Raw Tag Team Championships – The Awesome Truth
You are reading this correctly. Firstly, I do have the Awesome Truth winning tag team gold at last in 2024, 13 years since the team’s initial run. More surprisingly though you may see the duo holding just one set of tag titles, rather than both as the Undisputed Tag Team Titles. However, an intriguing concept has made its presence on social media over the past few days.
In this thesis, what if R-Truth – in all his goofiness – reaches the top of the ladder, only to grab the Raw Tag Team titles. Not just does this provide your typical R-Truth moment, but WWE finds a way to seamlessly split the tag team gold, without hosting a tournament or unveiling a new set of belts (P.S please make new tag team belts WWE, I cannot stand looking at these abominations anymore).
SmackDown Tag Team Championships – New Catch Republic
I’m in all honesty torn between New Catch Republic and #DIY taking the SmackDown tag titles home, but I love this new team of Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne! Crowd reactions have admittedly been better for #DIY. However, I believe with the amount of trust already placed in this team – including the match against Finn Balor and Damien Priest at Elimination Chamber – proves that they can take this opportunity. Now this is assuming that they progress through to the WrestleMania 40 match, but why shouldn’t they?
New Catch Republic could have some interesting title matches on SmackDown, notably against their current rivals Pretty Deadly. This is but one of the many awesome tag teams on SmackDown, which is to the point an even bigger reason for the brand to have it’s own set of tag titles. Make this happen WWE please.
Women’s Tag Team Championships – Kabuki Warriors
It appears Asuka and Kairi Sane will be defending their gold against Bianca Belair and Naomi; I for one believe the Kabuki Warriors must retain at WrestleMania 40. Gone should be the days where WWE puts these belts on two random women paired together. By having the Kabuki Warriors retain against two impressive talents, not just do the pair look strong, but so does the credibility of these titles. There isn’t too much more to say here. From here I want Asuka and Sane defending against WWE’s best women’s tag teams more consistently, putting prestige on titles that desperately need it.
Intercontinental Championship – Gunther
In terms of Gunther’s WrestleMania 40 opponent, some will say Sami Zayn; some will still beg for Chad Gable. Either way, does this really feel like the right time to end Gunther’s historic Intercontinental Championship reign? Zayn is fantastic and one of WWE’s top babyfaces! Ultimately though – given his success at WrestleMania 39 for example – he doesn’t need to hold that belt. Add to this my prediction for a lot of title changes at the grandest stage this year, and I feel as though this title should stay put.
I firmly believe Gunther needs to have a championship around his waist for the time being, to continue his patient rise to the top of WWE. With how stacked the world title picture is at the present time, Gunther can remain at this level for a while, perhaps until Bash in Berlin, where he could challenge Cody Rhodes (presuming he is WWE Champion at this point). In between then he could lose the title – perhaps at SummerSlam – to one of Gable, Sheamus, Bron Breaker or perhaps a returning Big E. Even more intriguingly, he could challenge “The American Nightmare” while holding the Intercontinental Championship?
United States Championship – Logan Paul
At WrestleMania 40, Logan will enter his first triple threat bout. With Randy Orton and Kevin Owens hunting for his title, Logan will be looking to escape the grandest stage unscathed. Perhaps surprisingly, I thoroughly believe he should retain. Under triple threat circumstances, Logan has the perfect opportunity to be as cunning and conniving as possible. With no disqualifications and two opponents who could focus on each other, Logan could luck his way to victory, perhaps with some brass knuckles.
Now this may not be what you want to hear. Personally, I’d love for Orton to RKO the YouTube star following an attempted frog splash or jumping clothesline. Maybe he will, but again Logan will find a way to overcome this obstacle and maybe win following some interference. All in all, this should be a title-retaining performance fans love to boo, especially against two top babyfaces.
Women’s World Championship – Rhea Ripley
If we’re being completely honest, despite Ripley looking like a megastar, she’s hardly had any credible threats since dethroning Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 39. In fact, I’d say that aside from Nia Jax and Raquel Rodriguez there have been no challengers near the level of Ripley. This is since Bayley, Bianca Belair, Asuka and the newly resigned Naomi are all assigned to SmackDown. In addition, Liv Morgan has only recently returned from injury, whereas Iyo Sky is of course the WWE Women’s Champion.
Becky Lynch is by far the biggest star Ripley will defend her title against thus far. As such, she must win to build some credibility for her reign. Lynch is the perfect opponent too simply due to her presence within the WWE! Beating Lynch will establish Ripley as among the very best. Plus, does Lynch really need this? I think we all know the answer. This also opens the door for fantastic feuds in the near future with Morgan and Belair – depending on the draft of course!
WWE Women’s Championship – Bayley
For a fair few years, Bayley was considered the lesser of ‘The Four Horsewomen’ of WWE. However, in recent months – and during the pandemic – the former hugger has earned her stripes. Damage CTRL started off as a stable with quite a shaky start. Fortunately, their fortunes have dramatically turned around in terms of engaging with the fan base. Most of this credibility must go to Bayley, who has made this story compelling to say the least. Bayley now has the chance to complete her wonderful story by dethroning Iyo Sky.
In my opinion, Sky’s title reign has been quite underwhelming. On not many occasions – like Rhea Ripley – has Sky defended against credible threats. In fact, I cannot for my life remember her most recent title defence. Adding to this, Bayley absolutely has the star power to elevate the WWE Women’s Championship, allowing for Sky to improve herself while without the pressure of carrying a division. Bayley deserves her moment in front of the fans because this is as popular as she’s ever been on the main roster!
World Heavyweight Championship – Drew McIntyre
Despite the direction of the World Heavyweight Championship seemingly not including McIntyre at WrestleMania 40, plans have changed for the better for the two-time WWE champion. Following C.M Punk’s highly unfortunate injury which put him out of action for WrestleMania 40, McIntyre has stepped up to fill the role of challenger. To have him lose a third consecutive time to Rollins will kill lots of his momentum, so he should win.
Since initially losing his WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber 2021, McIntyre has lost every single title match (I dare not count how many) that he’s been a part of. This needs to change because he’s nothing short of an exceptional talent! Plus for Rollins this is perfect timing. Holding the title since Night of Champions 2023, Rollins has been on top for nearly a year, and the current World Heavyweight Champion needs time off to recover. Have him come back a few months later, inserting himself into a feud between McIntyre and Punk. A feud between McIntyre and Jey Uso for the World Heavyweight Championship seems perfect in the meantime. Sounds like cinema to me!
WWE Undisputed Universal Championship – Cody Rhodes
Now while it would be amusing to see Cody Rhodes lose back-to-back WrestleMania main event title matches, surely the son of Dusty Rhodes will finally finish his story. Not just has the build been leading to this outcome, but fans are truly behind Cody. From the #wewantcody movement to the desire for Roman Reigns to drop the belt, it only seems logical to place a world title on “The American Nightmare”.
Some will argue that perhaps Reigns should retain. Rumours have circulated that WWE want to make The Tribal Chief’s reign surpass Hulk Hogan’s longest reign (1,474) days. This of course would mean he retains at WrestleMania 40 and carries the belt until after SummerSlam at earliest. Besides a feud with The Rock, do they have feuds which would keep the Bloodline saga intriguing? Perhaps not, and with how popular Cody is, now feels like the optimal time for him to win.
