After seeing Roman Reigns stand tall as the sole male world champion in WWE for a whole year (with his reign as world champion as a whole lasting for nearly three years), it does feel a little difficult to look ahead at who could not only dethrone him but others who could pick up the gold down the line. At some point soon, WWE will have to either split up the unified belts or introduce a new one, which will make it a lot easier for new names to establish themselves as top stars.
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This will not only look at those who could carry on the lineage of the current Undisputed WWE Universal Title, but others who could well win a world title if the belts are to be split up too.
10 Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes feels like one of the top candidates to dethrone Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, and even if he doesn’t win, he will undoubtedly become a world champion over the next year anyway.
The fans are firmly behind Rhodes, and he has years left to give. Rhodes will be the next man after Reigns to become a world champion in WWE without a doubt, bringing a full-time and fighting champion to the company for the first time in a long time.
9 GUNTHER
WWE is clearly high on GUNTHER. If his closing battle with Cody Rhodes in the 2023 Royal Rumble is any indication, they will no doubt cross paths again. It feels likely that after dropping the Intercontinental Title down the line, GUNTHER will progress up the card, and he feels like the prime man to take the gold from Rhodes.
Rhodes will be a fighting champion, but eventually, it will become too much as GUNTHER will prove to be one hurdle too far. Whether Rhodes then wins back the belt from the Ring General would all be down to how hot Rhodes is at that point.
8 Sami Zayn
If Cody Rhodes has lost some steam by this point, then Sami Zayn will still likely hold momentum as the biggest underdog in WWE. Fans were rallying for him to win the world title not long ago, and a Tag Team Title victory won’t be enough to appease the audience.
Zayn overcoming the powerhouse and dominant heel of GUNTHER would likely be nearly as good as a Zayn win over Reigns would have been. WWE needs to capitalize on Zayn’s popularity to create an all-time great moment.
7 Kevin Owens
Kevin Owens is long overdue a world title win, with it now being six years since his one and only run with a top title in WWE. Although it has been done time and time again, a feud between Owens and Zayn never gets old.
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After how hard Zayn has fought to get back into Owens’ good books, a Money in the Bank cash-in or straight-up turn from Owens would be absolutely heartbreaking. Zayn and Owens have fought up and down the WWE ladder, so for them to fight over a world title will be a fitting way to celebrate their rise.
6 Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins is someone else who is now long overdue for a world title reign. Whether it be defeating someone like Kevin Owens or winning whatever new world title that WWE may introduce in the coming months, Rollins needs gold around his waist.
He has been putting over others for too long now without any huge reward. He is arguably the most consistent performer in WWE, and he is proven world championship material.
5 Drew McIntyre
After dwindling as a babyface, a heel turn for Drew McIntyre feels like it could be in the offing, and this could be what propels him back to the main event scene. McIntyre has the look and talent of a world champion, but that has been lost after some poor babyface booking.
Becoming a dangerous monster and dominating his way back up the card to the world title, finally winning it in front of a live audience, is what he deserves. It is hard to imagine a heel McIntyre not working well, especially after how good he was upon his main roster return a few years back.
4 Kenny Omega
There has been a lot of talk recently about the contract status of Kenny Omega in AEW. He has even gone on to say that it could appeal to him in a recent interview with CBC’s Front Burner podcast.
If Omega ends up in WWE in the near future, then he is simply too good to not become a world champion. After the success of former AEW alumni Cody Rhodes and similar performers like AJ Styles in WWE, it is easy to imagine Omega being among the next names to become a world champion.
3 Austin Theory
Even though some fans may not like it, Austin Theory is still being primed to be a future main eventer in WWE. He is improving a lot and looking more and more like someone who could break into the top title scene at some point down the line.
In fact, it may even come sooner rather than later. When looking at some other names on the card and how they’ve been booked, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility for Theory to be among the next ten world champions in WWE.
2 Logan Paul
If fans don’t like the idea of Austin Theory becoming a world champion, they’d likely like the idea of Logan Paul even less. If WWE does indeed have two world titles again, there is more room for experimenting, and WWE does seem to love Paul very much.
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With how well he has adapted to the sport, and imagining the mainstream pull a result like this would have, don’t be shocked if WWE pulls the trigger on this.
1 Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns is the current Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. Even if he loses the belt soon, he will be among the next ten people to win the gold again without a doubt.
Reigns is simply too big of a star for WWE to keep away from at least one of the two titles, especially when it comes to next year’s WrestleMania season or other major events.
