Ranking all of WWE's current champions (post-SummerSlam weekend)

#1 Tommaso Ciampa (NXT Champion)

There was never any doubt.

Ring work: Tommaso Ciampa has been in no less than four match of the year candidates. Expect that number to grow even more.

Character work: 2018 has seen him become the best heel in the entire business. In an era where fans often cheer for heels, he's brought the legitimately hated heel in kayfabe back to the fore. Fans clamor for him to lose any match he's in, and when he winds up slipping by, they're broken-hearted.

Crowd connection: When he speaks, people listen. When he moves, people watch his every gesture. Crowds hate him, but he owns them.

Prospects: Tommaso Ciampa might well be in store for the best NXT title reign of all time. Rivalries with Velveteen Dream and possibly Aleister Black look to be in the works. Each of them will be unique, with a probable match of the year candidate to go with them.

Ultimately it will all lead up to the most cathartic moment in NXT history when Johnny Gargano finally dispatches him and achieves his lifelong dream, but it wouldn't mean nearly as much without Tommaso Ciampa holding the title first.

The next 8 months in NXT could well be the brightest of all.