How WWE Should Book: The WWE Championship Until Wrestlemania 35
Written By Ben Hercik
After looking at both Womens titles, it's time to step it up a notch and look at the most prestigious championship in the WWE today, the WWE Championship, and if WWE keeps going down the path that they are seemingly following, then this could be the path that they are going down.
KEY PLAYERS: AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe, The Miz, Daniel Bryan
I'll start by saying this, AJ and Shinsuke have yet to have a bad match. Have they been too short so far, yes. However I think at Money in the Bank that won't be the case. I think they will close out the show, but I think the finish could be a bit screwy. As much as I love the Styles Clash and the Phenomenal Forearm, I don't see anyone staying down for a 10 count after taking one of them. Same could be said for the Kinshasa, but given the right circumstances, I could see it keeping someone down in the right situation. I do understand that the past 2 WWE Championship matches between AJ and Shinsuke have ended a bit screwy, I feel so bad for AJ's groin area (trying to sound professional here), this screwy ending has something that may have not been available to Smackdown writers, and that is Samoa Joe.
Now I think that Joe is going to get the last spot in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, as much as I love Bryan he should be nowhere near that match. Also this would free up Bryan to have a match with Jeff Hardy for the United States Championship since he beat Hardy on Smackdown last week. However, Joe has the luxury of not needing the briefcase to be seen as a threat, just like Strowman. All 6 other guys could use the luxury of having a guaranteed title match, I'm torn between three guys. Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, and The Miz. I say Miz should win the briefcase because A) the briefcase works better on a heel (Balor isn't heel…….. yet) and B) Miz could do so much more with the briefcase on Smackdown than Owens could on Raw in my opinion. After losing that match Joe can interfere in the last man standing match, causing both men to not answer the count of 10, which can set up a dream every independent wrestling fan (like myself) could only have dreamed of about 5 years ago.
I, of course, am referring to AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura vs Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship. The only issue with this is the WWE Pay Per View schedule. This match should be at one of the Big 4, while we have Extreme Rules in between Money in the Bank and SummerSlam. So what if we did this. At Extreme Rules, AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura at Extreme Rules, Iron Man Match.Here, we can add in the stipulation that if Samoa Joe gets involved, he will not get a title match at SummerSlam (he could cut a promo about him wanting the winner of the match at Extreme Rules early in the month on Smackdown). At Extreme Rules, Shinsuke finally gets the job done and wins the WWE Championship. He should win it before the big triple threat at SummerSlam, and he should retain it at SummerSlam, because he should be more than a transitional champion. Also if he retains the title, that can allow AJ to take some time off and recover from some minor injuries, keep in mind AJ did have a small leg injury leading into Wrestlemania and we don't know if it's gotten better or worse.
Shinsuke should go on a semi lengthy title reign, and he has some good options as opponents, like Orton, Hardy, Rusev (he should be a face, not a heel). This all leads to a big match with someone he has never faced, Daniel Bryan. You see I think Daniel Bryan wins the US Championship at Money in the Bank, subsequential dropping of it to Andrade Almas, then picking up steam as someone who want a WWE Championship match. He should be Shinsukes' challenger at Clash of Champions, and after a hell of a battle Daniel Bryan finally wins the WWE Championship again…………..for a few seconds. After the match, Miz cashes in his Money in the Bank briefcase and wins the WWE Championship for the second time.
Before discussing the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber defenses, let's talk about the growth of The Miz shall we? He went from a reality TV personality, to a guy that wanted to be a WWE Superstar. He teamed with John Morrison, and was a Tag Team Champion. After splitting with Morrison, Miz won the US Championship and the Money in the Bank briefcase. He was successful in cashing in and winning the WWE Championship. The issue with that reign as champion, was that he was only used as a plot device for the Cena vs Rock storyline. After that reign was done he went on to be a multi time Intercontinental Champion. All the while, he had the desire to learn and you could see the development in the ring. I think the first signs of things clicking was when he cashed in on Randy Orton. To be fair, Orton had already had a title defense against Wade Barrett. It was a match that went 2:53, but in that small amount of time, you could see that Miz had developed more than anyone thought he ever would have. And now many fans believe that he deserves another run with the title, and as a heel, this would be the best way to do so.
Now for the Royal Rumble, everyone would think that Bryan should have a rematch, but they could do a story where he didn't hold the title for a long enough time to have a contractual rematch, so instead the match is going to Shinsuke. A heel vs heel match is tough to get the casual fans into, but this is only a placeholder match that Miz would win. Now for Elimination Chamber, the WWE Championship Chamber Match should be Miz defending against Bryan, Nakamura, Styles, Joe, and just because I would love to see them be this invested in him, let's put Andrade 'Cien' Almas in here.
The final 4 should be Styles, Joe, Bryan, and Miz (sorry Shinsuke). Joe should end the dream for Bryan, Styles eliminates Joe, and Miz gets Styles to retain. Now on the Smackdown after Elimination Chamber, for reasons explained in the Universal Title booking article, we have a match between Bryan, Styles, Nakamura, and Almas where the winner gets a match against Miz at Wrestlemania. Joe takes Styles out of it (for US Championship booking reasons) and Bryan pins Almas to get the Wrestlemania match.
This match would have been the longest storyline feud, that I can think of, in WWE history. The current longest feud in WWE is, I believe, the implosion of the Mega Powers which was 2 years. This feud between Bryan and Miz has been building for 3 years, ever since a Talking Smack segment where Miz dissed Bryan about not being able to wrestle anymore. This feud has written itself out since then and this should be the payoff for the feud. I could see this being the match of the night and I think it could be the Match of the entire Wrestlemania weekend. Not just in the WWE family, but out of every promotion that is running shows on that weekend. The only way to end this feud is to have Bryan win the title at the grandest stage of them all yet again and have a feel good moment and the great conclusion of the return to action for Daniel Bryan and allow for him to enjoy his time on top as opposed to when he won the title at Wrestlemania 30
TITLE CHANGES I PREDICT:
AJ Styles: Champion since defeating Jinder Mahal on Smackdown in England
Shinsuke Nakamura: Champion from Extreme Rules through to Clash of Champions
Daniel Bryan: Wins Championship at Clash of Champions
The Miz: Cashes in Money in the Bank Briefcase at Clash of Champions. Champion from Clash of Champions through to Wrestlemania 35
Daniel Bryan: Wins Championship at Wrestlemania 35