Now that WrestleMania 33 is in the rear view mirror and the RAW/SmackDown rosters have been shaken up, we look ahead to what’s next for the top titles on WWE’s red and blue brands. Courtesy of Wrestling Observer, here’s what WWE currently has planned for the the WWE Championship and Universal Championship over the next several months:
– WWE Payback is just weeks away (4/30). The event is being billed as a RAW-branded show, yet SmackDown’s Randy Orton will be defending the WWE Championship against Bray Wyatt in the main event. That aside, the title will be on the line in a House of Horrors match.
WWE has yet to explain what that stipulation entails. Based on a WWE Fan Council survey sent out this week, even they’re unsure about it, but it might involve pitchforks, fog, darkness and “sheeple.” The House of Horros match is being set up as a blowoff to the Orton-Wyatt feud, with Orton retaining and keeping the WWE Championship on SmackDown. Orton’s next feud will most likely be with Baron Corbin, since it’s “to early for Nakamura” and SmackDown does not have a lot of depth with top-level heels.
After being traded to SmackDown this week during the Superstar Shake-Up, United States Champion Kevin Owens will be feuding with AJ Styles next, with a title match planned for next month’s Backlash PPV.
– Universal Champion Brock Lesnar is on hiatus from WWE and will feud with Braun Strowman when he returns. A title match between the two monsters is scheduled for either June (Extreme Rules) or July (Bad Blood).
The longterm plan is still for Brock Lesnar to defend the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns next year at WrestleMania. Reigns and Strowman will be facing off at Payback and there’s been some discussion about it being a gimmick match. With Strowman being primed for a title shot against Brock Lesnar in June/July, a gimmick match would allow Strowman to get the win and continue his momentum without Roman having to lose clean.
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