4 WWE Champions who should retain their titles and 2 who should drop them at WrestleMania 41
WrestleMania 41 is less than three weeks away. Four championship matches have already been booked, including John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes and Gunther vs. Jey Uso.
Tiffany Stratton will defend against Charlotte Flair. IYO SKY will put her belt on the line against Bianca Belair, but after all the confusion over the last two months, Rhea Ripley will likely be added to the match.
Last year's show featured five title swaps in seven booked matches. Only Rhea Ripley (Women's World Champion) and Logan Paul (US Champ) retained at WrestleMania 40.
Some titles are due to change hands, but other WWE Champions should keep them. Here are four champs who should retain their titles and two who should drop them at WrestleMania 41.
#4. LA Knight staves off several monsters to keep the US Title
Through no fault of his own, WWE again booked Shinsuke Nakamura poorly as champion. He beat LA Knight at Survivor Series but dropped the title back to Knight a few weeks ago.
With title changes so close to WrestleMania 41, it telegraphs what should happen at The Show of Shows. That doesn't mean what should happen will happen in Las Vegas.
Since The Megastar is one of SmackDown's top faces and already has the title, having him drop it less than a month later will devalue the belt. Triple H did good work with Knight as champion after poorly booking the title for a few years.
If Jacob Fatu or another star is slated to win it, the change can happen at the beginning of summer or at SummerSlam.
#3. Gunther uses Jey Uso's emotions against him to retain
This may be one of the hardest matches to predict. Gunther has already defeated Jey Uso three times. WWE has taken Jey's fans on emotional rides before with no catharsis.
By booking Jey to win the Royal Rumble, they put themselves in a bit of a booking bind. The World Heavyweight Title changed hands three times last year. Major belts like it should not be swapped that many times in a calendar year.
The mid-card titles are another story. Gunther just won the title at SummerSlam after a historic 666-day reign as Intercontinental Champion. He's only held the title for nine months and should hold it for at least a year.
Due to the story being presented, however, it truly feels that Jey will topple The Ring General. While it would be a great moment, the company's major titles should be held by one person for at least a year before considering a title switch.
#2. Bron Breakker loses to set up future glory
Bron Breakker defeated Sami Zayn at SummerSlam but then briefly dropped the Intercontinental Title to Jey Uso. He won it around last year's WarGames, putting him in line with when Nakamura won his title.
The former two-time NXT Champ has a big future in WWE, and he's heading toward a multi-person match at WrestleMania 41. Since he won't need to be pinned to lose his title, the time is right to crown Dominik Mysterio or Penta.
Breakker can then potentially win Money in the Bank or simply wrest the title from whoever holds it by SummerSlam.
If it was a one-on-one match, it would make less sense for Breakker to lose. Since a few stars will be featured, he'll be protected if the title lands with a new holder.
#2. IYO SKY overcomes disrespectful opponents at WrestleMania 41
IYO SKY is in a similar spot as LA Knight. She won the Women's World Championship from Rhea Ripley at the beginning of March. Bianca Belair - and presumably Ripley - will challenge her at WrestleMania 41.
Ripley had a long enough run before vacating the title due to injury last year. Belair recently lost the women's tag titles.
She also has unfinished issues with Jade Cargill to deal with on SmackDown. SKY just won the title and has been treated as an afterthought by The EST and Mami.
If she loses the belt to one of her opponents, it makes her seem unworthy of the title. For that reason alone, and since she just captured the title, The Genius of the Sky should leave Las Vegas as champion.
#1. Cody Rhodes is on the wrong side of history at WrestleMania 41
One can argue for and against Cody Rhodes losing at WrestleMania 41. The main argument against losing is that he's the face of WWE and ended a tyrannical four-year run last year.
He's the new John Cena and deserves a lengthy run. However, that didn't work for Sami Zayn after ending Gunther's record-setting run as Intercontinental Champion. Cena is on a quest to win his 17th world title and shocked the world by turning heel.
Wasting that heel turn with a big loss at WrestleMania 41 would be a mistake. Cody can win the title back at some point or even cost Cena the title to a younger star primed to move up.
#1. Tiffany Stratton overcomes The Queen
WWE must not repeat history between Tiffany Stratton and Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 41. Flair ended promising runs by Asuka, Ripley, and others at The Show of Shows.
If Vince McMahon was still in charge, it'd be a slam dunk that The Queen would defeat Stratton. The champ's whole point is valid because if Flair doesn't consider an opponent worthy and is proven right, why should fans invest in that star?
Her booking has killed the credibility of many women. Triple H has a better mindset than McMahon and is willing to be more forward-thinking.
The Queen simply walking back into WWE after an injury, winning the Rumble, and another title means the rest of the roster isn't as important. That's a mistake The Game must avoid since Stratton is popular enough and won the title in January.
