Predicting the holder of each WWE title at the end of 2021

#5. Who will carry WWE's mid-card into 2022?

#BálorClub Charlotte NC pic.twitter.com/EjT4JWJs1E

— Finn Bálor (@FinnBalor) August 15, 2021

WWE has plenty of worthy Superstars when it comes to both the Intercontinental and United States Championships. King Nakamura won the Intercontinental title from Apollo Crews on a recent episode of SmackDown.

Crews won the Championship in April at WrestleMania 37 after turning heel. The new character allowed Crews to try something different, leading to a four-month reign as Intercontinental Champion.

The King & his NEWLY-WON #ICTitle. #AndNew 👑#SmackDown @ShinsukeN @WWEApollo @rickboogswwe pic.twitter.com/v05ciYBNlQ

— WWE (@WWE) August 15, 2021

Nakamura's first run with the IC title is the longest tenure in the brand-split era. He held the Intercontinental Championship for seven months before losing to Braun Strowman.

WWE has booked the mid-card Champions to have runs of around four months. If that holds true for Nakamura, there's a strong chance he won't be holding the belt once the year ends.

At the very least, Finn Balor deserves another Championship in WWE. There hasn't been any resolution regarding his challenge to Roman Reigns. He may never win a top title in WWE again.

Balor, however, is what the mid-card titles used to stand for in WWE - the work rate. He and Nakamura have fantastic chemistry, so he could very well be the man to beat the new King of WWE. His return to SmackDown would then be justified.

It seems very likely that Damien Priest will take the United States Championship from Sheamus at SummerSlam. Before he became WWE Champion, Lashley had a dominant run with the US title for 175 days. He lost the belt to Riddle but didn't suffer a pinfall. Riddle then lost the title two months later to Sheamus at 'Mania.

If Priest does defeat Sheamus, he'll have to hold the belt for over four months to finish 2021 as US Champion. That could happen, but before Lashley, the United States title changed hands frequently.

With that in mind, a heel could very well end the year with the belt. The 2021 WWE Draft could also see a lot of potential names switch brands. If WWE wants to establish a new heel before 2022 hits, someone like Elias or Karrion Kross makes sense. To sell Kross as one of the next big heels in WWE, he might enter 2022 as US Champion.