7 WWE and AEW Stars Who Will Be World Champions in 2025

WWE and AEW had several long-running world champions throughout 2024 that dominated their respective rosters and will continue to do so well into 2025.

When it does come time for Cody Rhodes, Gunther and Jon Moxley to lose their titles, there's plenty of suitable candidates who can realistically dethrone them.

Rhodes has reigned as the Undisputed WWE champ since conquering Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 and has knocked off a slew of Superstars to retain his title since then. His next defense is scheduled to be against Kevin Owens in a Ladder match at the Royal Rumble, though all signs point to him walking into WrestleMania 41 with the gold in his grasp.

Gunther's immediate future as World Heavyweight champion is a little less certain. CM Punk, Seth Rollins, John Cena and Goldberg are all hot on his heels and it's entirely possible he drops the prestigious prize before he makes it to 'Mania.

In addition to Cope, AEW World champion Jon Moxley has a number of names waiting in the wings for a shot at his strap. AEW's stacked roster creates countless opportunities for fresh faces to be featured in their main-event scene this year.

Fans can count on the following seven stars to win a world title in either WWE or AEW at one point or another in 2025.

In the kickoff to his retirement tour on Raw's Netflix premiere, John Cena planted the seeds for eventually winning what would be his record-setting 17th world championship before he calls it a career—all but confirming it was inevitable.

Winning the upcoming men's Royal Rumble match would automatically earn him a world title opportunity at WrestleMania 41, and with that being the most predictable path WWE could take, Cena's chase for the championship story would be significantly stronger if it went until end of the year.

Regardless of when it happens, the soon-to-be WWE Hall of Famer will unquestionably be a world champ again in 2025.

It's been eight years since Cena's last WWE Championship reign, which lasted a mere two weeks. His final run can also be on the shorter side and it'd allow an up-and-comer to benefit from beating him for the belt.

With WWE dubbing Cena "the greatest of all-time," it'd only be appropriate for him to break the company's record for most world titles won and have that be the big payoff to his retirement tour.

In many ways, Darby Allin has been the heart and soul of AEW since being deemed "All Elite" shortly following the company's inception in 2019. He's held the AEW TNT Championship and AEW World Tag Team Championship on multiple occasions but never the AEW World Championship.

It's always been his destiny to ultimately capture that title and 2025 should be the year he finally fulfills that goal.

Allin was set to challenge for AEW's top title at WrestleDream before willingly putting his title shot on the line against Jon Moxley at Grand Slam last September and losing. He's had to scratch and claw his way back to championship contention since then but has largely been unsuccessful so far.

AEW's long-term goal is clearly to crown Allin as champ at one of the tentpole pay-per-views, possibly as soon as Revolution or Double or Nothing. He's been busy feuding with The Death Riders in the meantime and attempting to foil their hostile takeover of the promotion at every turn.

The beloved Allin winning the big one organic will make for a monumental moment after the organic rise he's had, no matter how short-lived his run may be.

Charlotte Flair was sidelined for all of 2024 with a litany of injuries but is reportedly expected internally to return imminently, per Fightful Select.

The Queen would be a logical fit in the top title pictures on either Raw or SmackDown right now, but a feud with new WWE Women's champion Tiffany Stratton during WrestleMania season makes the most sense given their similar characters and above-average in-ring abilities.

It isn't the ideal outcome, but Flair could very well walk away from her first-ever encounter with Stratton with the WWE Women's title at WrestleMania in order to put Stratton in chase mode as a babyface.

Either way, Flair is bound to be champ again sometime in 2025 and it's guaranteed to get a polarizing reaction from fans. That's despite the second-generation star not having held gold of any kind in nearly two years.

How her next title run is booked will be crucial. Most of her previous reigns were forgettable due to a lack of competition and not lasting long, but a rejuvenated Flair can and will be a massive addition to an already-deep division.

Jamie Hayter made her highly-anticipated return to AEW TV following a long layoff in her home country of England at All In 2024 to a warm reception. Although she's racked up her fair share of victories since then, she's cooled off considerably since then and is suffering from a lack of direction.

She quickly exacted revenge on one of the women who put her on the shelf in Saraya but should have shifted his focus back toward the AEW Women's World Championship soon after. She was beaten for the belt by Toni Storm at Double or Nothing 2023 and never received her rightful rematch, even to this day.

Currently, she finds herself embroiled in a rivalry with the returning Julia Hart, who she lost to on the Jan. 1 edition of Dynamite. Once Hayter redeems herself in the rematch, it shouldn't be long before she's back in championship contention.

During her six-month title reign, the British brawler elevated the division to new heights and had excellent matches with a wide variety of opponents. She remains one of the very best on the AEW roster and shouldn't be underutilized for the remainder of 2025.

She'd be the perfect person to knock off Mercedes Moné for the AEW TBS Championship in the next few months.

From his feuds with CM Punk and Seth Rollins to his captivating character work and memorable matches, Drew McIntyre was an MVP for the Raw roster in 2024 and almost an unsung hero for WWE as a whole.

His efforts last year were rewarded with a Money in the Bank win that was immediately squandered and a World Heavyweight Championship reign that ended within minutes thanks to Punk.

In 2025, McIntyre deserves a substantial run as world champ on either Raw or SmackDown.

His recent interaction with Cody Rhodes on the blue brand may not have been a coincidence. Those two could be on collision course for a marquee match at an upcoming premium live event such as SummerSlam or Backlash.

McIntyre was booked strong during his two reigns as WWE champion in 2020 but was hindered by the empty arenas in the pandemic era. He's shown tremendous evolution over the last five years and belongs in that top spot once again.

The Scottish Warrior had his first world title win in front of fans at WrestleMania 40. Now it's time for him to have an actual run with it and not be shortchanged.

Will Ospreay was a world championship-caliber competitor from the moment he put pen to paper with AEW in late 2023. He held the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship while with New Japan Pro-Wrestling but only briefly before sustaining a neck injury and subsequently relinquishing the title.

Many expected him to capture the AEW World Championship within a year of arriving in AEW, but he received one opportunity at the gold against Swerve Strickland at Forbidden Door 2024 and narrowly came up short. Otherwise, he's been occupied with the illustrious likes of Bryan Danielson, Roderick Strong, MJF, Pac and The Don Callis Family.

He's starting off 2025 resuming his rivalry with Kyle Fletcher, but once that rivalry runs its course and Ospreay avenges his loss to Fletcher from Full Gear, there's no reason why the AEW World title shouldn't be in his sights.

More specifically, Ospreay should have the prestigious prize in his possession before the year is over. He likely won't be the one to unseat Jon Moxley as champ, but it would be fitting for him to get his moment in England at Forbidden Door this August or at All In the month prior.

A near-decade-long stint on WWE's main roster has yet to translate to a world title win for Sami Zayn, making the moment that much sweeter when it does come to fruition in 2025.

The four-time Intercontinental champion has said repeatedly in the past that he's never quite been able to win when it matters most, at least in situations where world championships have been on the line.

He wasn't afforded too many opportunities at WWE's top titles in the first few years of his run, but he did unsuccessfully challenge for the WWE Championship on multiple occasions in 2018 as well as in 2023.

In his most recent shot at the World Heavyweight Championship versus Gunther, he had a stellar showing and came closer than he ever has before of clinching the coveted title. He's done all he can do at the midcard level and must be a permanent fixture toward the top of the card this year.

It's well documented that Zayn has never once defeated Drew McIntyre one-on-one, so if McIntyre does go on to win a world championship as previously predicted, Zayn toppling him for the title would be a storybook ending to his extensive championship chase.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.