5 champions WWE fans would like to see in the next year

There are plenty of positives of WWE having an absolutely loaded roster on both major shows, and even at the NXT level. That allows for multiple big-time feuds at once, makes shows more interesting and helps to elevate the importance of every championship in the company.

Those championships also make that deep roster something of a challenge, though. All these talented men, women and teams deserve their time to shine, and it makes every decision for each belt matter that much more.

The WWE made an incredible decision earlier this year putting the WWE Championship on Bray Wyatt, and why a lot of us would like to see another run for the Universal Championship for Wyatt.

Here are five other superstars we’d like to see win gold in the next year.

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#1 Braun Strowman

The “Monster Among Men” has been on a tear lately, and Roman Reigns has paid for it

This almost seems inevitable at this point, but Braun Strowman needs to win the Universal Championship. More importantly, he needs to be the one to take the red belt off Brock Lesnar, and SummerSlam seems like the right time for that.

Ideally, Strowman would’ve gotten the rub of taking the United States championship off Roman Reigns first to make his first title run a little lower profile, but it hasn’t mattered. Strowman has knocked his non-title feud with Reigns out of the park, and he looks ready to challenge the “Beast Incarnate.”

Putting a major title on Braun is definitely the right choice, with the only concern being how you get it back off of him eventually.

#2 Shinsuke Nakamura

Shinsuke Nakamura is wildly popular after his run in NXT

Shinsuke Nakamura is something of an enigma in the WWE. Perhaps no other superstar has been able to command the attention of the NXT and WWE fanbases right out of the gate like Nakamura has. Even his theme song is loved by crowds across the world.

His popularity merits a belt on the “King of Strong Style,” and they literally can’t do one soon enough. The perfect spot for him would be to be the man to take the United States championship off AJ Styles later this year after Styles comes out on top in a feud with current champ Kevin Owens.

A title feud with Owens would also be good, and the three of them working feuds for a historically significant belt for the next several months could be fantastic.

#3 Nia Jax

Nia Jax has been nearly unstoppable in the RAW women’s division

Other than perhaps Strowman, no WWE superstar has been as dominant and unstoppable as Nia Jax of late. New RAW women’s champion Alexa Bliss has helped to accentuate this fact, as Jax is the one members of the division Bliss chooses not to berate in her promos.

Because of that, the choice to make Jax the champion of RAW’s women’s division is a logical one. The writers can only keep her and the belt separate for so long before the story stops making sense.

We could be seeing the beginning of a story involving Bliss’ efforts to stay on NIa’s good side, which could end in Jax being the one to end her reign on the red brand.

#4 Luke Harper

Luke Harper has quietly become a fan favourite during his time in the WWE

Luke Harper has held championships before, first as Intercontinental Champion and then more recently as part of the Wyatt Family’s brief tag team title run on SmackDown. But it could be time for Harper to reach heights he’s never reached before.

Earlier this year, he flirted with the No. 1 contender spot for Bray Wyatt’s WWE Championship as the Wyatt Family came apart at the seams. Fans were very receptive to Harper in such a prominent role, even if he isn’t a completely logical choice as a solo act.

The best way to tell the next chapter in his story would be to have him win a shot at the WWE Championship, either against Randy Orton or Bray, and come out victorious to establish himself as a true star.

#5 New Day

The New Day are no strangers to tag-team gold

This one is less about what the belts could do for the talent, and more about what the talent could do for the belts. Before the New Day went on their historic run as WWE tag team champions and then champions on the RAW brand, that division was stale and had become an afterthought.

Then Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Big E made those championships matter again.

They can do the same for the blue brand. The tag team division on SmackDown hasn’t been quite as good compared to what’s been going on with their counterparts on RAW, and putting those belts on the New Day would give the rest of the division an instant spark and make beating them seem more important.