GAMES360VIEW

We're in the slow part of WWE's calendar. Summerslam just passed. Survivor Series isn't for another two months. And that makes it a good time to step back and take stock of things. Where are the storylines headed? Which champions are going to dominate as we head into 2019? And which new WWE and NXT Superstars are ready for their closeup?

There are 15 official championships in WWE, spread across the two main roster promotions, NXT, and NXT UK. And the current crop of WWE champions is unusually talented--each of them is a proven quantity with the charisma and talent to carry the company. Even so, someone will unseat each of them, eventually.

Here are our top picks to win every WWE Championship belt. It's not who we want to win; it's who will win, based on where the storyline is headed. If you liked this gallery, be sure to check out our write-up on the recent Shield reunion, and our criticism of the WWE Network. And be sure to check back in to Gamespot Universe on Sunday, September 17, for live coverage of the WWE Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.

1. NXT UK Women's Championship (Spoiler Alert)

Current Champion: Rhea Ripley

Future Champion: Toni Storm

This hasn't aired on the WWE Network yet, but Rhea Ripley is the inaugural NXT UK Women's champion. She won an eight-woman tournament, pinning Toni Storm in the finals. Ripley has a body that's built to kill, and her presence and athleticism should give her a long run with the title, especially since she won't be defending it every week.

The person most likely to take it from her is Toni Storm, the runner-up to the tournament, or some other wrestler who we haven't met yet. The only other WWE-signed, UK-affiliated wrestler with a comparably high profile is Dakota Kai, and her recent losses to Lacey Evans, Shayna Baszler, and Toni Storm do not bode well for her.

2. WWE United Kingdom Championship

Current Champion: Pete Dunne

Future Champion: Trent Seven

What makes the UK division so appealing, at least to older fans, is that's it's heavier on wrestling, and lighter on "sports entertainment" than most of WWE. The critically acclaimed WWE United Kingdom Championship tournament was proof of that appeal--a grueling battery of matches that was physically painful to watch.

3. NXT Tag Team Championship

Current Champion: The Undisputed Era

Future Champion: War Raiders

The Undisputed Era has a lot of individual charisma--too much, in fact, for them to stay together much longer. These four men--Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reilly, and Roderick Strong-- were built for singles success; they look like a collection of talented performers instead of a dedicated, specialized tag team. It's only a matter of time before carrying the belts holds them back instead of advancing them forward.

War Raiders, on the other hand, are monsters with a unified, rugged look; WWE could put the belts on them indefinitely, and it wouldn't compromise the title's reputation. They're not a long-term solution--it's difficult to see how the War Raiders distinguish themselves from The Ascension, Authors of Pain, Bludgeon Brothers, or any of the other monster tag teams in WWE But they'll certainly maintain the status quo until the right team comes along to topple them.

4. NXT North American Championship

Current Champion: Ricochet

Future Champion: Velveteen Dream

The invention of a midcard in NXT was overdue and necessary. There was too much talent fighting for too few prizes. It's given an incredible spotlight to Ricochet, who has shone since his WWE debut and is the current NXT North American champion.

And a contributing factor to Ricochet's success is been Velveteen Dream, who has spent the better part of two years putting over his fellow competitors, including Aleister Black and Adam Cole. A championship win will allow Dream to move to the main roster with a lot more credibility, It would also be a nice payback after a series of high-profile losses.

5. NXT Women's Championship

Current Champion: Kairi Sane

Future Champion: Bianca Belair

Thanks to fantastic booking, the NXT Women's Championship is actually one of the most prestigious titles in WWE. The current holder, Kairi Sane, won it in a bit of an upset. She previously beat Shayna Baszler in last year's Mae Young Classic tournament, but was clearly outmatched by Baszler at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn IV before reversing the champion's chokehold into a pinfall.

Baszler could win the title back, but it's unlikely; she'll probably be called up to the main roster as an opponent for Ronda Rousey. Io Shirai, who tangled with Sane in Japan, would be an ideal successor champion, but she just got to WWE; it's way too soon. Bianca Belair, on the other hand, is ready. She was the breakout star at the 2018 Women's Royal Rumble, and she'll make a great NXT champion until Shirai obtains the necessary experience to win it from her.

6. NXT Championship

Current Champion: Tommaso Ciampa

Future Champion: Johnny Gargano

We've seen the Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano fight multiple times, but it's still not old. The chemistry between these two is that good. Ciampa isn't the antihero who fans love to hate; he's a villain who fans actually hate, and that gives this feud the heat that it needs.

But at some point, Gargano is going to win the title, and he's going to win it from Ciampa. The WWE universe is, by and large, a just universe, where the heel will eventually get his or her comeuppance. It may not happen immediately; they could stretch this out to Wrestlemania season if they wanted to. But Gargano will finally triumph over his nemesis, and it will be an instant Match of the Year contender when it finally happens.

7. WWE Cruiserweight Championship

Current Champion: Cedric Alexander

Future Champion: Drew Gulak

For a few months, WWE pushed the Cruiserweight division as the newest addition to Raw. However, cruiserweight action turned out to be a niche interest, and its overall vibe, which was cultivated during the WWE Cruiserweight Classic tournament, was a poor match for Raw's theatrics. Now that it's scaled back to a more realistic size--a WWE Network exclusive show, 205 Live--it's no longer burdened by unrealistic expectations.

Cedric Alexander is a great champion. And after Alexander, the next in line for the belt should be Drew Gulak. Yes, Gulak lost his match against Alexander at Summerslam. But they'll definitely have another match, and no one else on the cruiserweight roster, besides Gulak, has the win/loss record to present a credible challenge.

8. WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship

Current Champion: The New Day

Future Champion: The Usos

The New Day defeated the Bludgeon Brothers to win the tag team titles for the fifth time in their careers. And although they're currently embroiled in a feud with Rusev and Aiden English, there's no way they're going to lose the titles to them, as much as the fans might want that to happen.

Instead, the Usos are the most likely, and best possible successors. Their 2017 spat with the New Day led to one of the best feuds of the year, particularly their barnburner at last year's Hell in a Cell. These two teams have the sort of in-ring chemistry that elevates both of them, and it'll be a joy to see that again in the coming months.

9. WWE United States Championship

Current Champion: Shinsuke Nakamura

Future Champion: Daniel Bryan

Finally, after much delay, Daniel Bryan has signed a new contract. And that means, with any luck, that he'll begin chasing a title run once he's finished with The Miz. AJ Styles and Samoa Joe will be going back and forth with the WWE Championship for the foreseeable future. And so, Bryan's best chance at a title is fighting Shinsuke Nakamura for the United States Championship.

Ever since he turned heel, Nakamura has been doing some great character work; his twitchy, eccentric schtick much works better as a villain than as a hero. He should drop the title to someone who can benefit from it the most. And Bryan certainly can; he's never fought Nakamura before, which adds an extra level of excitement to a potential feud.

10. WWE SmackDown Women's Championship

Current Champion: Charlotte Flair

Future Champion: Asuka

Charlotte Flair is the new Smackdown Women's champion. And try as she might, the newly villainous Becky Lynch will not take the title off her. It's a fun change in character for Lynch; she seems relieved to do something new. But WWE has never given the Lasskicker her due, and they're not going to start now; she will continue to occupy her dedicated niche. The hardcore fans will no doubt be upset with this decision, but it's clear that WWE isn't catering to them.

There's only one woman on the WWE roster (aside from Ronda Rousey--more on her later) who's been booked to hang tough with Flair, to and that's Asuka. At some point, she will avenge her Wrestlemania loss and become the new Smackdown Women's champion.

11. WWE Championship

Current Champion: AJ Styles

Future Champion: Samoa Joe

It took the rebooting of an old rivalry, but Samoa Joe has been doing the best work of his WWE career in recent weeks. He's been absolutely despicable, taunting AJ Styles, his wife, and his daughter. And the best thing about Joe's heel act is the level of self-hatred and projection going on; everything that Joe is saying about Styles, he's really saying about himself.

If Joe doesn't take the belt off Styles, then no one on the current Smackdown roster will take the belt off Styles. We'll have to wait until another Superstar Shakeup for something to finally happen.

12. WWE Raw Tag Team Championship

Current Champion: Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler

Future Champion: Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose

The main event Raw feud between Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, and Braun Strowman vs. Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns doesn't quite gel. With the exception of Ziggler and Ambrose, everyone involved would be better off as a solo act.

But since the roster is overcrowded, and WWE needs to give everyone something to do, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose should win the tag team titles. It'll give Ambrose some extra time to shake off the ring rust after a long layover, and it'll mean that every Shield member will simultaneously hold gold--an impressive visual for any video package or social media post.

13. WWE Intercontinental Championship

Current Champion: Seth Rollins

Future Champion: Drew McIntyre

This becomes a matter of musical chairs. Around the same time that Ambrose and Rollins win the tag team titles from McIntyre and Ziggler, McIntyre will turn on Ziggler, win the Intercontinental Championship from Rollins, and begin the solo run we've been waiting for. He's too big and intimidating to ignore for much longer.

The Intercontinental Championship is quietly regaining the prestige it once held in the late '80s and early '90s. A McIntyre run will help solidify the title's reputation as a gateway to the main event rather than an upper-middle card dead end.

Current Champion: Ronda Rousey

Future Champion: Charlotte Flair

Rousey beat Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women's Championship. She's not going to lose the title any time soon--at least not until Wrestlemania 35, and even that isn't guaranteed. WWE is clearly committed to her stardom.

The most likely candidate to take the belt off Rousey is Charlotte Flair. She's the most successful of the Four Horsewomen, she handed Asuka her first loss at Wrestlemania 34, and she furthers the Flair family legacy. If WWE wants to headlline and main event a WrestleMania show with a women's match, 2019 might be the year to do it.

15. WWE Universal Championship

Current Champion: Roman Reigns

Future Champion: Braun Strowman

Braun Strowman has been mishandled for the past couple of weeks. WWE took an organic babyface push--one that made Strowman the most heavily cheered performer on the roster--and threw it in the garbage. He's using lackeys--McIntyre and Ziggler--to do his dirty work against The Shield, when really, he should be taking on The Shield by himself, 3-on-1. This is the same guy who tipped over a truck--three guys should be a "fair fight."

He might not win the Universal title at Hell in a Cell; Reigns will probably have a long run with it to give him some credibility. But at the Royal Rumble, or at Wrestlemania 35, there could be a crowning moment for the Monster Among Men. Reigns has had his best matches against Strowman, and there's no reason why they wouldn't revive that chemistry on the biggest possible stage.