Here's a look at all the champions on WWE Smackdown along
with who might be the ones to take the titles away.
There was big news in the world of WWE this week and also
some really sad news as Roman Reigns appeared on Raw to tell the world that he
had leukemia. Reigns revealed that he had leukemia (a form of cancer) eleven
years ago when he was 22 years old, but now it’s back and he has to relinquish
the Universal Championship to focus on getting better.
Reigns delivered a very emotional speech about how he is
going to beat leukemia; he’s going to get back to WWE and how much he loved
being a WWE superstar. It was a genuine speech that touched all of us that
watched it, including the crowd that chanted “Thank You Roman” to him. Reigns
made it clear that this was not a retirement and I certainly hope that is true,
but you never really know how things will go when you have an illness as
serious as leukemia.
To Roman Reigns, on behalf of every wrestling fan, I wish
you the best in your recovery. I know that a lot of people over the years may
not have liked the Roman Reigns character and they booed him in the arena, but
as fans we have an appreciation for what every male and female do by busting
their ass to put on a show for us in a WWE ring. We respect all of them,
especially a guy that has made it to Roman’s level as a WWE and Universal
Champion that has also headlined the last four WrestleManias.
Roman let us know that his name is Joe (last name is Anoa’i)
and he needs to go home to beat this leukemia, which is something I think we
can all understand. Roman has a wife, a daughter, and twin sons. Here’s hoping
he can live a long and healthy life with his family by his side. This is not
like some injury where we know a guy is coming back in six months. We don’t
know if he is coming back, but we will continue to pray and hope for the best
for him.
Earlier in the week, I wrote a breakdown of every champion
on WWE Raw and in it, I assumed that Reigns was going to be the long-term
Universal Champion. That was about seven hours before Raw aired, so I had no
idea what was coming. The Tag Team Titles also changed hands that night, with
Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins becoming the Raw Tag Team Champions, but that ended
in controversy due to the Ambrose heel turn when he attacked Rollins. It was a
sad night that ended with a crazy turn that may not have been appropriate on
that night, but its pro wrestling and anything can happen at any time as we
know.
It’s time to focus on WWE Smackdown Live’s four
championships.
SMACKDOWN LIVE
WWE CHAMPION: AJ
Styles (champion since November 7, 2017 at Smackdown)
NEXT ANNOUNCED TITLE
DEFENSE: It’s AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship at Crown
Jewel on Friday, November 2nd. (There are rumors that Bryan doesn’t want to
participate at Crown Jewel, so the match may change, but he’s advertised, so
I’ll proceed as if that is still the case.)
CHAMPIONSHIP OUTLOOK:
The second WWE Title reign for “the face that runs the place” AJ Styles has
lasted for nearly one year. This year, Styles had long term feuds with Shinsuke
Nakamura and Samoa Joe where I thought that each man was going to win the title
at some point, but it didn’t happen. I think the Nakamura feud failed to live up
to the hype. For whatever reason, it just didn’t click. The feud with Joe was
good with WWE booking Joe like a cheap heel that makes it personal, but it was
not a great rivalry.
I think the WWE Championship has been hurt by the fact that
Styles doesn’t get to main event PPVs and is always taking a backseat to a Raw
match on those major shows. While I think it would be great if Bryan were to
become WWE Champion again, I just don’t think this is the right time. I can see
something happen where Bryan loses due to some distraction by The Miz, which
could set up a triple threat match between the three men at Survivor Series or
something like that.
POSSIBLE FUTURE
CHAMPIONS: The Miz, Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, Samoa Joe
Styles has been the best overall wrestler in WWE since the
day he got there in January 2016, so we’re talking about three years now. As
good as he has been I think it’s time for a title change. What I think will
happen is we’ll get Styles vs. Bryan vs. Miz at Survivor Series for the WWE
Title and Miz will find a way to win by doing something cheap to become WWE
Champion. At recent Survivor Series events, WWE has gone with the Raw vs.
Smackdown theme, but reports are out there are noting that it’s likely not
going to be that way this year, which is good.
The Miz as WWE Champion can lead to Bryan either winning the
Royal Rumble or earning a WWE Title shot some other way, leading to Bryan
beating Miz for the WWE Title at WrestleMania 35 next year. It would mean Bryan
gets the WWE Title one year after he returned to the ring. Randy Orton could
also be the next WWE Champion since he’s targeting popular wrestlers. He also
hasn’t had a feud with Styles since they’ve been Smackdown guys for over two
years, so that’s a possibility. I just think Miz deserves another shot as WWE
Champion, so he’s my pick as the next champion. I can see Styles matched up
against a guy like Orton or maybe a dream match against Shawn Michaels at
WrestleMania.
SMACKDOWN WOMEN’S
CHAMPION: Becky Lynch (champion since September 16, 2018 at Hell in a Cell)
NEXT ANNOUNCED TITLE
DEFENSE: This Sunday, October 28 at Evolution, Lynch defends the Smackdown
Women’s Title against Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing Match.
CHAMPIONSHIP OUTLOOK:
Lynch just won the championship last month, so I doubt she’s going to drop it
to Charlotte already. Then again, Charlotte had less than a month as the
champion. This feels like the end of their rivalry at Evolution and I’m
thinking Lynch will win. I can see Lynch as a long-term SD Women’s Champion that
carries the title all the way to WrestleMania. I think Charlotte will win the
Women’s Royal Rumble and challenge Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women’s Title at
WrestleMania.
POSSIBLE FUTURE
CHAMPIONS: Asuka, Naomi, Carmella, Charlotte Flair
I can see WWE trying to reboot Asuka by having her win the
battle royal at Evolution. It sets up a feud with Becky Lynch, which hasn’t
been done before, so it would feel fresh. They could also get there by not
having Asuka win the battle royal. Naomi’s very popular and hasn’t had much to
do this year, so that can be a rivalry for Lynch. Now that Carmella is in a
face role, she could get a title shot at some point although I doubt she wins
it. I listed Charlotte, but I don’t think it will be her. I’ll go with Asuka
possibly winning the title next year perhaps at WrestleMania or sometime before
that.
UNITED STATES
CHAMPION: Shinsuke Nakamura (champion since July 15, 2018 at Extreme Rules)
NEXT ANNOUNCED TITLE
DEFENSE: none
CHAMPIONSHIP OUTLOOK:
I think it’s fair to say that Nakamura is the worst booked champion on the main
roster right now. He beat Jeff Hardy for the title, they had a rematch and then
Hardy moved on to his feud with Orton while Nakamura has had nothing to do. The
lack of long-term planning for him as champion is pretty bad.
POSSIBLE FUTURE
CHAMPIONS: Rey Mysterio, Andrade Cien Almas, Rusev
Rey Mysterio will probably be the next US Champion. He beat
Nakamura in a non-title match in the World Cup qualifying match and Nakamura
tweeted that it wasn’t over between them. That likely means some more matches
are coming with the US Title on the line. It wouldn’t surprise me if the title
change happens within the next month since Nakamura is doing nothing as
champion. From there, Mysterio can put over Andrade Cien Almas for the US Title
because then it’s a veteran putting over a young guy for his first title. Rusev
is a former US Champion, but that was when he was a heel. A rivalry with
Nakamura could be good for both guys.
SMACKDOWN TAG TEAM
CHAMPIONS: The Bar – Sheamus and Cesaro (champions since October 16, 2018
at Smackdown)
NEXT ANNOUNCED TITLE
DEFENSE: The Bar vs. The New Day for the Smackdown Tag Team Titles at Crown
Jewel on November 2.
CHAMPIONSHIP OUTLOOK:
The Bar beating The New Day for the Smackdown Tag Titles two weeks ago was a
surprise that I didn’t see it coming. Big Show turned heel by putting Kofi
Kingston through an announce table while Sheamus hit Big E with a Brogue Kick
to win the titles. It sets up the trio of Sheamus, Cesaro, and Big Show
(Showbar?) as a new group for New Day to conquer, so this could be a long-term
feud. I would be surprised if New Day won the titles back at Crown Jewel next
week.
POSSIBLE FUTURE
CHAMPIONS: The Usos, The New Day, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, Sanity.
The Smackdown Tag Team division is a lot better than what
they have on Raw, so there are options here. Due to there being other worthy
teams on Smackdown, it’s hard to forecast if this will be a long-term title
reign or if they drop the gold before the end of the year.
The Usos stick out to me because I think they’re the best
team in WWE, with New Day and The Bar right after them. Sadly, The Usos have
taken a back seat this year, but I think by doing this title change, WWE wanted
to get the gold on a heel team like The Bar to set up a rivalry with The Usos
to end the year and to go into next year. I can see The Usos winning the gold
early next year. The New Day certainly could be the ones to get it back too,
but why do the title change in the first place? That’s why I think it will be
The Usos. I included Gallows & Anderson and Sanity there because I’m
hopeful that WWE remembers that they are great teams that should be doing more.
Right now, there’s just not much going on with them.
I’m going to go over the four NXT Titles quickly. The next
major NXT show is NXT Takeover Wargames on November 17, 2018. Most of the card
isn’t announced yet, so that will be known when they have their next tapings
soon.
FINAL THOUGHTS
That’s my look at the title situations in WWE. I’ll try to
do this again in about three months prior to the Royal Rumble. I’ll be back on
Friday with some predictions for the women’s only WWE Evolution pay-per-view
event.
No comments:
Post a Comment