Who Wins the WWE World Heavyweight Championship First?

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

I know this topic has been done before, and done to death, but let's face it: the roster is always evolving, and the question can always be asked with a fresh crop of Superstars.

Out of the following guys - Roman Reigns, Big E, Cesaro, Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose - which of them will win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship first?

This idea spawned off the TOP TEN list I did yesterday, that ranked who I thought would be the best WWE & NXT Superstars to lead us into a new generation. The ten guys I thought would be major players in the years to come. These are four of the Superstars who seemed primed to become a world champion in the next few years.

Will it be Roman Reigns? The heavy-hitter for the Shield has the looks, the presence, and the brutality to become a world champion. He perhaps has the "IT" factor more than any of the four listed.

Will it be Big E? The current Intercontinental Champion has a great size and look, is dedicated to the business, and is comparable to a young John Cena in many ways.

Will it be Cesaro? The Swiss Superman has held the United States Championship and is in line to split from his Real American partner in the near future. He has a chance in just a few weeks to win the title, as he steps inside the Elimination Chamber against Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, Christian and John Cena.

Or will it be Bray Wyatt? The leader of the Wyatt Family is perhaps the furthest from winning the world title in his present situation, but it's not out of the question.

Those are your four choices. Roman Reigns, Cesaro, Big E and Bray Wyatt. Who wins the WWE World Heavyweight Championship first?

 

[Spidey Revivey]

Funny, I remember someone had a sig that had a poll similar to this and Ted Dibiase Jr won that one. Was that you, Killam?

Anyways, I'm going with Roman Reigns. Holds the record for eliminations in both Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble so obviously WWE is huge on him and want him to become a WWE Champion. But I'm going to say Bray Wyatt gets a title shot first. His character screams for it and eventually it will happen and I'll say sometime soon, maybe this summer. Roman Reigns will coagulate until the fans demand him and that's when I think WWE will have him take it.

Cesaro and Big E are still credible choices in this point of time but I don't believe Cesaro has the personality down yet or the voice for it. Weird I choose Reigns I guess but I think Reigns is better on the mic right now than Cesaro. Big E from what I gather has a problem of injuring opponents and at one time that wasn't completely taboo, nowadays that's a sure staller for a push.

 

[PingPongBundy]

Good choices. Makes you think here. I gotta go with Reigns. I just don't see any of the others ever winning it, let alone before or after anyone else. If the WHC were still its own title, then we'd be talking differently.

 

[lil steroid meat]

Roman Reigns. I think the title should rotate between Daniel Bryan, Batista and Lesnar this year and Reigns takes it at Wrestlemania next year, going over a heel Cena.

Roman Reigns (when he turns face) has to be pushed slowly and fans have to be clamoring for him to win the title. He has a very cool guy persona and they need to capitalize on that.

If not, and the WWE turns him into a generic babyface with action movie one liners, it's very possible we have another Cena/Batista/HHH where the crowd gets tired of him quickly.

 

[WarroBODFan]

I 'think' it'll be Reigns as well. Not meaning to copy what Spidey said, but we all know the WWE are high on him, and the push to stardom has pretty much already started. The crowd are becoming more and more receptive each week to Reigns which is great.

Though a lot may depend on how long Daniel Bryan will hold the title when he eventually wins it and has a fairly lengthy reign. If Reigns is going to turn babyface, I can't see him going up against the most over guy in the company for the title. Face or not, I can't see the crowd getting behind Reigns while facing off against DB. Which is why part of me is leaning towards Bray Wyatt in answer to the original question. I for one would LOVE to see a Wyatt V Reigns feud in the future. We've already had the cool staredown on Raw this week, and I think it could draw a lot of hype and a lot of support for Reigns.

 

[Kidpolean]

None of them...unless the titles split up again, none of them will win those belts. With only one top title, and Batista coming back, DB emerging as a top guy, Cena, Orton, Lesnar, and the possibility of Punk coming back and forcing the WWE to give him a huge push...i just dont see how they will find time to properly push one of these guys and carry the only world title in the company. Now if the titles split again, than I'll go with Bray. I think Reigns, as soon as he's put on his own and given a feud will be exposed as another big guy that doesn't bring much to the table.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

Roman Reigns without a doubt.

Roman Reigns is the future of this company.

But when he eventually wins it, it should be nothing short of a WM main event.

Either he wins it from Cena or The Rock.

 

[Loveless]

It'll be Bray. Too much competition for face spots at the top of the company means Reigns will have to wait a while, and rightly so, because he's still green.
Bray has in the last few months finally been given proper feuds to work with and he's done brilliantly with them. Come Summerslam, I expect him to have the belt.

 

[Mongoose McQueen]

All of those have the potential to be WWE World Champions, out of the four I had to go with Roman Reigns. He has all the tools to be a big success story in the WWE and you can see the crowd getting behind week after week. He's the type of Dude that Vince loves and the machine seems to be already behind. He's being groomed to be an actual top guy in WWE like John Cena and Batista were back in the day. It's a similar situation occurring over again.

It's taken time but the transition is finally happening. It won't be long until we see Roman Reigns vs John Cena down the line. The second of the four is Bray Wyatt, he has all the tools and the mic skills which are important in becoming a top guy in the WWE. A match with John Cena is a great way to hotshot him to the top tier level in WWE. It worked with Sheamus, why would it not work with Bray Wyatt? In fact, I could see throwing Wyatt in there with Batista post 'Mania for the WWE World title if he wins it.

 

[Softcore Holly]

Reigns is the obvious choice, he's easily the most popular and most pushed of the 4. Outside of injury or him doing something incredibly stupid (Like Swagger's DUI last year) he should have a very bright future that leads directly to the WWEHC.

Bray has a lot of potential too, especially considering how few top heels they got right now. But I haven't seen enough high level matches from him yet to be convinced.

Big E has the size and a great look, but I think he's still pretty green and needs a more exciting gimmick to get to the main event.

Cesaro is the best in-ring-wise of the 4, but he doesn't have the look they like and his mic skills aren't ME material, granted he almost never gets the chance to talk. So I don't see him breaking into that top%, although he'll probably be competing against champs a lot since the matches will be great.

 

[JoVilla21]

Someone said by next year WM, Reigns will prolly win the title in the main event against Cena or The Rock. How cool would that be if it was against Cena!? Then you have the real passing of the torch. Reigns is groomed to be an actual top guy. The cool part is that at next year's WM, it would be 10 years since the Cena era had begin and it may be the end of the Cena era next year if they do plan on pushing Reigns to the moon.

With that said, my answer is Bray. Like what I said previously, Reigns will have his mania moment, no doubt. So that will be next year, this year, however, Bray will win the title. There are a lack of heels as of late and Bray has become a top heel behind Orton (on the full-timers list.) He's winning me over. Maybe he becomes the next 'Taker; creepy, mysterious, spooky, weird, monster. He'll have the aura in a few years though he won't put on stellar matches or prolly won't create as big a legacy as Taker did. Just like how Cena vs Reigns passing of the torch must happen, we might get a Taker vs Bray passing of the torch. It's inevitable. Might not happen at Mania though.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Of the wrestlers on that list, I'd have to go with Reigns simply because of all the rumors regarding how much WWE management is in love with him. Some see Roman Reigns as the standout star of The Shield but, frankly, I haven't seen Reigns outshine Rollins or Ambrose. I haven't really seen any of them outshine the others as they've come across, for the most part, on equal footing. While WWE is certainly trying to make Reigns stand out more as the dominant muscle of the group with the devastating finisher, the only real way to see whether or not Reigns has the good is to break him away from The Shield, give him a good push, give him time and wait to see what happens.

Cesaro doesn't strike me as someone that'll be WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Not to say that I wouldn't be open to him having an opportunity, but Cesaro seems to be in a strange spot in the minds of WWE management. Some think the guy is boring while other think he's a long term player, but everyone agrees that he can flat out go inside the ring. His match with Bryan on Raw last year and his matches with Sami Zayn in NXT were some of the best of the year and, in all honesty, I think he & Swagger could be genuinely good tag team champions, but they're most likely gonna break up before too long. Ultimately, I see Cesar as someone who could have a strong run as IC champ before POSSIBLY heading into the main event as a contender if not as champ.

Things look to have cooled down with Big E in the past month or so. He's not gotten as much focus as he has been, though that'll probably change within the coming months. WWE could do better, in my eyes, with Big E, but at least they're not burying him as they were with poor Wade Barrett at this time last year. I can see Big E carrying the IC title past WrestleMania, possibly well into the summer, but I don't think he'll be WWE WHC. Big E has some real personality and I think he has a better shot of showing people that he can get the job done if Vince allows him to showcase more of that personality. With some guys, Vince likes to keep things simple and, unfortunately, that can be a detriment to them. Big E is a nationally ranked powerlifter, so he's booked as a mostly silent bruiser. For instance, when Big E was in NXT, he showcased a lot more personality and charisma than he has on the main roster. Why? Because Vince & Triple H have some different styles as Vince likes to rely on stereotypes for guys who have a certain look about them and, sometimes, those stereotypes are outdated.

As for Bray Wyatt, I see WWE using much of 2014 to establish Wyatt as a dominant, top level heel. The first really good opportunity we've had so far at seeing what Wyatt can do was at the Royal Rumble against Daniel Bryan. Wyatt shined in the match, though it's hard not to look like a million bucks against Bryan. If Wyatt faces Cena at WrestleMania XXX and goes over then, depending on exactly how he goes over, Wyatt could be on his way to being the top heel on the roster. If he feuds with Cena, I can honestly see the feud lasting at least to Extreme Rules, maybe even on into the summer. Once that feud ends and depending on who the champ is by then, Wyatt MIGHT move into the title scene.

 

[The Eighties]

Reigns is the only one of the 4 I actually see winning the World title at all, especially now there's only one. It's obvious he's like a wet dream for Vince and Triple H and this year will be as much about prepping him to win the title as it is anything else.

I see Bray working a role similar to Jake Roberts and early years Undertaker (I know he held the title for a couple of days back then) as more of a big character worker who has personal feuds rather than title ambitions.

Big E is a great athlete but he's dull on the mic and has an odd look, he's squat with an unusual face. I know he can be funny but it's the kind of funny that I doubt Vince or Triple H see as the humour indicative of a main eventer.
I'm sure many will disagree but I think there's a lot of work to be done trying to figure out how to get Big E really over at this point, never mind thinking about World titles.

Cesaro is one of the best workers in the business and a physical freak of nature, but despite his current upswing in momentum I don't see WWE making him the WWE Champion, but I do see them getting him into the main event mix because he can have great matches with the guys WWE do want to put the title on.

 

[sbattsjr]

Jeff hardy, swagger, lesnar, never was good on the mic and still won the title so I think cesaro could win it as well..

 

[L@RISANO]

Of the wrestlers on that list, I'd have to go with Reigns simply because of all the rumors regarding how much WWE management is in love with him. Some see Roman Reigns as the standout star of The Shield but, frankly, I haven't seen Reigns outshine Rollins or Ambrose. I haven't really seen any of them outshine the others as they've come across, for the most part, on equal footing. While WWE is certainly trying to make Reigns stand out more as the dominant muscle of the group with the devastating finisher, the only real way to see whether or not Reigns has the good is to break him away from The Shield, give him a good push, give him time and wait to see what happens.

As a fan of Roman Reigns, I have to respectfully disagree with your notion that Roman Reigns hasn't outshined Ambrose and Rollins.


Based on how Reigns has been booked and portrayed since Survivor Series, it is clear he has been made to standout whilst around his team.

The performances at Survivor Series and Royal Rumble in addition to being given the Mic to say certain things(Standing up to HHH, Being the one to question Dean Ambrose's US title reign last week, etc.), and also the fact that he is now clearly the Unofficial Leader of the Shield based on portrayal(the Standoff with the Wyatts on RAW was a clear indicator, Defeating CM Punk, etc.) all point to Roman Reigns being made to standout.


That being said; Your assertion that they are on "equal footing" is somewhat correct, but in reply, I have to say, it has been more of Elevate Roman Reigns but do not Bury Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins whilst doing so, unlike for example, the Wyatt family, where it has been all about Elevating Bray Wyatt and portraying the other 2 guys as lackeys from the beginning.

As for your final statement; I agree. Roman Reigns breaking away from the Shield completely will be the test to see how well he does.
Needless to say, Strong and Smart booking will play a major part in that elevation to success as his current Elevation has been. The same can be said about other hopefuls however, even Bray Wyatt.

Cheers.

 

[GenMe]

Roman is a beast inside that ring, he has more of a shot of becoming hwc then any one in that poll. First of all he has the main event look and he has the qualities that Wwe has always look for a big power house wrestler. He also has the qualities of becoming the future face of the wwe.

 

[NtwrestlingMaster]

I personally think it will be Cesaro. Imo, I don't think Roman Reigns is over yet. You can say the reaction he got at the Rumble was really good, but this was mostly because Batista was the other guy. This was the same match where Rey got heel heat remember... Lastly, anyone that says Zeb Coulter is why Cesaro is getting over, Swagger is far from over, and the Cesaro has some great signature and finishing moves.

 

[MCMG]

I'll say Reigns will win the WWE WHC first. They are clearly fans of Reigns and that much has been shown at Survivor Series and the Rumble. He is good enough in the ring; he has an awesome look; as well as being related to The Rock (which can't hurt).

With one World Title, we are less likely to see title wins like Swagger or indeed the first reigns for Ziggler or Punk. I wouldn't be shocked if we have to wait until next years Mania to see a new champ. Orton, Batista, Bryan, Cena are all at the top. Add Sheamus, Del Rio and (whisper it) Punk then there won't be any impulse decisions.

Reigns will get the title eventually. I personally think it might not be until Wrestlemania 31. Batista will probably hold the belt until the Summer; Bryan will get a run eventually. Cena must be champ at some point. Reigns vs Cena at WM31, definitely a possibility. I can't see anyone new being champ in the meantime.

 

[L@RISANO]

I'll say Reigns will win the WWE WHC first. They are clearly fans of Reigns and that much has been shown at Survivor Series and the Rumble. He is good enough in the ring; he has an awesome look; as well as being related to The Rock (which can't hurt).

With one World Title, we are less likely to see title wins like Swagger or indeed the first reigns for Ziggler or Punk. I wouldn't be shocked if we have to wait until next years Mania to see a new champ. Orton, Batista, Bryan, Cena are all at the top. Add Sheamus, Del Rio and (whisper it) Punk then there won't be any impulse decisions.

Reigns will get the title eventually. I personally think it might not be until Wrestlemania 31. Batista will probably hold the belt until the Summer; Bryan will get a run eventually. Cena must be champ at some point. Reigns vs Cena at WM31, definitely a possibility. I can't see anyone new being champ in the meantime.

I hope your prediction rings through and they don't push Roman Reigns too quickly immediately after becoming a singles competitor.
I'd actually have him in a feud with the Shield, then with Big E to unify. Then move him forward gradually.
I have no interest in seeing him in the Main Event scene until the Road to WM31, unless the fans get completely behind him before then and beg for his inclusion in the Main Event, that is the only exception I would accept.

 

[TheVolFan52]

Someone said by next year WM, Reigns will prolly win the title in the main event against Cena or The Rock. How cool would that be if it was against Cena!? Then you have the real passing of the torch. Reigns is groomed to be an actual top guy. The cool part is that at next year's WM, it would be 10 years since the Cena era had begin and it may be the end of the Cena era next year if they do plan on pushing Reigns to the moon.

I'm going with Bray Wyatt to win the title first. Cena puts him over at mania and he'll probably be champion by summerslam. Sky is the limit for him and it should be because his character is awesome. Despite Wyatt getting the title first and getting a huge push, Reigns get's an even bigger one. I see him really breaking out of the pack this year and having meaningful feuds that put him on the map and then next year win the rumble to go on to beat Cena at Mania for the belt. This not only will give that big torch passing moment but will also give him that Wrestlemania moment where he first wins the title, like Warrior, Michaels, Austin, Cena, and Batista. (I'm sure I am missing someone else but that's all I can recall right now) Reigns will be the next mega star.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I'll go with the majority and pick Reigns, even if he splits with his Shield buddies, which is what I presume will happen. If it doesn't.....if the other two somehow stay with Reigns to support his title bid and reign (no pun intended), you can forget about it; Reigns will win the title and keep it for a long, long time....for the same reason Ambrose keeps the US title today: interference every time he defends it. But I don't think Roman Reigns needs his buddies to get to the top as a single.

Given the competition in this poll, it truly appears Reigns is the top choice. Big E's main event hopes seem to be fizzling, although it's early.....Cesaro doesn't have the goods in personality and charisma to lead the pack.....and Bray Wyatt is more of a novelty act than a serious contender for the world title, although they could give it to him on a short term basis under the same "gang up" conditions under which the Shield operates. Still, I would think being a champion means carrying yourself as one.....and I simply can't see that with Bray. Can you imagine him wearing the belt around his waist?

Reigns would surely feature as a champion in looks and stature.

 

[laodaron]

Reigns wins this hands down. None of the other three are real main event caliber. Bray Wyatt is closest, but really, his best work will be against upper midcarders. Big E isn't going to get past the IC/US level, and Caesaro will be lucky to get that high.

 

[5_thirteen]

To be honest, I don't think Bray Wyatt will ever win the title, at least at the current rate he's going. Don't get me wrong, he's a great performer and has a really cool gimmick going, but his stature, nor his persona, were never meant as one for a champion. Title matches will definitely come in the furture, I just can't see him ever winning the big one.

As for Reigns, he's definitely #1 on that list. I think either him or Dean Ambrose will be the next guy added to the list of champions, maybe even sometime this year. They're high in popularity, great in-ring performers and even have the faces and personalities to be on top. We'll just have to see who wins it first.

Cesaro & Big E just aren't there yet for me. I expect one day they could be, lord knows I never thought Daniel Bryan would be up there until I saw the reaction to Cena naming him #1 contender. So, once they get their persona's and appeals worked out, I think both Cesaro & Big E could be on the list, but until then, naw.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Cesaro
It won't be anytime soon. I can see it happening eventually, but not until after the Real Americans have split up. Cesaro would end up winning the split up feud and get pushed to a world title shot at some point. If it happened before the team splits, Swagger would (kayfabe) get jealous and cost Cesaro the match.

Big E
I'll give this guy the benefit of the doubt for now and say it can still happen. I'm not in the least bit entertained by him though. Keep him in the midcard until he can give fans more of a reason to care about him. No one wants a boring World Champion. A boring Intercontinental Champion is bad enough.

Bray Wyatt
If he keeps up this momentum, definitely. Bray could end up a World Champion someday. He has to establish himself first though. Keep the Wyatt Family with him for a good while longer, maybe have him hold a midcard title first to prove himself. It might not be the year although I see it happening in the long run.

Roman Reigns
He has improved so much since his debut that it's not even funny. Reigns dominance with The Shield and his impressive showing in The Rumble have elevated him significantly and I'll go as far as to predict he could become a World Champion in 2014. Probably towards the end of the year, but out of the 4 in the poll he is the closest to a world title win at this time.

 

[L@RISANO]

My position has been clear enough with Roman Reigns for a while and can be found in a number of threads on this forum. Simply, don't let him near to the Main title scene until 2015, and only if he is built up and properly over that the fans want him there. No Ryback no.2 situation,please.

Bray Wyatt will be, as someone said, a novelty character. A character that other Superstars will be wary of. He will get the title eventually, but I doubt his career will ever be remembered for being a champion or how good of a champion he was. His character doesn't require it,lMO.

Big E is far far away from the Main Event at this time. His IC reign has been boring as said before, and he hasn't got a valuable story feud either. Post-Mania, I think Big E's position in the future WWE will be clear enough. Atm, it seems he will be Muscle mid-carder for life,tbh.

Cesaro is the closest to getting near the Main Event. However, his current selling point is in-ring ability which is stellar. The other facets of him are underwhelming, and unless they are drastically improved in the next couple of years, the most he will achieve is to become a transitional Main Eventer, maybe get the title at some point, or merely get close as a feeder challenger.

All that said, by the end of 2014, and when the next Royal Rumble comes around. All 4 of these guys' direction will be crystal clear as to how their futures will shape up. I,for One, am looking forward eagerly, hoping that at least 3/4 make it.