truly built up for a title run.
The Usos are safe options to see the division through the Superstar Shakeup and into its next phase. No matter what happens over the next few weeks, The Usos will still be the favorites to retain.
Raw Tag Team Champions: Aleister Black and Ricochet
We now know that Aleister Black and Ricochet will compete for the NXT tag team titles at TakeOver: New York. That match is going to be their swan song on the yellow brand. What "better" way for them to arrive on the main roster permanently than with titles around their waist?
I say "better" because the Raw tag team division has been cursed over the past year, and again, Black and Ricochet are better as singles competitors, so in a way, I hope they lose their probable WrestleMania match. However, given the way they've been built up and how badly The Revival have been booked, it's far likelier than not that they will beat their fellow NXT alumni and walk out with the titles.
United States Champion: Samoa Joe
We don't know his challenger(s) yet, but full-stop, Samoa Joe isn't losing his title. If there's anybody capable of bringing the US title back from the brink it's been in for the past year plus, he's the one. Leaving the title on Joe for a while would restore its credibility.
Likely challengers include the three men he's been battling for the past few weeks, but either way, none of them appears ready to beat him now. More interesting feuds await with the Superstar Shakeup.
Intercontinental Champion: Finn Balor
There's a rash of speculation about why Finn Balor lost the Intercontinental Championship this week, but there's nothing concrete to any of those rumors. The likeliest scenario is still Balor going after the Intercontinental Championship in a multi-man scenario, maybe including Baron Corbin and Braun Strowman.
Balor is a strong candidate to move to SmackDown after the Superstar Shakeup, but the mid-card titles have moved in the past, so his winning the title wouldn't stop him from doing that.
This one is on the knife edge, but I slightly favor it changing hands at WrestleMania.
SmackDown Women's Champion: Mandy Rose
Speaking of being on the knife edge, this one is too. Unfortunately, I slightly favor Mandy Rose walking out of MetLife Stadium with the gold.
We're probably headed for a triple threat match between Asuka, Mandy Rose, and Sonya Deville. Lacey Evans might possibly be added to make it a fatal four-way. That scenario means that Asuka can lose the title without getting pinned, protecting her in defeat. With the focus and build she's gotten, Mandy Rose has a slightly greater than 50% chance in such a match, especially with Asuka being advertised for Raw's Japan shows in June, suggesting she might be moving.
But there's also a decent chance Asuka retains. Nobody cares about Mandy Rose, and Fastlane especially made it clear as day that she's not championship material. A Mandy Rose reign would be asking for an exact repeat of Carmella's failed reign a year ago.
Asuka has a way of surviving when everyone thinks she can't, so perhaps WWE will continue to see sense and leave the title on her until the division can be strengthened in the Shakeup, where someone more worthy can eventually succeed her. It's notable that Mandy's build hasn't been super strong or notable. It's just been there.
Fingers crossed, but I still favor Mandy, ever so slightly. Sonya, unfortunately, would probably only be there to get pinned, even though she's much better than Mandy.
Raw Women's Champion: Becky Lynch
This one isn't only a lock, it's the most predictable outcome of the night. Becky Lynch is walking away from WrestleMania as Raw Women's Champion. The only question is how she will do so.
Will she actually be the first one to get a pinfall or submission victory against Ronda Rousey, which is what should happen, or will Charlotte Flair, in a rare role reversal, only be there to take the fall?
That's the only question that matters at this point. Becky Lynch beating Ronda Rousey cleanly would catapult her into superstardom in ways that few people have approached in this day and age. If WWE decides to, unfortunately, play it safe as usual, and have Charlotte Flair take the fall, Becky Lynch's victory won't mean as much. It's the difference between a generational-defining win and a normal title win. That's what's at stake.
Let's just hope they do the right thing.
WWE Champion: Kofi Kingston
A month ago, if you said that Kofi Kingston would walk out of WrestleMania as WWE Champion, you'd be looked at as a crazy person, but here we are. Kofi Kingston has gotten nuclear hot in a short time span, and while that normally wouldn't mean much, it does mean a lot when the company is trying everything it can to keep him hot. Put simply, he's getting the Becky Lynch treatment.
Vince McMahon doesn't become your enemy, take away your title shot, and then put you in a gauntlet match you have to win to get it back for no reason. Kofi Kingston is being built for ultimate triumph, and it will happen at WrestleMania. To go against that triumph would be asking for a fan revolt right now. WWE has invested too much in Kingston.
How long his reign will be is anyone's guess, but after 11 years, he's finally going to get his great moment of glory.
Universal Champion: Seth Rollins
Unfortunately, I'm not as confident about this as I was a few weeks ago. As last year should have made plain, we should never be confident about anything where Brock Lesnar is concerned, except of course his ability to win and disappear when he shouldn't.
The fans are still behind Seth Rollins, but the return of Roman Reigns to the picture changes everything, especially now with his acceptance after his cancer scare. There is at least a decent chance that Vince McMahon again decides to revisit the Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns feud. It would be an atrocious mistake which would send Raw back into the void it's been in for the past two years, and guarantee that fans once again turn on Reigns, but the possibility is strong.
Then there's Brock Lesnar's uncanny ability to squeeze Vince McMahon for concessions. That should always be taken into account.
My fingers are crossed and I'm still favoring Seth Rollins, but by a far lesser margin than I was before. Now, I'd only put his chances of winning at slightly over 50%.
