Predicting Who Will Hold Each Championship at WWE SummerSlam 2023

WWE SummerSlam is coming up in just over three months on August 5 in Detroit, and while that may not sound like a long wait, so many things can change in that time.

Currently, WWE has nine champions on the main roster, but with the introduction of the new WWE World Heavyweight Championship, there will be 10 by the time SummerSlam rolls around. Here is the current lineup of titleholders in WWE:

• WWE Undisputed Universal Championship: Roman Reigns
• Raw Women's Championship: Bianca Belair
• SmackDown Women's Championship: Rhea Ripley
• United States Championship: Austin Theory
• Intercontinental Championship: Gunther
• Undisputed Tag Team Championships: Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
• Women's Tag Team Championships: Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez

Let's take a look at what the landscape of WWE might look like by the time we get to August 5.

Women's Tag Titles: Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler

The women's tag team division in WWE basically consists of two teams at any given time. There's the team that is holding the belts and whatever duo WWE throws together to challenge them every couple of months.

The current champions, Morgan and Rodriguez, have quickly developed great chemistry as partners, but they're each just another in a long line of random partners both women have had over the past year.

The challengers right now are Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville, which is a team that only exists because Carmella was injured and WWE decided to keep Green in the title picture by giving her a new partner.

Had Ronda Rousey not been injured, she and Shayna Baszler would probably be the champions right now, so it's likely they will pick up where they left off once both women are healthy.

Even if Green and Deville win the belts, it won't matter. There is a good chance Rousey and Baszler could be ready to go by SummerSlam, and if that's the case, they will leave that PPV with the titles whether they had them going into it or now.

They won the WrestleMania Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Showcase match, so they are going to use that to leverage a title shot the moment they are back.

Men's Tag Titles: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens

WWE barely waited a week to start teasing some tension between Zayn and Owens following their monumental win over The Usos, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are already on the road to breaking up.

The entire history of Owens and Zayn is built on them being best friends who have been rivals several times throughout their careers. Having one of them turn on the other so soon after they won the tag titles would almost be too predictable to try, and that's not even taking into account how upset the WWE Universe would be.

KO and Zayn putting aside their differences to win the Tag Team Championships was the culmination of several months of storytelling. It is one of the best examples of WWE giving the fans exactly what they wanted in recent memory. Taking that away from us would almost be cruel.

At some point, WWE needs to move away from The Usos and give other teams in the division a chance to shine. It has been almost two years since any other tag team felt like it mattered, but now, everyone has a chance to regain relevancy.

If you look at the lineup of other teams in the division right now, you will see that WWE actually has a pretty deep roster of diverse talents.

The Street Profits Alpha Academy, The Brawling Brutes, Los Lotharios, The Viking Raiders, Maximum Male Models, Ricochet and Cedric Alexander, Legado Del Fantasma, Judgment Day, Imperium, Elias and Rick Boogs, The Good Brothers, Hit Row and The New Day.

Zayn and Owens should have a good reign with the belts before dropping them to a team that is not The Usos. SummerSlam feels too early for them to lose, but one of the fall or winter PPVs seems like a good choice.

United States Championship: Matt Riddle

Matt Riddle recently returned to WWE television, and while he may have come up on the losing end in most of his encounters with Solo Sikoa so far, it's clear management still sees him as a viable star.

He isn't quite at the level he needs to be at in order to be considered for a world title reign but having him hold one of the midcard belts is right up his alley.

As a former United States champion, Riddle has a good reason to chase the belt. He lost the title over two years ago at WrestleMania 37 and has spent most of his time since then in a tag team with Randy Orton, winning two sets of tag titles along the way.

Austin Theory is also somebody management obviously wants to succeed, but he won't hold the United States Championship forever. His reign is already over 150 days, so he has established himself on the main roster as somebody who can win and hold onto a belt.

It's tough to say when he will drop it, but with Riddle being drafted to Raw during Friday's episode of SmackDown, he is already a prime candidate to be the one to dethrone Theory.

Intercontinental Championship: Gunther

Gunther's reign as WWE Intercontinental champion has lasted over 320 days so far, but if WWE wants him to beat The Honky Tonk's record of 453 days, he is going to need to hold onto that belt until after SummerSlam.

The Ring General has been a fantastic IC champion. WWE management has booked him to look strong in almost every match and feud he has had since coming to the main roster and there do not appear to be any signs of his reign of dominance slowing down.

For the last several years, WWE has been setting more and more records when it comes to championships, and there are a few that are in reach. The Miz is 26 days away from having the most combined days as the Intercontinental champion, so if he ever wins the title again, that is a milestone he will likely reach.

With Gunther, having the longest individual reign is not only within reach, but it's absolutely something WWE should do. He is a rare talent that needs to be booked the right way. Giving him accomplishments like being the longest-reigning IC champion in over 35 years will go a long way toward setting him up to become a world champion.

Raw Women's Championship: Rhea Ripley

Rhea Ripley just won the SmackDown Women's Championship at WrestleMania by defeating Charlotte Flair, but she was also drafted to Raw during Friday's SmackDown.

The last time this happened, Becky Lynch and Charlotte were the champions. There was an awkward segment with them exchanging titles, and WWE may go that route again.

Bianca Belair was drafted to SmackDown, so each champion is now on the brand opposing the belt they hold. It doesn't make sense to do that in the first place, but since WWE is insisting on it, trading the belts is an easy way to just move past it.

The Eradicator is one of the most popular acts on the main roster. She has probably even outgrown Judgment Day at this point, so WWE is probably going to give her a lengthy run with the title to establish her as one of the top stars in her division.

With Ripley being only 26 years old, she has a long career ahead of her. With the way things have already been going, she will likely be a fixture on WWE programming for a long time to come.

SmackDown Women's Championship: Iyo Sky

Damage CTRL was drafted to SmackDown along with Belair during Friday's show, so Bayley, Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky are still going to be a collective thorn in the EST's side.

Bayley is an obvious choice to win the title at some point, but WWE has a real opportunity to build another star by putting the belt on Sky instead.

The high-flyer is one of the most exciting performers, but her entire main roster run has been as part of a group. If the breakup WWE has been teasing ends up happening, she is going to have to strike out on her own.

The Genius of the Sky is the kind of talent who doesn't need long promos to sell her matches. Her athleticism is what keeps fans tuning into her matches.

Having her win the title before or at SummerSlam would give the SmackDown women's division a fresh champion and build a new star at the same time.

This one was harder to pick than most of the other champions on the list, but Sky feels like the right choice based on her level of talent and how she has been booked by Triple H in the past.

Undisputed Universal Championship: Roman Reigns

With Cody Rhodes failing to capture the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship from Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39, it's really starting to feel like WWE is going to keep that title around The Tribal Chief's waist until WrestleMania 40.

While The Bloodline story may be growing stale for some, especially now that Sami Zayn has left the group, the faction is still far and away the most popular act in the entire company.

The Usos are already tag team legends, Reigns is a certified top star of his generation, Paul Heyman is one of the greatest mouthpieces of all time, and Solo Sikoa is the fresh young star who seems to have limitless potential.

Despite working as heels, everybody has been loving The Bloodline and what they have been doing. Even if you hear loud boos during their segments, the people booing are usually still loving what is going on in the ring. Booing can almost be a way to support a heel these days because you are playing along with the show.

Reigns will lose the belt eventually, and whoever takes it from him is probably going to get a monster push as a result, but for the foreseeable future, The Tribal Chief is going to remain at the head of the table.

World Heavyweight Championship Multiple Possibilities

The World Heavyweight Championship is the biggest wildcard because it's a new title and has no current champion.

With Cody Rhodes being drafted to SmackDown away from Reigns on Raw, he has immediately become one of the favorites to become the inaugural champion at Night of Champions on May 27.

However, The American Nightmare is not the only one who is in a prime position to win gold. One person we already know will be on the blue brand who could be eyeing one last run at the top is Edge.

Bobby Lashley was also drafted to SmackDown, and if Seth Rollins ends up going during night two of the draft on Monday, he would also be a top candidate to win the World Heavyweight Championship.

Even stars like Brock Lesnar, Drew McIntyre and Sheamus wouldn't be surprising choices, but Rhodes, Rollins and Lashley are the top picks based on recent booking.

SummerSlam may feel like it's a ways away, but it's not that long before the biggest party of the summer will be upon us.

Who do you think will be in possession of most of the titles come SummerSlam?