Samoa Joe and 5 Midcard Stars Who Deserve to Win WWE Championship Title in 2019

One year ago, it would have been difficult buy Kofi Kingston as a believable WWE champion, but to the company's credit, it has done an exceptional job of making him look strong at every turn since he beat Daniel Bryan for the title in a match for the ages at WrestleMania 35.

From Kevin Owens to Dolph Ziggler to Samoa Joe, Kingston has knocked off everyone who has stepped up to challenge him for the prestigious prize. At SummerSlam, he will face his toughest opposition to date in Randy Orton and get the chance to wrap up their decade-long rivalry once and for all.

They have had a fun feud, but it's clear Orton is the wrong person to dethrone Kingston. It's safe to assume Kingston's reign will come to an end before 2019 is over, but how it concludes is anyone's guess.

With such a wide variety of talent to choose from on the Raw and SmackDown Live rosters, there is a lengthy list of individuals who would be fit to succeed him in that role. Meanwhile, Kingston might even benefit from going back into chase mode sometime soon and having a real rival he can do his best work with.

Granted, not everyone in WWE can be pushed to the top simultaneously, but these five incredibly skilled Superstars could undoubtedly be utilized better and would be amazing to see with the gold in their grasp.

Looking at this selection, readers may be thinking that Samoa Joe has already had his fair share of shots at the WWE Championship and should be moved to the back of the line until further notice. However, given how many times he's vied for the gold over the past two years, he's virtually guaranteed to win it sooner rather than later.

Joe has been booked like a top star since the moment he made his main roster debut at the onset of 2017, yet despite owning multiple victories over illustrious Superstars such as Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, he has never tasted world title gold in WWE.

In 2017, he came close to beating Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at Great Balls of Fire and SummerSlam but fell short on both occasions. The submission specialist then failed to take the WWE Championship from AJ Styles during their lengthy feud the following year.

At 40, he's obviously closer to the end of his career than the beginning and isn't the same monster in the ring he was at his physical peak 10 years ago, but Joe can still hang with the best of them, especially on the mic. The issue is that he always talks a big talk but can never back it up.

Kingston's victory over Joe at Extreme Rules was as decisive as it gets, but fans shouldn't rule out a WWE title run for veteran. His rematch with Kingston on the July 23 edition of SmackDown Live ended in a no-contest, so clearly those two have unfinished business, which could culminate with Joe capturing the championship post-SummerSlam.

Ali was on a hotter roll than almost anyone else earlier this year on SmackDown Live. An unfortunate injury forced him to not only miss time but also pass up an opportunity to contend for the WWE Championship at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.

It's no secret that Kofi Kingston likely wouldn't be where he is today if it wasn't for Ali getting injured when he did. Worse yet, WWE didn't do much of note with Ali upon his return to the ring in early March, relegating him to the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35 instead.

Ali picked up a few wins over Andrade in the spring but has largely been left off SmackDown lately. At Stomping Grounds, vignettes began to air promoting his fight for justice, and although he recently teased targeting intercontinental champion Shinsuke Nakamura, he must end up in the WWE Championship picture.

Kingston vs. Ali is a rivalry that writes itself. As noted, Kingston's reign as WWE champion is a direct result of Ali getting sidelined before WrestleMania, and thus Ali can claim he is owed a shot at the strap.

Not only would the babyface vs. babyface dynamic be interesting, but Ali might also be the only person who could beat Kingston for the championship and still be cheered. He's that likable and should be given the chance to run with the title for a while.

Ali might first have to be built up to feel like a true threat to Kingston, but other than that, there's no reason the former Cruiserweight Classic competitor shouldn't be walking out of his hometown of Chicago as WWE champion at Survivor Series in November.

Who would have guessed as recently as the start of July that Kevin Owens would be among the biggest babyfaces in WWE come the end of the month?

He's a natural heel—and an awesome one at that. Then again, he's done everything imaginable in that role over the past five years of his WWE career, and therefore it was time for him to start something new in the form of a face turn.

It didn't take him long to get over as a fan favorite, either. Delivering a Stunner to Shane McMahon was apparently all he needed to do to endear himself to the audience, and although we have seen those two wage war before, the feud has put Owens in a prime position on the SummerSlam card.

Once that rivalry runs its course, Owens must move on to the WWE Championship picture. He was unsuccessful in taking the title from Kofi Kingston earlier this year, but he wasn't nearly as popular at that point.

Owens once held the Universal Championship but had a fairly forgettable reign because of bad booking. He can redeem himself by winning the WWE Championship later on in 2019 (either from Kingston or someone else) and engaging in fresh feuds with Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan and Samoa Joe over the prestigious prize.

After the lackluster past year or two he's had in WWE, Owens deserves a real run with the gold.

Only recently has Shinsuke Nakamura's WWE career begun to show signs of life after more than a year of stagnation. It was high time he was given something of significance to do, and at Extreme Rules, he defeated Finn Balor for his first Intercontinental Championship.

He's had a decent title run, but as seen in the first half of 2018, he is capable of much more. His Royal Rumble win went over huge with the WWE Universe, but despite several strong showings against AJ Styles in the spring, he came up short of winning the WWE Championship.

Nakamura then went on to have an underwhelming stint as United States champion for the remainder of the year. He was on SmackDown Live every other week and never had a single memorable title program, and by mid-2019, he was gone from WWE TV almost completely.

It can be argued that The King of Strong Style has failed to live up to WWE fans' lofty expectations, but that doesn't mean he should be written off as just another midcard competitor. The main event scene on SmackDown is different than it was when he last challenged for the championship, meaning he should be afforded another opportunity to go for the gold before the year is through.

He would surely have terrific chemistry with Kingston (assuming the New Day member is still WWE champion by the end of 2019), and Nakamura being the one to beat him for the belt would be a pleasant surprise. In fact, it's been many years since anyone has reigned as the WWE and Intercontinental champion simultaneously, so perhaps that can be the impetus for their feud.

Interestingly enough, Big E is nowhere near WWE Championship contention yet is closer to champion Kofi Kingston than anyone else on the SmackDown Live roster.

Fans have been speculating about Big E turning on Kingston to feud with him over the WWE Championship since before WrestleMania 35. It makes too much sense to not do eventually regardless of how popular and how marketable New Day is as a unit.

Every stable separates at some point, and New Day still being at the top of their game would make Big E's betrayal that much more shocking. He's easily the most compelling possible challenger for Kingston because it's believable that he could win the title, and he should.

New Day was the best thing that could have happened to Big E, who was floundering on his own before joining forces with Kingston and Xavier Woods in 2014. He found his footing as a performer thanks to New Day, and his wacky antics have been a big hit with fans, but any time he has unleashed his inner aggression and intensity, he has come across as a total star.

He's long overdue for a major singles push and has proved in the past that he is a WWE Championship-caliber competitor. He may be one-half of the SmackDown tag team champions at the moment, but given his tremendous upside, it wouldn't be far-fetched for fans to see him wearing world title gold within the next six months.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is an Endicott College alumnus and aspiring journalist. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.