5 first time world champions to expect in WWE in 2018

Turn back the clock to December 2016, and no one would have guessed that Jinder Mahal would spend half of the year to follow reigning as WWE Champion. That’s representative of one of the greatest qualities of WWE programming.

While there tip top stars who remain featured for years and years—the John Cenas and Randy Ortons of the world—each year also sees new stars rise up to the top.

So who will ascend to world champion status—winning the WWE or Universal Championship for the first time in 2018? We can never know for sure because, while some pushes evolve organically, others are less planned or happen because of a need, like The Great Khali moving up in 2006, or Kevin Owens winning the Universal Championship in 2016 after Finn Balor got hurt.

This article takes a look at five first time champions to expect in WWE in 2018. The list includes some guys already knocking on the door of the main event, but also some names that just might surprise you.

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#5 Braun Strowman

Braun Strowman is very much in line for a title reign.

At the present moment, there’s a very real argument that Braun Strowman is the biggest full-time star not named Roman Reigns on the WWE roster. Strowman is exactly the sort of big man Vince McMahon traditionally salivates over.

Add onto that that he has succeeded in legitimately connecting with the audience. He even proved himself in the ring with some rock solid performances opposite The Big Show, Reigns, in the SummerSlam main event Fatal Fourway.

The only thing Strowman is missing? A world championship reign.

While other guys on this countdown have picked up the top titles in other promotions, Strowman is a legitimately fresh face on the main event level on any platform. After being booked to contend with Brock Lesnar in 2017, and even picking up a clean win on Reigns, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before he gets the node for the Universal or WWE Championship.

#4 Shinsuke Nakamura

Shinsuke Nakamura is set up to play a starring role on SmackDown Live.

Shinsuke Nakamura was a big enough, popular enough star in Japan to convince WWE to not only sign him but also treat him like a big deal when he arrived.

After reigning as NXT Champion, he got the star treatment upon his SmackDown debut. It’s worth noting that he’s an incredibly rare Japanese star to consistently work as a face for WWE. Additionally, he’s not had to have his gimmick revolve exclusively around his nationality.

Add up all of these factors and Nakamura is very much a talent WWE seems invested in as a headliner. While his path to the championship isn’t entirely clear, he’s a likely opponent for current reigning WWE Champion AJ Styles.

WWE has shrewdly kept the two apart for the most part so far, and it’s no secret that they worked together sensationally for NJPW. The rumour mill has Nakamura in the title picture with the Phenomenal one for as soon as WrestleMania.

#3 Bobby Roode

Roode has collected gold everywhere; the WWE main roster is the next spot to do so

Bobby Roode is no stranger to championship gold. He was a successful world champ for Impact Wrestling and went on to become the man for NXT after besting Shinsuke Nakamura for the title there. But can Roode capture the big one — world championship gold with the biggest wrestling company in the world?

Roode is said to have been handpicked for a main roster call-up when SmackDown needed him (a theory supported by him debuting on the main roster so soon after he dropped the NXT strap).

While Roode isn’t immediately in the title hunt at the moment, he has been treated like a big enough star to not feel out of place for that kind of spot. You can add on that Triple H is reportedly high on the Glorious one.

How does Roode enter the title picture? One of the clearer paths would be a Money in the Bank victory and a heel turn, given most agree he’s at his best playing a bad guy.

#2 Sami Zayn

In his new heel persona, the time is now for Sami Zayn to reach the top.

There’s little question that Sami Zayn is one of the most talented wrestlers on the WWE roster. He was a terrific sympathetic babyface for NXT and turned in some stellar work on the main roster as well. After he got the better of a lengthy program with Kevin Owens, however, Zayn went a bit adrift, trading victories and largely stuck in mid-card purgatory.

A heel turn largely reinvented Zayn in 2017. Most agreed he was a sensational face when it came to selling, building sympathy, and having fire on his comebacks, so the heel turn was a gamble. Since the transition, however, he and Owens have been golden as a conniving heel duo.

Can Zayn win the big one on the WWE main roster? The jury is still out, and rumours of heat from management don’t necessarily bode well. Zayn has continuously earned his spot, though, and has made the most of the heel run so far.

At present, the WWE Championship picture is pretty wide open, and Zayn could well sneak in through the backdoor in 2018.

#1 Baron Corbin

After an uneven 2017, Baron Corbin may well peak in 2018.

Baron Corbin looked primed for a world title run after he won the 2017 Money in the Bank briefcase. Things didn’t work out for the big guy as John Cena distracted him during his cash in, and so Corbin was stripped of his big opportunity.

Dirt sheets suggested that Corbin had heat from management on account of being outspoken when a concussion specialist visited to speak. If he did have heat, it didn’t seem to affect him that badly, though.

He still took the US Championship off of AJ Styles (who, by the way, was on his way to another world title run for himself). Moreover, Corbin has remained a fixture for PPV matches, which is no easy feat on a crowded roster.

While Corbin winning a world title isn’t the slam dunk that it looked to be half a year ago, he’s nonetheless a big guy who has come a long way as a worker, and whom management seems to favour. Don’t be surprised when he enters the title mix in 2018.