After a super successful weekend for WWE, check out our breakdown here, Monday Night Raw tonight will emanate from the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida tonight. This is the first show with the new rosters taking effect. The WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament begins tonight with a field of 12 superstars (6 from Raw and 6 from SmackDown), culminating in a new champion decided at Night of Champions on May 27th from the Jeddah Super Dome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
One thing that is baffling to me is why there are SmackDown superstars taking part in this tournament as it was intended to be a Raw exclusive title since Roman Reigns is on SmackDown, but I digress. Let’s take a look at the field of contenders:
12 WWE Superstars from #WWERaw and #SmackDown look to claim the World Heavyweight Title at #WWENOC.
Find out who they are NOW! 👀 pic.twitter.com/v5qvYFx5eH
— WWE (@WWE) May 7, 2023
Representing Monday Night Raw we have:
- Seth Rollins – Seth is my favorite to win the championship and be the inaugural WWE World Heavyweight Champion of this new title. He has been super over and the crowd is loving him right now.
- Finn Balor – You can’t count out Finn, who was the first Universal Champion. Could this be a shot at redemption for him back into the title scene?
- Damian Priest – Another member of the Judgement Day is in the tournament, I like Priest but don’t see the time being right for him at this point
- The Miz – He is my pick to play Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat, check it out here, but this title is not for him right now.
- Shinsuke Nakamura – A very under utilized wrestler in the WWE. He has everything you need to be a World Champ but I don’t think the powers that be are behind him.
- Cody Rhodes – I think everything is pointing us to assume Cody will win, but I feel he will be taken out in the tournament by either interference by Brock or by Roman. Leading to a Roman rematch where Cody wins and “Finishes the story”?
From SmackDown we have:
- Austin Theory – The current United States Champion has found ways to squeak by and get the W’s and the E is big on him but I dont know if it is time for A-Town Down on the World Heavyweight Championship.
- AJ Styles – The Phenomenal One is always one to watch as he is a big match guy and probably my pick on the SmackDown side of things for the finals.
- Bobby Lashley – Lashley has been a champion and is always a threat, but right now I see him and Theory battling some more for the US Title.
- Rey Mysterio – Rey has been a world champion in the past and Rey is awesome, but it is a different world right now and I don’t see Rey in the finals for this one.
- Edge – Based on everything said about this being a fighting championship, I think it would be a big miss to put it on another part-timer like the titles on Roman. Edge is great but not him right now.
- Sheamus – Sheamus is one to watch in this tournament. He had a great showing at Mania this year and has been a champ and is a damn good wrestler. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sheamus represents SmackDown.
Notable missing people in the tournament are from Raw, as both Gunther and Drew McIntyre (contract issues) are missing.
What do you think of the participants in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament? Should it have been Raw exclusive? Let us know in the comments below or hit us up on our Twitter account by clicking here. As always stay tuned to Culture Splat for more content coming at you and some exciting things coming soon! Don’t forget to check out our shop where you can get gems like these:
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