*Merged* All 2012 Speculation About New Champions, Future Stars, Etc.

[Xumer]

I don't see any of these people mentioned winning the WWE HW belt this year. Maybe 2013 but not this year. It's sad because imho the king and regal deserve to hold it at least once, even if it's a "feel good" win that won't transfer into even a month long reign.

I think the title will flip flop between the golden boys like punk, cena, orton and a few misc challengers which will all probably be former HW champions like Del Rio and Sheamus. Second verse, same as the first. Out of 2012 I see maybe 1 darkhorse champ if it's convenient for creative. And whoever it is will likely be whoever is playing backstage politics the best. Then again any big names from the past that come back (like batista or lesnar) will likely hold the title again if they sign on at least a semi regular schedule. I also see Jericho holding the strap at least once.

Then again, maybe I am too cynical these days. Being a wrestling fan in 2011/2012 will do that to you. Maybe I'll be wrong and I hope I will be.

 

[thebarber]

dark horses do not win WWE Championships. The only guys who may win either title this year who have not already held it is Dolph Ziggler, Wade Barrett or Ciody Rhodes. And Ziggler is alreadya former WHC, as small a reign as it was. McIntyre will not hold a heavyweight title in WWE, PERIOD

 

[thedarkhorse]

darkhorses do and have won championships. Your current WHC champion Daniel Bryan is the true definition of a darkhorse. He didn't win the belt in darkhorse fashion, but he is a darkhorse character. So was Christian and Mark Henry, to a lesser extent.

 

[WJDwjdWJDwjd]

If this is only for first time champs, I think there are a couple others you haven't mentioned. For one, John Morrison. ESPECIALLY if Miz gets big again and wins another title. I could see The Miz ending up on Smackdown and winning a title as a heel there. John Morrison is one of those people that could be a transitional champion for a month or two and be relevant and believable. That is all pending on if he returns or not though.

Despite being buried currently, I still believe Alex Riley could emerge on a face thin Raw show and earn a world title if one of the top names on the show got hurt.

I also have this disgusting feeling that John Lauranitis could insert himself in a Title match. Knowing how WWE has had a sick obsession with sometimes making joke champions out of authority figures, I feel Johnny Ace could be one of those instances.

 

[thedarkhorse]

i feel alex riley would be the perfect US champ, i can't picture him in the heavyweight title picture anytime soon.

 

[GLOBAL ICON]

Drew McIntyre is the only one from that list who I could see becoming World champion but I don't think he will. He's been wasted for far too long and 12 months won't be enough for him to come back from obscurity to mid-card to main-event to World champion. Though, I think Brodus Clay, if done right, could get to the WWE championship sooner than later.

I see this year dominated by John Cena, CM Punk, Randy Orton, Sheamus, Christian, Daniel Bryan, Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler and perhaps even Big Show and/or Mark Henry. They will be the top card talent, they will hold the gold and they will compete for it. I think Cena has a great chance to go past Triple H's 13 titles this year.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

dark horses do not win WWE Championships

dark horse (noun):
1. A person about whom little is know, especially someone whose abilities and potential for success are concealed: "a dark horse candidate".
2. A competitor or candidate who has little chance of winning, or who wins against expectations.

Let's talk about the Miz for a second. A guy who left reality television because he was seen as a joke, and who became an even bigger joke when he joined professional wrestling. A guy who was forced to "host" Smackdown every week because he couldn't cut it as a legitimate Superstar, and soon found himself out of that job as well. The Miz won Money in the Bank in 2010, cashed in, and became a very successful WWE Champion.

Sheamus, out of nowhere, became the WWE Champion. Twice. The first time CM Punk won the World Heavyweight Championship - definitely a dark horse moment. Daniel Bryan, the current reigning World Heavyweight Champion... Tell me, who would have guessed that he'd be holding the belt right now, about two years ago? Many said Christian had no chance of winning the World title. He did it twice. Rey Mysterio is probably the definition of a "dark horse" champion. Jack Swagger won it several years ago and he still hasn't evolved into anything worthy of the gold. Don't tell me that dark horses don't win WWE CHampionship... Pro Wrestling's history is lined with unexpected victories - sometimes undeserving victories even, for better or for worse.

This year I don't think we're going to see a "dark horse" like the Miz or Christian. It probably won't be somebody who "maybe has the potential" that they want to try something new with for a month. We've got Wade Barrett, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, and Cody Rhodes all lined up to have a shot at the main event...if anybody's going to slip through the cracks it's going to either be a miracle (ala Bryan), a bad decision by creative (ala Swagger), or they're going to come from nowhere with hidden talent (ala Miz).

Could we see Jindar Mahal win the World title for a few weeks? I highly doubt it, but weirder things have happened. They gave Khali the World title to build heat and play off the race card - you really don't think they'll do it again? R-Truth is likely not a "dark horse" anymore, because I think he's got a real shot at the title this year. Last year at this time? Definitely a dark horse... If I had to pick one guy that I think has the best shot at coming out as the dark horse champion, I'd have to go with Drew McIntyre. How many times have we seen the "losing streak" turn randomly into this huge push to the top? I'd say he's as unlikely as anybody in the under-card to succeed, but out of all the "what if?" talents they have down there, McIntyre is probably the most talented (and marketable) Superstar they have.

 

[sheldonator90]

i also think Mason Ryan & Ezekiel Jackson will both be in the mix

Personally can't see Big Zeke in there unless he changes his finisher. To me torture rack doesn't actually show any pain and I just don't find it believable. I'd like to see DiBiase later on this year win some recognisable gold, possibly feuding with Rhodes when Rhodes is the ME Dibiase takes the IC championship and gets his big chance from there

 

[GameOver]

Hornswoggle.
He's gonna win the Royal Rumble and pull a Rey Mysterio at Mania.

 

[SunnyD]

Kofi Kingston is a front runner in the darkhorse category (oxymoron?). He's been in the business for a while, puts on great matches, and in my opinion has a great finisher that connects consistently. While his mic skills are still sub par, they could give him a more edgy character and he could pull it off, after they lose the tag team belts obviously. He'd probably have it by now if Orton didn't think he was "STUPID".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-kxxFjiD6s

Don't forget about Brodus Clay either. Everyone saw Sheamus' rise to the top. Brodus isn't bad in the ring at all and could be built up to become a main eventer.

 

[lazeric]

I totally agree with the Drew Mac assumption he does have championship written all over him and with a gud push he could be golden. I also like the thought of Mason Ryan getting to main event level becuz face it ppl he has the look he jus needs a manager. I would love to see Mason as a part of Vicki's stable she would do wonders for him. Big Zeke I can kinda see gettin there 2 but only once they figure out he's a better heel than face. They should do something with him and Mark Henry where they become a tag team and induct ppl into the hall of pain 2gether for a while then build him up as a monster heel that way.

 

[#BabyFace]

So we all can probably agree that there were a few great title runs in 2011. Most especially Mark Henry.

So my question is who do you think will have the most impressive title run of 2011. (This is not specifically who will have it the longest but who will have the most impressive)

Here Is My Pick....

Dolph Ziggler.

All the peices are in place. Ziggler has everything a great champion needs. The mic skills, look, and of course his in ring ability. He is also the type of superstar that can change anytime to keep it interesting.

Put Ziggler on SmackDown and let him sink or swim. Give him the WHC Championship and let him go. He would have fantastics fueds and matches with Orton and maybe Bryan. Doplh Ziggler could very well have one of the greatest title runs in a long while.

Whose your pick?

 

[Headman]

Man, that's a tough one. Ziggler and Rhodes were both great in their roles as US and IC champion but they really didn't have any memorable feuds. Cena had some great feuds, but he passed the title back and forth so it's hard to pin down one great reign last year. The tag team titles were a joke all year. The world title had the same problem as the WWE title. Nobody really had the title long enough to get rolling. I thought about saying the Miz for a second, because he had quite a successful reign only no real pay off. He was overshadowed going into Wrestlemania. He won the match but lost the title soon after in a pretty insignificant way. Had he held his own in the Wrestlemania build up or held the title a little longer after Wrestlemania I would have given him more credit. Then we have CM Punk who's first reign as co-champion was interesting, but his 2nd reign has been pretty lackluster IMO. I guess I would say the best title reign even though it was a month long would be the co-reign of Cena and Punk.

 

[Rowdy Robby Piper]

Nobody.

The fact that the titles are passed around more than a cheerleader in a locker room shows that they are nothing more than props and don't mean a damn thing anymore in this day-and-age. Add in the fact that Vince and the writing team pretty much treat the shows more like television productions (superstars/entertainers) instead of sporting events (wrestlers/athletes) makes me feel like it's a watered down wannabe reality TV show with a revolving door of cast members.

 

[justin71]

Rhodes and Ziggler are clearly being set to be the next faces of the company which is a safe bet considering booth their IC and US title runs were solid and clearly built up what has been the pass around championship seem relevant once again. There have been people like Owen Hart and Curt Henning that you can argue did the same thing with the IC title that were never given the brass rings so I could be wrong. Here is a novel concept keep the belt on someone an entire year imagine what that would do for Bryan and Punks stock?

 

[ForzaItalia]

Just note I am not going to pick the obvious choices: Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler, Wade Barrett, Sheamus. Instead, I am going to go out on a leap of faith here and say Sin Cara with the Intercontinental Championship. I honestly think Sin Cara has all the hype and potential to be a great, solid mid-carder. I say this year we will see a whole new, botch-free Sin Cara. 2011 was a rough start for Sin Cara, but 2012 could in fact be the year that he does indeed live up to the hype that he had back in Mexico. I think Sin Cara has put his rough start of his career behind and he will be better than ever when he returns. In the process, I strongly believe Cody will drop the belt to Sin Cara when he is ready to move on to the World Title. From this, I think Sin Cara will get his first championship in WWE and continue to put on great, high-flying matches while keeping the Intercontinental Championship relevant in the process.

 

[Tattooed Jesus]

CM Punk once his program with Jericho gets going I think it will be the feud of the year and produce some top quality MOTY candidates.

Sheamus has the potential to have an awesome title run on Smackdown with the WHC as well.

Ziggler and Rhodes definitely might get their first Main Event title runs this year but I don't really expect them having amazing runs with the titles until maybe next year.

 

[WJDwjdWJDwjd]

What makes everyone think Dolph is going to be this big deal in 2012? I can definitely see him having a title run, but not a lengthy one. He needs time to build as a main eventer. Sure, he'll be in title matches and get a win in one of them sometime throughout the year, but I don't see Dolph being this huge superstar in 2012 like everyone else thinks he'll be.

If I can see anyone having an impressive title run, I believe it will be Sheamus. Sheamus will go over whoever he beats at Wrestlemania and hold the strap until a fall PPV or Survivor Series. Mark my words. Sheamus will dominate Smackdown if he isn't drafted back to Raw. Randy may be the John Cena like figure on Smackdown, but Sheamus will carry that show throughout 2012. If you're a Cody or Wade Barrett fan, that fall PPV or Survivor Series will be the month your guy gets that title. The WHC will belong to Sheamus through 2012. He's being billed as a big, dominate, Irish beast and will live up to his moniker of "Celtic Warrior" in 2012.

 

[DanielPuder]

I would love to see Ziggler have a long reign, but I don't see it. As an earlier poster said, guys like Hennig and Owen made ith IC title seem legit and seemed poised to win the big one but never did. Not to mention Scott Hall and Jeff Jarrett, who both had numerous IC title runs but never quite pushed through. The days of long title reigns seem to be over. I think Gregory Helms had the longest reign of any title in recent memory... and said title no longer exists.

 

[Legacy Reborn]

Wow... No love for the man who cashed in his briefcase at SummerSlam? Alberto del Rio will undoubtedly come back and be a force to be reckoned with this year. He plays the backstage politics well, can actually wrestle, and he can carry a crowd. Did you hear the pop when his music played at the rumble? I see them pushing del Rio to the title, and then having a bigger role with Ricardo Rodriguez as well.

 

[#hamler]

Sheamus: Since moving to Smackdown in the summer, Sheamus has been on a tear. He got over and still hasn't been used to his full potential just yet. For months Sheamus' momentum has been going strong. Not only is he super over, but he's arguably the most over Superstar on Smackdown not named Randy Orton. There's no way the WWE does not capitalize off the momentum Sheamus currently posses. He'll undoubtedly win at Wrestlemania XXVIII and go on to have a solid reign as World Heavyweight Champion. After Wrestlemania, I guarantee you Smackdown's main event scene will be dominated by Sheamus himself. All signs point to a successful reign from the WWE’s next big babyface, Sheamus who will be the next World Heavyweight Champion come Wrestlemania.

 

[Barbedwire Ropes]

Man I'm really really really hoping its Cody Rhodes or Wade Barrett. Don't get me wrong, I love Ziggler and I have not doubts about him making it at the main event level but to me Cody Rhodes just has the most to offer.

Wade Barrett has been ready in my eyes since his "re-debut" leading the Nexus. In hindsight, he really should have been given the WWE title right then and there, to make the Nexus appear like a true force. Oh what could have been.

As for today's product, Cody Rhodes has evolved like no other. Dolph Ziggler has always been good but Rhodes grew from being a boring, mediocre mid-carder to a performer who has the "it" factor in every category.

I'm also hoping Daniel Bryan doesn't lose steam in 2012. They need to keep him elevated as well.

 

[pruby999]

I'm gonna have to say Jack Swagger with the US championship. Yesyerday he beat 2 of WWE's top stars in a triple threat US championship match.The fact that he apoligized to Zack Ryder is amazing. He has every quality a US champion needs. He is the all american american american.

 

[mb47]

CM Punk - Depending on who they make him feud with. Punk is a credible champion, he's a great mic and in-ring worker and he shifts so much merch they'll keep him up in the title picture. It just depends what they give him to work with while he has the title.

John Cena - Again this is depending on who he feuds with and why. Cena again shifts so much merch and like him or not is a great worker. If they keep Cena in a tweener type gimmick then I can see some entertaining feuds coming with Cena as champion.

I'm going to go out on a wildcard choice for this last one but;

Seeing as the question doesn't state WWE I'm going to pick Bully Ray to keep being pushed and to get a nice title run this year. I don't expect it to be long but I expect it to happen and be entertaining. Some of that mans best work has come in 2011 and he is one of the only reason I keep tabs on what's going on over there. He's pushed himself and as a result it's helping put his opponents over and creating great excitement for a long time fan as myself to watch.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It's far too early to tell since we're not quite half way through only the 2nd month of 2012. If I had to pick though, based on potential rumors I've heard, I'm going to say that CM Punk will have the most impressive run.

It's pretty much written in the stars at this point that Punk will face Jericho at WM 28. There are rumors that Jericho won't be staying around for very long after WM and will be embarking on a tour with Fozzy during the summer. If those rumors are true, then I'd say that Punk will retain at WM and will continue to have a brief feud with Jericho that could culminate at the next ppv with Punk retaining there as well. If Jericho is indeed going to tour with Fozzy, then there's no reason for Punk to drop the title to him. I love Jericho, I've been a fan of the guy since his days in WCW, but I think having Punk drop the title to him, even if it's just for a month or so, wouldn't accomplish anything. If Jericho isn't leaving to tour with Fozzy, then I expect him to win the title at WM and to have an extended feud with Punk over the title, possibly culminating at SummerSlam. There's always a chance that Jericho will win the title at the Elimination Chamber ppv only to drop it back to Punk at WM. Again, I don't see this as a good idea. If Jericho isn't going to be around long after WM, then I think it's a mistake giving him the title at all.

According to reports I read late last year, the plan is for the WWE to get heavily behind Punk in 2012 and really cement him as one of THE guys. They're soon to put out a DVD compilation on Punk, that only happens if WWE is 100% committed to a guy, so a lengthy title run is a good way of showing that. Punk's already been a really good champ in my view, but I think a lot of us are simply hoping to see him have a very lengthy run with the strap if for no other reason than the fact that he's done a good job.