If you only started watching wrestling in 2022 this may be hard to believe, but there was a time when different people used to hold the WWE World Championship.
No, seriously; it wasn’t that long ago that the biggest prize in the business would change hands three or four times in a year, instead of being held by one (admittedly very cool) guy.
While Roman’s reign has gone one for what feels like forever, 2023 looks to be the year that somebody else gets a turn with the big gaudy company logo.
If we’re lucky, more than one person may even get a turn, as we start to move away from the Reigns era and see some top-level feuds between people who haven’t been near the big one for a long time (if ever).
The following list will deal with people who could win the belt from Reigns, or are otherwise in that specific title picture, before moving on to some names that are a little further removed from the large dog but make sense for other reasons.
So without further ado, let’s look at which WWE stars could become world champion in 2023:
Sami Zayn
Imagine saying earlier this year, around the time he was raving about conspiracies and getting scoop slammed by Wee Man, that Sami Zayn would be the most obvious candidate to put an end to the seemingly-never ending reign of the Tribal Chief.
But a lot can change in a year, and now here we are, with Zayn posed to step up his game on the road to WrestleMania and potentially do the impossible like Daniel Bryan before him.
Zayn is by no means a lock to beat Roman – and there’s a good argument to be made that he’d be better suited to win the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship with Kevin Owens instead – but purely from a storytelling perspective there’s nobody better positioned.
Will he betray Roman? Will Roman betray him? Will he win the Rumble and go the distance, or will he get his shot at Elimination Chamber in his native Canada?
Even if Zayn doesn’t beat Reigns, he’s definitely on the shortlist for people who could take the belt off whoever does beat him.
In either case, it’s a matter of capitalizing on Zayn’s white hot popularity while it lasts (which, since we’re talking about Zayn, could be forever if I’m being honest).
Cody Rhodes
Before his own body betrayed him at this year’s Hell In A Cell pay-per-view, Rhodes was at the top of a lot of people’s list to be the one who finally took Reigns down.
It’s not hard to see why: after his Earth shattering surprise entrance at this year’s WrestleMania, and his ability to recapture the hardcores who have drifted away from WWE in recent years, he seemed like the obvious choice.
Depending on how WWE chooses to book his return, that could still be the case; a (not so) surprise entrance at next year’s Rumble, a few of his patented way-too-earnest all-American promos, and Cody could be back on the Rhodes to WrestleMania success (Has anybody made that pun yet? I bet I’m the first).
Or, like Zayn, he could hold off to dethrone a future title holder from somewhere else on this list.
Either way, it seems very likely that the man with the worst tattoo in wrestling history will get a turn with the big one some time next year.
He is, after all, undeniable.
Seth Rollins
It seems like no matter what Seth Rollins does, he can’t get crowds to hate him.
That’s usually not a great quality in a heel, but Rollins makes it work.
It’s not hard to see why; he has one of the coolest themes on the roster, he’s consistently great on the mic, his in-ring work is impeccable, and his fashion sense is unmatched.
Rollins has already teased his desire for the big gold, with his match against Reigns at this year’s Rumble being the stand out example.
As with many on this list though, it doesn’t have to be Reigns who Rollins beats for the title.
If Cody does end up dethroning Roman, or even if he himself gets the belt somewhere further down the line, Rollins would be a perfect candidate to end the American Nightmare.
Or better yet, have Cody beat Seth the week after he secures the win. Can you imagine the look on Rollins’ face when Rhodes gets one over on him yet again?
Pure, beautiful schadenfreude.
Bray Wyatt
You could argue that putting the belt on Bray Wyatt has been more of a hindrance to his career than a boon.
Remember the weird Fiend-skin Universal Title belt? Remember how cool that was? And then Goldberg beat him at a Saudi show? Wrestling is the worst.
That being said, Wyatt’s difficulties with the belt were largely down to the booking of Vince McMahon, whio didn’t really know what to do with his various gimmicks (Maybe the unstoppable murder clown shouldn’t care about wrestling championships? Just a crazy thought I had).
Under the Triple H regime, there’s a good chance that we could see the kind of Wyatt run that he’s deserved from the very beginning.
Besides, Wyatt is popular enough at the moment that putting the belt on him should be a priority regardless of booking. Don’t overthink it; just slap the belt on him and hope for the best.
Maybe just make sure the belt isn’t made of monster skin this time. Wrestling doesn’t have to be hard.
If Wyatt does get the belt, it probably won’t be any time soon, but rather as the result of a feud we haven’t even seen hinted at yet. Maybe he’ll go after Cody when he wins the title, or Zayn, or another super-over babyface to try. Something that helps reestablish him as a scary heel.
Although with the pace at which Wyatt feuds usually move, you may end up seeing this exact same entry on our 2024 list.
Sheamus
If Sheamus does end up getting a belt in 2023, it’ll probably end up being the Intercontinental Championship, to give him his much-overdue Grand Slam.
That being said, Sheamus is on the run of a lifetime at the moment, and WWE may want to capitalize on his unexpected late-career resurgence by giving him one last shot with the big one.
It wouldn’t necessarily have to be a long run; just something to acknowledge how far he’s come in the past year, and to say thank you for his long-term commitment to the company.
Should the top WWE Championship be the equivalent of a gold retirement watch? Probably not. But to be honest Sheamus has more than proven that he’s able to have great matches, so it wouldn’t have to just be a consolation prize.
Don’t forget, Sheamus gave WWE its second ever five star main roster match in over a decade when he and Gunther took turns turning each other’s chests into hamburger meat at Clash At The Castle.
So put the strap on him, and let him spend the twilight of his career giving us banger, after banger, after banger, after banger, after ban-
Logan Paul
While WWE is at the top of the ladder when it comes to wrestling promotions, people often forget that ladder sits underneath a much taller ladder called “every other form of entertainment in the entire world”.
Because of that, WWE is always looking for ways to make itself as appealing to mainstream audiences as possible, and like it or not, Logan Paul is their best shot of doing that at the moment.
It’s tempting to write this off as a David Arquette: WCW Champion piece of booking, but even if he wasn’t significantly more famous than Arquette ever was, Logan Paul has proven himself to be a more than capable wrestler.
Actually I’ll go one step further than that – Logan Paul is a really good wrestler. Really really good. In fact, he has yet to have a match that’s anything less than astonishingly good.
If Paul was a hot young prospect fresh off the indies, people would be clamoring for him to get the big one somewhere down the line – it’s just a happy coincidence that he also happens to have a wider appeal that makes him the perfect candidate to carry around the big gold trouser cincher for a few months.
You think WWE liked it when Bad Bunny took the 24/7 Title on Saturday Night Live? You think their eyes turn into cartoon dollar signs whenever a football player shows off a commemorative belt when they win the SuperBowl?
Think about what kind of face Nick Khan will make when Logan Paul carries the real thing over his shoulder during one of his stupid ASMR videos (Does he make ASMR videos? Mukbangs? I’m 32).
Is it bad booking? Maybe. Is it good business? Undoubtedly.
John Cena
Like Paul, putting the belt on John Cena is good business above all else.
Unlike Paul, Cena is a beloved wrestling veteran (even if it took him a while to get there), with a good kayfabe reason to have one last run at the top.
Cena is currently tied with Ric Flair for the most WWE World Championship runs at 16 (Flair is actually closer to 21, but WWE doesn’t recognise a few of those runs and they make the rules).
That final run could cement him as the greatest wrestler of all time, which would be a great way to round out his career while having the added benefit of infuriating everybody who’s still stuck in 2011.
Cena is currently busy being the best thing to come out of DC since the Nolan Batman films, so you’d think he wouldn’t have time for another championship run.
But credit where it’s due, he’s always found time to stick his face in at Triple H’s Boudoir of Bodyslams, so it’s not too much of a stretch to think he’d be up for one last go around.
Gunther
The only problem with putting the belt on Gunther is that eventually he has to drop it, and since there’s no feasible way to make that happen, he could just end up keeping it forever.
Sorry about your belt, WWE, but it belongs to a large Austrian man now. Maybe you should think twice before hiring the scariest man in the world.
The only thing protecting the main event scene from Gunther’s tyranny is the fact that he currently holds a midcard title, and presumably thinks that two belts would be uncouth.
In all seriousness, Triple H has done a great job of preserving Gunther’s image as an absolute monster, and he seems destined to take the top title eventually.
If this does happen, it will likely be closer to the end of 2023, as I don’t expect Gunther to lose the Intercontinental Championship… well, ever, if we’re being honest. But at least not until well after ‘Mania.
But when he does get hold of it, oh boy. You think Roman’s reign was long? We have not yet begun to scratch the surface of impossibly lengthy title runs.
LA Knight
Let me talk to you.
LA Knight is a bit of a dark horse candidate here, but if there’s a recent call up who deserves the rub it’s this guy.
He’s like prime Attitude Era Rock on the mic, with the added benefit of knowing more than four moves (that’s right, I’m trying to start a feud with the Rock; come at me Black Adam, your tequila sucks too).
He’s currently tied up in a feud with Bray Wyatt, which honestly already feels like a huge mark of confidence, so we could see this happen sooner than you think.
All we need is for crowds to get behind him, and also for everybody to collectively forget about that Maximum Male Models stuff.
Is it likely? Not at all. Would it be awesome. Yeah.
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