A championship is the most coveted prize in the world of
professional wrestling. When a wrestler becomes the champion, they don’t
*really* win that title. I know that’s not exactly breaking news. What it does
mean, though, is that the powers that be in World Wrestling Entertainment (or
whatever the company is) believe in that person to represent the company as the
champion in their storylines.
Think about when you were a kid. I’m sure we’ve all got a
story like mine. At WrestleMania 4 in 1987, when I was about six and a half
years old, there was the tournament to crown a new WWF Champion. By that point,
my favorite guy was “Macho Man” Randy Savage. I can remember having a Macho Man
shirt and all of the action figures that every kid had, and I was rooting for
him. When the night was over, Savage was holding the WWF Championship above his
head after he beat Ted Dibiase, thanks to Hulk Hogan watching Savage’s back and
preventing Andre the Giant from interfering. I also remember jumping into the
arms of my older cousins that were watching with me and celebrating like my
favorite sports teams won championships. I did get to experience that with the
Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis (now LA) Rams years later, but at that moment,
it was all about the Macho Man for me.
Fast forward to today. After watching wrestling for over 30
years and writing about it for nearly 20 years, I don’t really mark out when
somebody wins a title, but I know there’s probably some kid out there that is
reacting to something the same way that I did with Macho Man. That’s why it’s
important that WWE creates those big moments that can last a lifetime. I still
get excited about title changes too. I’m happy for some of the guys, like when
Kevin Owens won the Universal Title two years ago or AJ Styles won his first
WWE Title two years ago. If a favorite wrestler of mine wins a title, that’s
something that will remind me that’s why I’m still watching this stuff.
Every title change in WWE isn’t great. There are some bad
decisions that make me scratch my head and wonder why, such as Jinder Mahal’s
long reign as WWE Champion last year. I thought it was a bad decision.
Smackdown was hurt because of it, but Smackdown has been better in the last
year with AJ Styles as the WWE Champion. Brock Lesnar’s Universal Title reign
was not well liked by most WWE fans. Lesnar held the Universal Championship for
504 days before dropping it to Roman Reigns at SummerSlam back in August. Since
Lesnar defended that title less than ten times on TV/PPV over that long reign,
it cheapened the title.
There have been plenty of joke champions in the history of
the business, like WCW World Champion David Arquette, WCW World Champion Vince
Russo (he booked himself to win it), WWE Women’s Champion Hervina (Harvey
Whippleman)h and WCW Tag Team Champion Judy Bagwell, to name a handful.
Titles should mean something, and they will always remain a
key part of wrestling stories. They are what every wrestler should want to
have, whether it’s a major title or one of the others. When somebody wins a
title, they should celebrate it as if it was the biggest moment of their career
because for a lot of them, it is. Eddie Guerrero winning the WWE Title at No
Way Out 2004 is one of the best title celebrations ever because of how far he
came in his life to reach that moment.
What I’m here to do today is look at every title situation
on Raw while commenting on how well WWE is booking a title, who the next
challenger is (if a match has been announced), and who next champion could be.
Here’s a listing of all the titles available to WWE talent
on their multiple brands.
RAW (4):
Universal Championship, Intercontinental Champions, Raw Tag Team Championships,
Raw Women’s Title.
SMACKDOWN (4):
WWE Championship, United States Championship, Smackdown Tag Team Championships,
Smackdown Women’s Title.
Should they add more titles? I’m not sure, because there are
clearly a lot of championships today. I would support WWE introducing Women’s
Tag Team Titles, as long as champions would be allowed to appear on both brands
while they have the titles. I think that’s a cool way to make the titles seem
unique and we could get some pretty good matches out of it. There have been
Cruiserweight Tag Team Titles rumors for months, but that hasn’t happened. I
would be fine with that, but I don’t think there’s a need for more than that,
though.
This is part one of my breakdown of the title scenes in WWE.
I’ll have a Smackdown and NXT breakdown later this week, likely on Wednesday.
MONDAY NIGHT RAW
UNIVERSAL CHAMPION:
Roman Reigns (champion since August 19, 2018 at SummerSlam)
NEXT ANNOUNCED TITLE
DEFENSE: Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman at Crown Jewel on November 2.
CHAMPIONSHIP OUTLOOK:
With Roman Reigns turning over the belt because of an illness, this match now
becomes Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman.
I expect Strowman to win the title at Crown Jewel or at any
point before the end of the year. I feel like this is going to be a very long
title reign for Strowman, continuing to establish him as “the guy” in WWE. We
all know that’s how Vince McMahon sees him since Strauman has become the
monster among Men. I can see him holding the title all the way to the next
WrestleMania and even past it, perhaps even getting to the one year mark. If I
had to bet, I’d say he’s the champion until at least until WrestleMania as long
as he’s healthy.
POSSIBLE FUTURE
CHAMPIONS: Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, or Bobby Lashley.
I don’t know when or who, but if I had to pick I’d lean
towards Strowman just because he’s been chasing that title for an over a year
now. Ambrose has a shot if he turns heel. If McIntyre or Lashley gets hot as a
heel, then either one of them could be the guy. I think Rollins has a chance if
they do a Shield triple threat at WrestleMania for the Universal Title and
Rollins wins it that way. That’s what I would do anyway.
RAW WOMEN’S CHAMPION:
Ronda Rousey (champion since August 19, 2018 at SummerSlam)
NEXT ANNOUNCED TITLE
DEFENSE: Ronda Rousey vs. Nikki Bella at Evolution this Sunday, October 28.
CHAMPIONSHIP OUTLOOK:
The phrase “long term champion” comes to mind when talking about Rousey, who is
undefeated in her singles career in WWE. Her only “loss” was at Money in the
Bank when she challenged Nia Jax for the Raw Women’s Title, but even then, it
was Alexa Bliss cashing in on Jax and I don’t think it should be considered a
loss for Rousey. I expect Rousey to get past Nikki Bella, though they may have
a feud that continues past Evolution. I think Rousey will hold the title until
WrestleMania, if not longer. This could be a one-year title reign for her.
Looking further ahead into her future, Rousey may be a part
of Smackdown one year from now because of the reports that Fox wants Smackdown
to be more “sports oriented” when it’s on Fox in October 2019. Some people have
suggested that WWE wouldn’t have even got the Fox deal without Rousey under
contract, so they will probably want her on there. I know Rousey has talked
about wanting to have kids of her own with husband Travis Browne, but maybe she
waits until 2020 or beyond for that.
POSSIBLE FUTURE
CHAMPIONS: Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, or
Natalya.
The reason I have Charlotte and Becky as the first two names
is because I think one of them will win the women’s Royal Rumble next year and
then move to Raw to challenge Rousey for her title at WrestleMania. Nia Jax
could be a contender again if WWE turns her heel. It’s an easy story to tell
with Jax becoming a dominant monster. Shayna Baszler has impressed in NXT, is
likely due for a main roster call up, and since she’s one of Ronda’s best
friends, she could go after Rousey. Natalya is an ally of Rousey that could
turn heel at any time.
It’s tough to pick a name because I expect Rousey’s reign as
champion to be long. I’ll go with Charlotte as the pick for now.
INTERCONTINENTAL
CHAMPION: Seth Rollins (champion since August 19, 2018 at SummerSlam)
NEXT ANNOUNCED TITLE
DEFENSE: None. Rollins is part of the World Cup at Crown Jewel, so he’s not
defending the title.
CHAMPIONSHIP OUTLOOK:
This is Seth’s second IC Title reign this year. The first reign had a few
memorable title defenses, but this title reign has seen him being booked as a
forgotten champion since he was in a tag match at Hell in a Cell last month and
he’s in the World Cup in two weeks. I think Rollins is a guy that is above the
title at this point. I’d rather see him lose it, and then focus on becoming
Universal Champion because he should be a main event singles guy rather than
just the IC Champion. I can see him losing the title before the end of the
year.
POSSIBLE FUTURE
CHAMPIONS: Elias, Bobby Lashley, Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin,
or Dean Ambrose.
Elias immediately comes to mind because it would give him
some credibility since he hasn’t won that many big matches in his WWE career.
Using the title to elevate a wrestler is a smart move. I know he’s lost to
Rollins in the past, but they can always do it again with Elias going over the
next time. Lashley is a solid choice since he’s in the heel role now. I thought
Finn Balor should have won the IC Title earlier in the year since it’s been two
years since he had a title. Let’s see him as IC Champ soon. McIntyre is a
possibility since he’s wrestled Rollins so many times. Baron Corbin was a
forgetful US Champion on Smackdown and maybe he’ll be a forgetful IC Champion
on Raw too. I’m bored by him. I listed Ambrose because it makes sense for him
to turn heel on Rollins, but I think Rollins will drop the title before that.
If I had to pick one, Elias is the best choice to take it
from Rollins in December at the TLC PPV although if it’s before that, then
that’s even better. I’d like the title to be off Rollins before the Royal
Rumble match.
RAW TAG TEAM
CHAMPIONS: Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre (champions since September 3,
2018 edition of Raw)
NEXT ANNOUNCED TITLE
DEFENSE: None. Ziggler is in the World Cup tournament at Crown Jewel while
McIntyre is not.
CHAMPIONSHIP OUTLOOK:
The first time Raw Tag Team Champions are in control of a division that has
really struggled this year. The team of Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy ended due to
Matt possibly retiring due to a hip/leg injury. The “B Team” duo of Bo Dallas
and Curtis Axel were champions that won in a flukish manner, so they didn’t
have a lot of credibility. It seems like Ziggler and McIntyre were just thrown
together to try to give some credibility to the division, even though they
don’t really defend the titles much at all.
POSSIBLE FUTURE
CHAMPIONS: Authors of Pain (AOP), The Revival, Seth Rollins and Dean
Ambrose
I think sooner or later, WWE must get the tag team titles on
AOP. They are a true tag team that can dominate the division for years since
they are guys in their mid-20s and work so well together as a dominant tag
team. The Revival have been booked inconsistently since they made their debut
on the main roster. I don’t know if they are ever going to get to the title
level, but they should be there. I put Rollins and Ambrose on the list because
they seem to wrestle McIntyre and Ziggler every week in singles or tag matches
anyway. I’d rather not see them win the gold, though. Let another team do it.
The problem with Raw’s tag team division is the lack of face
teams. Are Bobby Roode and Chad Gable or The B Team the most credible face
teams right now? I guess they are right now, but that’s not very strong.
It’s not a matter of “if” the AOP wins the titles, but when.
I think it will probably happen within the next month or two.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This is a column I want to do about every three months, and
I’ll try to remember that and hammer out another edition before the Royal
Rumble next year.
I will look at the Smackdown, 205 Live, and NXT Title
situations in a column likely to be posted later this week. Then on Friday,
I’ll be back for some predictions for the women’s only Evolution pay-per-view.
It should be an interesting week in the WWE Universe.
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