7 WWE and AEW Stars Who Will Be World Champions in 2026

A new year brings new hope for fresh names to rise up the ranks and capture the top prizes in the wrestling business.

Coming out of 2025, most of WWE's top men are over 40 years old, but there are multiple challengers in the works teasing a challenge for the world title.

The WWE women's division is taking chances on new names with Stephanie Vaquer and Jade Cargill holding the top prizes, but their next challengers are unclear.

In All Elite Wrestling, two Long Island natives hold the gold: MJF and Kris Statlander. Both are defining their legacies at a young age.

It is inevitable that every name on this list will eventually lose their world championships, but when and to whom?

The following are the seven stars set to dethrone these champions and hold a world title in 2026.

Current World Championship Pictures

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WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes

The American Nightmare sits atop WWE with the most prestigious world title in the business. His next challenge will come against Drew McIntyre on Friday's SmackDown in Three Stages of Hell.

World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk

The Best in the World survived the challenge of Bron Breakker on the Netflix Anniversary Raw, and it looks likely he will be unchallenged on TV until at least after the Royal Rumble.

AEW Men's World Championship: MJF

After two surprise title changes, The Salt of the Earth stands atop AEW as the face of the franchise again with plenty of challengers lined up. His next official title defense will be on Dynamite: Maximum Carnage on January 14.

WWE Women's Championship: Jade Cargill

Since her dominant victory over Tiffany Stratton, The Storm has looked unstoppable. Her first televised defense against Michin was postponed due to the challenger's injury, but no one comes off as a real threat to Cargill yet.

World Women's Championship: Stephanie Vaquer

La Primera won the vacant world title at Crown Jewel in September and has successfully defended her title four times on air since. Raquel Rodriguez made her claim to the next challenge, though Vaquer has already defended against her three times.

AEW Women's Championship: Kris Statlander

The Cosmic Killer ended the reign of "Timeless" Toni Storm at All Out in September, and she has looked dominant since in memorable defenses against Storm, Mercedes Moné and Jamie Hayter. Thekla has called the next shot at the champion.

WWE Championship: Gunther

This article could already look out of date by the end of the week if Drew McIntyre captures the WWE Championship on the January 9 edition of SmackDown.

However, it is hard to bet against Cody Rhodes, and it's easy to bet against The Scottish Warrior given WWE's track record booking him.

This would leave the question of who might step up next to challenge The American Nightmare for the WWE Championship on the road to WrestleMania.

Why not the biggest heel in the business right now, Gunther?

The Ring General retired John Cena in December, garnering him massive heat with the fans into 2026. Few clearly idolized The Champ more than Rhodes.

A collision between Rhodes and Gunther is easy money. It is only the second time the two would have faced off one-on-one, and the last time at Crown Jewel 2024, The American Nightmare escaped with the win.

All signs point to The Ring General ruling WWE in 2026 and continuing to define himself as the company's top heel. Why not give him the WWE Championship?

WWE Championship: Jacob Fatu

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If Gunther dethrones Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 42, it would set the stage for a dominant run, perhaps one that no one could stop.

However, there is one person who stands out as a real threat to The Ring General at the top of the company: Jacob Fatu.

Before an untimely injury, The Samoan Werewolf was on the rise in WWE, setting the stage for a complete takeover in 2026.

The 33-year-old should return soon and will likely make a major splash early, possibly feuding with Drew McIntyre heading into 'Mania.

It is even possible WWE has The Scottish Warrior dethrone Cody Rhodes just to set up the dramatic victory of Fatu on The Grandest Stage of Them All on April 18-19.

In the timeline where The Ring General dethrones Rhodes, Fatu building himself up by winning the King of the Ring and defeating Gunther at SummerSlam is an easy sell.

The Samoan Werewolf is as close to a sure thing as anyone on the rise in WWE, and it would not be surprising to see him holding world championship gold in 2026.

World Heavyweight Championship: Bron Breakker

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Bron Breakker almost became the first man in 2026 to capture a world championship in his Netflix Anniversary Raw challenge of CM Punk.

However, The Best in the World overcame the best Breakker could muster and retained his World Heavyweight Championship.

It still feels inevitable that The Badass will get another shot at Punk, and it is hard to imagine him losing a second time.

Throughout his career to date, Breakker has consistently lost in his first challenge for a title but learned from the defeat, coming back around to win on the second opportunity.

Breakker stands next to Gunther as the two most likely winners of the men's Royal Rumble and then challenge for a world title at WrestleMania 42.

Whether he wins the Rumble or Elimination Chamber match this year to earn his shot, the 28-year-old's road to glory is assured.

How long Breakker can keep his spot atop WWE in his first world title reign is less certain.

World Heavyweight Championship: Sami Zayn

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While multiple young stars are chomping at the bit to capture the top prize in the business, there are also some major veteran names who have never held a world championship.

Sami Zayn and LA Knight both made clear in 2025 that their top goal remains finally winning a world title.

While The Megastar could achieve that goal, Zayn feels like the more realistic choice in 2026.

At 41 years old, Zayn is still one of WWE's top in-ring workers. His workhorse mentality set the stage for the United States Championship's resurgence in late 2025.

It would be a shame if his challenge of Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber 2023 is the closest he ever gets to a world championship.

He is a dark-horse candidate to win the men's Rumble match and would be a great challenger in the future for any heel world champion such as Bron Breakker, Drew McIntyre or Gunther.

While he is on SmackDown right now, it feels more likely he would end up going for the World Heavyweight Championship on Raw, particularly continuing his rivalry with Breakker from 2024.

Zayn is one of a selective few who have defeated Breakker in a title match before and would be a worthy veteran to humble The Badass.

It is hard to imagine Zayn will have a long run with the world title, but he has earned at least a short run with the gold.

AEW Men's World Championship: Darby Allin

In MJF's first reign as AEW men's world champion, he set the record for the longest title reign in company history at 406 days.

To match or exceed that mark, he would need to hold the title throughout all of 2026, which seems unlikely.

Many names have already stepped up to MJF, calling for a shot. "Hangman" Adam Page, Swerve Strickland, Samoa Joe, Bandido and Kenny Omega all have real claims to the gold.

It would not be surprising if any of those names did capture the world title, especially The Cowboy or The Mogul.

However, the most dangerous threat to MJF's reign may be looming a bit further out: Darby Allin.

The Daredevil and The Salt of the Earth have long circled each other as two of the four "pillars" in AEW, and it is inevitable they will clash again.

Many speculated Allin could have won the championship in 2025 if he had not chosen to climb Mount Everest around the time of All In.

This likely just delayed the inevitable as the 33-year-old defeating MJF feels like a perfect full-circle moment for these two rivals.

As a side note, it would also not be shocking if Will Ospreay was the one to dethrone MJF, especially by winning the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament he lost last year.

However, The Aerial Assassin's health status remains a question mark, and it is more likely his first goal will be to challenge Jon Moxley as continental champion upon his return to action.

WWE Women's Championship: No Change (Remains with Jade Cargill)

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World champions are often the most difficult to dethrone, leading to longer reigns than with any other title.

This coming year, it looks likely most belts will change hands at least once, but Jade Cargill stands alone as the most likely to remain dominant on SmackDown.

The WWE women's champion is an imposing force in need of fresh competition. When those challengers arise, several would be worthy names to take down The Storm.

Charlotte Flair is a 14-time world champion who is always a threat to win more gold. Bianca Belair is the longest reigning WWE women's champion of the modern era and will be coming for her gold when healthy.

If Cargill can take down those two top names, though, who else stands out on the blue brand as a real threat to her?

WWE has a chance to solidify Cargill as the standard-bearer of the women's division, and a reign that even outpaces Belair's 419 days would be a major statement.

Women's World Championship: Liv Morgan

Stephanie Vaquer has solidified herself as one of Raw's top women, but she has yet to defend her belt against the other top names on the red brand.

Her title defenses against Raquel Rodriguez and Nikki Bella have been solid but mostly served to define her as a fighting champion.

She has yet to face Becky Lynch, Rhea Ripley, Asuka or perhaps her greatest challenge, Liv Morgan, for the Women's World Championship.

While all of these women could be the one to dethrone La Primera, Morgan stands out right now for her character work.

She has gotten better by the year, and 2026 feels like the time to truly solidify her claim to be one of the best women's wrestlers in WWE.

Her win would also set the stage for a likely Judgment Day implosion if the group stays together until then. Morgan vs. Roxanne Perez is a money match WWE should highlight properly when the time comes.

AEW Women's World Championship: Thekla

Kris Statlander has carried the AEW Women's Championship with pride since her victory over "Timeless" Toni Storm and defeated multiple greats in defense of the gold.

Now past the 100-day mark as champion, time could be ticking for The Cosmic Killer, especially given her next challenger.

Thekla may have been AEW's most important signing of 2025. She has immediately made her mark on the company, not just in the ring but also on the mic and in promo material.

The Toxic Spider is a clear standout for her character work, helping take Julia Hart and Skye Blue to the next level in their alliance as The Triangle of Madness.

It would be shocking if all three women were not carrying gold together by the mid-point of 2026.

Once Thekla captures the AEW Women's World Championship, she is likely to run with the gold for a while, possibly all the way to the end of the year.