5 WWE Titles that are destined to change hands by SummerSlam 2018

After several months of constant title changes on both Raw and SmackDown Live, only one championship has changed hands in WWE over the last 28 days and every current title holder is likely to remain champion at least until the Money In The Bank PPV in June.

However, if previous WWE summer months are anything to go by, it won’t be long until a flurry of title changes begin to take place on Monday and Tuesday nights, as well as PPVs, over the next 12 weeks.

Sportskeeda is the one-stop destination for latest WWE rumors and wrestling news.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the five most probable championship switches that could happen between now and the end of SummerSlam 2018.

---

#5 WWE Championship

AJ Styles will put his title on the line against Shinsuke Nakamura at Money In The Bank

By the time Money In The Bank comes around, AJ Styles will have held the WWE Championship for 222 consecutive days – the fourth longest reign with the title in the last 12 years.

“The Phenomenal One” is currently preparing to meet Shinsuke Nakamura for the fifth time in 10 weeks at MITB, and one imagines that “The King of Strong Style” will follow up his win on last week’s episode of SmackDown Live by finally defeating his rival for the WWE title when they next face off in a match of Nakamura’s choosing.

If the former NXT champion fails in his latest quest to win the gold, there’s always a chance that the winner of this year’s Money In The Bank could catch Styles off guard by cashing in their contract by SummerSlam.

Either way, Styles’ chances of retaining his title beyond August look very slim.

#4 United States Championship

Jeff Hardy won the title from Jinder Mahal in April

Jeff Hardy only won the United States Championship during last month’s Superstar Shake-Up episode of Raw, but recent US title history suggests that he won’t keep hold of the gold for long.

Since Chris Jericho’s 83-day reign came to an end at WrestleMania 33, the title has changed hands 12 times between eight different people and nobody has held it for longer than 75 days (AJ Styles, July-October 2017).

Jeff doesn’t have an obvious challenger right now, but it surely won’t be long before some mid-card heels of the SmackDown Live roster, such as Big Cass or newcomer Andrade “Cien” Almas, begin to make their claim to enter the US title scene.

#3 Intercontinental Championship

Seth Rollins issues weekly IC title open challenges

Seth Rollins has quickly established himself as one of the best champions in WWE since winning the Intercontinental title from The Miz at WrestleMania 34.

However, as good as it is to see “The Kingslayer” defend his beloved championship in weekly open challenges on Monday Night Raw, the chances of him retaining the title a dozen or more times before SummerSlam are extremely slim.

Besides, “Monday Night Rollins” will be one of the leading contenders to challenge Brock Lesnar the next time “The Beast” decides to defend his Universal Championship, so perhaps Seth would need to lose the IC title before going toe-to-toe with the holder of Raw’s main prize.

#2 Universal Championship

Brock Lesnar has been the Universal champion for over a year

WWE fooled everyone by having Brock Lesnar defeat Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34 and the Greatest Royal Rumble to retain his Universal Championship.

Just when it looked like he was set to leave, "The Beast" signed a new contract with WWE over 'Mania weekend and fans are still no closer to knowing how long he has left on his current deal, with some reports suggesting he will remain with the company in a multi-year agreement and others claiming he will return to UFC later this year.

Assuming the latter theory is correct, the expectation is that WWE will have Lesnar finally lose the Universal Championship at SummerSlam, with Reigns, Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman all realistic contenders to end his record-breaking reign with the title.

#1 SmackDown Women’s Championship

Carmella retained her title against Charlotte Flair at Backlash

Carmella has played her role as an obnoxious loudmouth brilliantly since she cashed in on Charlotte Flair to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship, but can anyone really see her holding the title for much longer?

With respect to “The Princess of Staten Island”, while her character is one of the most entertaining and developed in either of the main-roster women’s divisions, there are better in-ring performers than her who are queuing up for their chance at holding the title.

At the top of that list, of course, is Asuka, who is the #1 contender for the SmackDown Women’s Championship and will head into her match against Carmella at Money In The Bank as the favourite to leave Chicago with the blue brand's title.

---

Send us news tips at [email protected]