Ranking all of WWE's current champions (post Royal Rumble 2019)

Another major weekend in WWE is in the books, with a TakeOver and the Royal Rumble now having passed us by, setting the table for the road to WrestleMania weekend. With a major weekend (and the week after that) came a slew of title changes, with four titles having switched owners.

There are 16 current champions across the company's different brands, and if that's not enough, another set is coming with the women's tag team titles being awarded at Elimination Chamber.

Which champions can we expect to get the most out of during this biggest time on the WWE calendar? They're ranked according to their own abilities - ring work, charisma, and so on - as well as the prospects of their reign bringing excitement to their respective division. Each quality matters when discussing how good a champion is.

Let's take a look.

Warning - this post contains NXT spoilers.

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#16 Chad Gable and Bobby Roode

Random.

Unsurprisingly, the Raw Tag Team Champions again find themselves on the bottom of the list. It's a random pairing of two former singles stars that WWE obviously didn't know what else to do with, and they haven't even been given a story to change this perception.

The two basically remain singles stars taped together, with Bobby Roode still woefully misused as a babyface and Chad Gable only existing.

The Raw Tag Team division remains the worst in the company by a country mile, with no teams having any mojo and as a result, no real prospects for Chad Gable and Bobby Roode's reign as tag team champions.

The division is so poor that they teamed two separate stars from two teams together at the Royal Rumble against the champions in a random match. It's so levelled for talent that they paired Zack Ryder, who got one Raw match in 2018, and Curt Hawkins, who is on a 257 match losing streak, back together to make up the numbers.

The only thing that can redeem this division is a massive shakeup after WrestleMania. Roode and Gable have a zombie reign.

#15 R-Truth

Does R-Truth even know he's a champion?

R-Truth is a champion in 2019. Imagine that. I suppose it isn't hard to see why. He's one of the few people that can pull WWE's attempts at comedy off, and despite his being in his upper 40's, he can still go in the ring.

That said, the fact that he's a champion is as much a condemnation of the United States Championship as it is an endorsement of R-Truth. The way he got it says it all - Shinsuke Nakamura dropped it to Rusev, who reigned for a month, to get it back, only to reign for two days. Then R-Truth took the title and defeated Rusev in a fashion that humiliated the latter.

It's bizarre, showing how little the title is valued by WWE. R-Truth probably won't be the one to erase that stench, no matter how entertaining he is.

#14 Toni Storm

Underwhelming.

Ranking Toni Storm this low will be unpopular with some, but I can't fight the fact that the more I've seen of her, the more underwhelmed I've been. She's a good talent in the ring, but she's just missing something that would make her a memorable superstar.

Her matches and promos just haven't gotten out of second gear. The previous champion, Rhea Ripley, was a lot more interesting.

It also doesn't help that aside from her and Ripley, the NXT UK women's division is still on the ground floor. So what we have with Toni Storm's reign is the combination of an underwhelming champion in an underwhelming division. That's not a good combination.

The division needs to build more stars if Toni Storm is to have a good reign, one which hides the weaknesses that seep out when watching her matches, including the recent title match with Ripley in Blackpool.

#13 The Miz and Shane McMahon

The "best" tag team in the world.

Much as I hate to say it, The Miz and Shane McMahon had a good, entertaining week. They'll face The Usos at Elimination Chamber, which should be a good match as well.

The Miz and Shane McMahon are slowly getting better, but nobody expects this team to last for long. This is almost certainly a mere pitstop on the road to a singles match between these two at WrestleMania 35.

This means that their reign will hamper the ability of the tag team division to build to its own WrestleMania match, weighing down on the overall quality of the doubles scene on SmackDown Live.

The Miz and Shane McMahon might drop their titles as early as Elimination Chamber, though Fastlane would seem like a more likely venue. We can only hope the tag team division builds in the background.

#12 War Raiders

Let the raid begin.

As expected, The War Raiders defeated the Undisputed Era at NXT TakeOver: Phoenix and became the new champions in the yellow brand's doubles division. Unfortunately, they now rule over a division without much worthy of raiding. Aside from the Undisputed Era who they just defeated, no other team is close to their level.

It looks like the rebuilding of the division is beginning, but there isn't much to work with. The Forgotten Sons are bad. The Street Profits haven't impressed. Lorcan and Burch could be an interesting choice, though the dynamic between two babyface teams would need to be accounted for.

Either way, the War Raiders have their work cut out for them, and they don't have the benefit of being as over with the NXT audience as the Undisputed Era was. Thankfully, we can rely on the magicians down at Full Sail to make some magic...eventually.

#11 Zack Gibson and James Drake

UK's #1!

Zack Gibson and James Drake are great heels who rile up the UK crowds like few others do. Their victory over Moustache Mountain in a very good match at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool cemented their status as top antagonists on the UK brand.

Now the hard work begins, though, and they'll need to oversee the building of a division that's still on the ground floor. We know they'll face a challenge from Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch, which should make for a great match, but aside from them, the division is still thin.

One thinks that the UK brand will need to go to the well and set up multiple rematches with Moustache Mountain.

All of that should be great, but there's still so much unknown about the UK division that it will be up to the champions to prove themselves. Fortunately, they have the qualities to do so.

#10 Shayna Baszler

Yawn.

Shayna Baszler retained her title as expected against Bianca Belair in a match that was boring and academic, also as expected. And so her reign of monotony continues, made worse by Duke and Shafir, who have turned the domineering bully of her first reign into the coward of her second.

Fortunately, things should start to take a turn for the better in the NXT women's division. The latest set of NXT tapings suggest that Io Shirai will be Baszler's next challenger.

It isn't set in stone, but a showdown between them could be in the works for TakeOver: New York, where Baszler would likely drop the title to Shirai. From there, the division could enter the rebuild mode it's badly needed.

That should be an exciting prospect, but most of the excitement centres on Shirai, while Baszler's time on NXT has more than gotten long in the tooth.

#9 Brock Lesnar

New photo, same stuff.

After successfully defending his title against Finn Balor in what was an underwhelming match, Brock Lesnar's absentee title reign continues. The good news is that Seth Rollins won the Royal Rumble as expected, which should inject some much-needed life into the Universal title picture.

Seth Rollins and Brock Lesnar have a history going back four years, and Monday Night Raw's workhorse standing toe to toe with its absent champion who didn't do a thing to stop the show's decline is a story that writes itself.

How that story ends will be the most important thing, though. It's by no means guaranteed that Seth Rollins will win, though the fans being fully behind him, unlike Roman Reigns, should make his odds better.

We'll just need to see how it all plays out on April 7th, but for the first time in years, there's some (cautious) optimism in the Universal title picture.

#8 Bobby Lashley

Missing: his little twerp

Bobby Lashley was left behind through a mostly dismal 2018. Fortunately, he's found his footing of late. His act as the silent, domineering fighter standing behind his little twerp of a hype man, Lio Rush, was what the company should have been doing with him all along.

He's an imposing Intercontinental Champion and should be able to have a nice reign during this most pivotal time of the year if he's given the right opponents.

It looks like the company is already starting with that, setting up a feud with Finn Balor. Balor serves as a good contrast with Lashley. Apollo Crews might also be waiting in the wings, and he had an entertaining segment with Lashley a few weeks ago. Crews is lacking in the charisma department, but Rush papers that over.

While he likely won't hit the highs Seth Rollins hit with the title, Lashley and Rush should together keep the title prestigious.

#7 Buddy Murphy

Who will stop the unstoppable?

Buddy Murphy successfully defended his Cruiserweight Championship against three other men in one of the best matches at the Royal Rumble on Sunday. Now we go back to the question - who will stop the juggernaut of 205 Live?

It's not an easy question to answer, particularly considering that, ever since Mustafa Ali's departure for the greener pastures of SmackDown Live, the purple brand lacks another major name to challenge Murphy, aside from a re-do of his rivalry with Cedric Alexander.

Murphy is a stellar champion, delivering match of the month candidates on a routine basis, and he's the right person to lead his division, but one still needs to wonder where the division is headed as WrestleMania comes closer.

The rumoured arrival of KUSHIDA should make things very interesting, but that's still just a prospect for now. Until then, we're in something of a holding pattern.

#6 Velveteen Dream...Or Johnny Gargano?

Spoiler?

At the latest set of NXT tapings, Velveteen Dream defeated Johnny Gargano to win the North American Championship in a shocker. Or it seems that way. There might be an alternate ending.

Either one of them would be a fine champion though. Johnny Gargano needs no explanation, as his title reign would tie in some way to Tommaso Ciampa, while Velveteen Dream would be one of the most exciting personalities in the company carrying the title into a number of possible feuds.

The fact that the North American title is getting this much buzz helps the prestige of either man and both can be more than relied on to make anything that comes their way exciting.

It would probably be better if Dream won, though, just so Johnny Gargano can bring his feud with Ciampa to a conclusion, at last, at NXT TakeOver: New York.

#5 Asuka

Asuka division.

Asuka successfully defended the SmackDown Women's Championship against Becky Lynch at the Royal Rumble in the match of the night. She got a clean tap out in the biggest win of her career, wiping off any stench of illegitimacy that came with how she won the championship at TLC.

One of the best wrestlers in the company, male or female, and also one of the most charismatic, it's nice to see Asuka finally getting treated in the way that her talents mandate.

Unfortunately, her WrestleMania 35 prospects aren't the brightest. With Becky Lynch leaving for Raw and Charlotte Flair likely to follow for some dumb reason, the SmackDown women's division is set to become a one-woman show.

Asuka doesn't have an obvious challenger that could face her at MetLife Stadium, and she'll need to carry a much weaker division until the superstar shakeup comes along.

She's certainly equipped to do so, but her reign during WrestleMania season won't be all it can be as a result.

#4 Daniel Bryan

This is the NEW symbol of excellence!

Daniel Bryan had an unfortunate and unlikely stinker with AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble, but he bounced back nicely with an early segment of the year candidate when he unveiled the NEW WWE Championship belt. The addition of Eric Rowan to his act as his silent heavy also helps.

AJ Styles took issue with all of this, and then Randy Orton, Mustafa Ali, Jeff Hardy, and Samoa Joe came out and voila - we have our men's Elimination Chamber match.

While that looks great, beyond it, things aren't as hot. Like Asuka, Daniel Bryan has no obvious, solid challenger as he heads into WrestleMania 35.

The AJ Styles feud has been done to death and nobody else stands out as a worthy opponent. He'll need to carry SmackDown's main event past the superstar shakeup, which is needed to refresh it. Fortunately, he's more than capable of doing so as he does some of the best work of his already storied career.

#3 Pete Dunne

Bruiserweight.

Although his match with Joe Coffey in Blackpool was a disappointing slog, Pete Dunne is still Pete Dunne, one of the best wrestlers in the company. He made a memorable and well-deserved appearance in the Royal Rumble last Sunday, where he had some of the best spots in the match.

The best part, though, is what awaits Pete Dunne from here. In Blackpool, WALTER made his long-awaited debut and stared the long-reigning UK Champion down.

A clash between them is inevitable and it's impossible not to get excited about it. It has "match of the year candidate" written all over it, even now.

The match will have a ton of intrigue because it might just be the time when Dunne's title reign, which could be over 700 days by that point, finally ends. It would be a huge moment, even regardless of the match quality itself.

#2 Tommaso Ciampa

Staring at goldie.

Tommaso Ciampa again defended his title at TakeOver: Phoenix in the main event, ending Aleister Black's TakeOver undefeated streak and giving him his first clean loss in the process. His arrogance is only going to grow from here. And now, he likely thinks he has Johnny Gargano so broken that he can exercise control over his old blood rival.

Or can he?

That kind of intrigue will serve his reign well as it heads into what should be its climax at NXT TakeOver: New York, where one final, ultimate showdown with Johnny Gargano could be in the cards.

Though in truth, this rivalry has been so wild that it would be difficult to say anything for sure. All we can know for certain is that Tommaso Ciampa can always be relied on in the main event. Unfortunately for him and goldie, there's even bigger buzz elsewhere.

#1 Ronda Rousey

Magic.

Ronda Rousey has more than proven herself in WWE, with her successful title defence against Sasha Banks at the Royal Rumble being one of January's best matches.

Now she once again has Becky Lynch to contend with, and she delivered the best promo of her WWE career during that magic segment on Monday night. This angle has by far the most buzz of any in the company.

Unfortunately, "shoehorn Charlotte" might come along to throw a monkey wrench into things and water down the magic, but even if she finds herself involved it won't be enough to dull Ronda Rousey as currently the best champion in the company, with the hottest angle heading into WrestleMania 35.

It will ultimately be up to WWE if they'd rather have a potentially all-time great angle, the type that only comes around a few times in a decade, or if they'd rather just settle for one of the feuds of the year.