Predicting which superstars will hold a WWE championship this year

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When a superstar enters WWE, they all have the goal of winning a championship. Regardless of what title, winning a belt in the biggest wrestling company in the world is big deal.

2018 had some good title changes, and some questionable ones. In this article I will look at every championship in WWE and assign one superstar I think will win that title during this calendar year.

To make it exciting, if a superstar is holding a title right now, they are disqualified from that category. 

WWE Championship – Kevin Owens

Let’s start with the main title on SmackDown live. At this time, Daniel Bryan is WWE champion and is defending against Kofi Kingston at Fastlane on March 10th. I think Bryan will retain heading into WrestleMania.

In recent weeks WWE has been playing vignettes for the return of Owens. I think he will be back before Mania and I think he will be the one to dethrone the “New” Daniel Bryan. Kevin Owens seems to be returning as a babyface and I think he will be the perfect opponent for Bryan. The Kevin Owens being portrayed leading up to his return is in many ways the opposite to Daniel. Kevin Owens has never held the WWE Championship, and I think him beating Bryan at Mania will get a good reaction.

Owens would be fantastic as WWE Champion. I choose Kevin Owens to win the WWE title this year.

Universal Championship – Seth Rollins

Now this prediction is bit cheap on my part, because I think this is a near certainty heading into WrestleMania season. Seth Rollins was just lingering in the mid-card and not really doing anything for a long time. WWE re-lit the fire of Rollins last year when he wrestled for almost an hour in a gauntlet match, and he burned the place down- see what I did there?

Fast forward to January 27th of this year at the Royal Rumble. At this point Rollins was by far the most over superstar going into the Rumble. He went on to win the men’s Rumble and chose to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title at Mania. I think Brock is done in WWE, and has been checked out for a very, very long time. They have been setting up Seth as the underdog ever since the Rumble, and I think this is set up too perfectly for Seth to win at WrestleMania.

Seth is my pick to win the Universal title this year.

United States Championship – Andrade

This is my first pick that is not set in stone and does not seem to be in the cards. However, the U.S. Title is doing absolutely nothing right now, and hasn’t been an important title for a while. I love R-Truth and he deserved to win that title. However, I think if you want that title to be seen as prestigious again, put it on Almas.

Almas has been putting on absolutely amazing matches over the past few weeks. I would love to see a proper Almas vs Mysterio feud over the United States Title. After watching his work in NXT I think he is best when he has a title, and he would be really good for the belt.

With the fantastic pairing of Almas and Zelina Vega, he’s my pick to win the U.S. title in 2019. Tranquillo!

Intercontinental Championship – Aleister Black

I’ve gone very NXT heavy with my next couple picks, starting with Aleister Black. Black seems to be leaving NXT after he said goodbye, so let’s assume he is being called up. If he gets called up I think it is almost certain that he goes to Monday Night Raw. I think WWE really likes Black. I personally don’t want him to be put in the main event scene straight away.

The reason for that is I think if he goes for the title straight away he should win it, and I want to see Seth have a lengthy run. Also if Finn holds on to that Intercontinental Championship from a greedy perspective that is a feud I would kill to see. Aleister Black would make a fantastic Intercontinental Champion and it’ll be a good way to introduce him to main roster before he wins the Universal Title at some point maybe this year.

Aleister Black is my pick to win the Intercontinental Championship this year!

Smackdown Tag Team Championship – Undisputed Era

Jumping back over to SmackDown and continuing on with the NXT theme, Undisputed Era will almost definitely be called up in 2019. They are the most SmackDown Tag Team I’ve ever seen. SmackDown is very much the “wrestling show” with guys like AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, Andrade. Undisputed Era would fit right in on that show, and there are several dream matches.

Just imagine matches like Adam Cole vs Daniel Bryan, Fish and O’Reilly vs The Usos, Fish and O’Reilly vs New Day and the list goes on. I think if they do come to SmackDown the Tag Titles are the ideal titles for them to win first like they did in NXT. Once Fish and O’Reilly win the tag titles and they start to establish themselves as a faction Adam Cole can go for the WWE title but I don’t think that would work as well the other way around.

My pick is Undisputed Era to shock the system and take Smackdown Tag Titles in 2019.

Raw Tag Team Championship – DIY

To end off my NXT picks, we saw DIY on Raw and SmackDown last week. If they are permanently called up, I think they should absolutely go to Raw. There is already a story for them to win the tag titles. Let’s assume Revival keep the tag titles because I think they will for a little while. They would have every reason storyline-wise to come out and demand a shot at the Tag Titles.

I think they will have another mini-series for the belts, and we can get the second act of the never ending story between Johnny Wrestling and Tommaso Ciampa. I think them winning the Raw Tag Titles, then loosing them after a decent run would elevate the titles, and be a catalyst for a feud on the main roster. I think they both have huge ceilings on Raw as singles stars, but I would like to see them as a team when they start on main roster (if they haven’t already).

My choice for the Raw Tag Team Titles in 2019 is DIY!

Women’s Tag Team Championship – IIconics

I have a soft spot for the IIconics. I loved them in NXT and was super excited when they arrived on the main roster. I think they had a bit of a rocky start on main, and for the first little while the fans didn’t know how to react to them and their comedy did not translate. However over the last few months Peyton and Billie Kay have really found their footing and are genuinely one of the bright spots of the SmackDown women’s division.

When the tag titles were awarded at Elimination Chamber, I really hoped they would win. They have worked so hard and are such a good tag team. The SmackDown women’s division is in a weird spot right now because Asuka is nowhere to be found.  Becky and Charlotte are involved with a Raw storyline, so there’s a need for a star.

Kay and Royce are my choices to make the Women’s Tag Team Titles a bit more iconic.

Smackdown Women’s Champion – Charlotte Flair

This is a certainty, so long as Charlotte stays on SmackDown of course. She get’s a lot of hate because she is pushed fairly hard. However, she is one of the best wrestler on the roster, male or female. They have bungled Asuka tremendously, and SmackDown needs a top Women on the show. They need someone that will hold the title and be a dominant, a good heel champion.

The idea of Charlotte being Smackdown Women’s Champion, and Becky being Raw Women’s Champion makes me happy. It feeds further into their ever-evolving story. It could also lead to a rematch again at Survivor Series next year, but that’s a little bit of fantasy booking on my part.

Following WrestleMania, I think Charlotte will go back to SmackDown and reclaim the Women’s Championship.

Raw Women’s Champion – Becky Lynch

Along with Seth, I think this one is a little obvious. I had to pick Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship. Over the past several months the Becky train has just kept picking up steam. I think what really solidified her being over was when she was injured by Nia Jax before Survivor Series. Since then, she has been far and away the most over superstar in the company, and is very much an Austin-like figure.

She lost to Asuka clean at the Rumble where Asuka retained her SmackDown Women’s Champion. Later in the night in the Women’s Rumble she took the spot of an injured Lana. Lynch went on to eliminate Charlotte to win, which got the biggest pop of the night by far. I think Becky beating Ronda at Mania regardless of whether or not Charlotte is in the match will be huge.

I think it is too perfect for Becky not to win this title in the main event of WrestleMania!

____
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Follow our writer Austin Luff (@Ginger_Guy_).



About Post Author

Austin Luff

Austin Luff is a broadcasting student at Durham College and one of the original writers at The Scrap, contributing since the site's inception. Passionate about MMA, Professional Wrestling and Influencer Boxing, Austin also produces video content for The Scrap's YouTube channel. With his large TikTok following and creativity, Austin was meant to be a Paul brother in this lifetime.
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