5 WWE Superstars Who Could Win Their First Single Championships In 2018

With 2017 in the books and the road to WrestleMania 34 now beginning to take shape, attention turns to what fans can expect in 2018. We all wonder which Superstars will be called up from NXT? Who will be traded between the two brands? Who will be champion after WrestleMania? And who will pick up their first ever singles championship in WWE during 2018?

With the WWE roster more stacked with talent than ever before, we are bound to see plenty of first time champions during this year. I take a look at five names I feel are destined to pick up their first singles championships in WWE during 2018.

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#5 Nikki Cross

Nikki Cross was one of the Women's Divisions stand out performers of 2017

Nikki Cross made a huge impact following her arrival in NXT as part of SAnitY in 2017. The fiery Scottish Superstar has been wreaking mayhem and havoc across the womens division in NXT during 2017, and despite having opportunities to win the Womens Championship during that time she has failed to convert. Despite this she has had some of the most incredible matches and moments of any female superstar in 2017, and is without a doubt one of the strongest and accomplished talents the company has in it's womens division. Before her arrival in NXT, Cross was largely successful on the independent scene, winning Pro Wrestling Eve's Championship three times and the World Wide Wrestling League Womens Championship once. She is no stranger to gold and winning the NXT Women's Championship would be a huge feather in her cap.

With Asuka now out of the NXT picture, the only things currently standing in the way of Cross and her destiny of winning the NXT Women's Championship are Ember Moon, and Kairi Sane, who is owed a shot at the champion following her victory at the Mae Young Classic last year. Whether Moon holds on to the Championship ahead of the next NXT TakeOver show remains to be seen but I expect Cross to win the Womens Championship before the year is out, if SAnitY has not made a move to the main roster by then. When Cross makes that move she has the talent to become one of the companies most successful women champions of all time.

#4 Tye Dillinger

Tye Dillinger has been one of WWE's brightest and popular talents

'The Perfect Ten' Tye Dillinger has been one of WWE's most popular Superstars of 2017. While he never won gold during his almost four year run in NXT, Dillinger has made a name for himself since his debut at the 2017 Royal Rumble. While he wouldn't come back until April 2017, when he would join the Smackdown roster, Dillinger made an impact on the WWE Universe, who have been clambering to see him be successful. He is without a doubt one of the most gifted performers in the ring and has talent that could see him become a serious main event player in the not too distant future.

Dillinger had an opportunity to win the United States Championship at Hell in a Cell in 2017, but was unsuccessful in his attempt. He hoped to get 2018 off to a perfect start at the Royal Rumble, but was attacked by Sami Zayn before he could even enter the Royal Rumble match itself. Dillinger will have a chip on his shoulder and a point to prove this year, and should be considered as a potential winner of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, but for me he has to be in the frame to end the year having captured singles gold in the form of the United States Championship, which is currently held by Bobby Roode. You can expect to see that title around Dillinger's waist before the year is out.

#3 Carmella

Miss Money in the Bank has a golden opportunity to win gold in 2018

Of all the names on this list none of them have a more golden opportunity to capture their first singles championship than Miss Money in the Bank, Carmella. After controversially capturing the lucrative briefcase at the 2017 Money in the Bank show, Carmella has been flaunting her briefcase in the face of whoever holds the Smackdown Women's Championship, which currently is Charlotte Flair. Despite having help from James Ellsworth to originally capture, and hold on to the briefcase, Carmella is now running solo and waiting for her opportunity to cash in that guaranteed title opportunity. She has good skills in the ring and on the mic to become a competent multi-time Women's Champion in the future, and 2018 has to be the year she cashes in her briefcase before it expires.

Carmella has already made several attempts to cash in the briefcase but has so far not been able to successfully complete this. With Wrestlemania around the corner and Charlotte Flair currently without a challenger, could we see Miss Money in the Bank walk out of the Grandest Stage of them all with the Smackdown Women's Championship? I'd be in favour of her cashing in there after a successful defence by Charlotte, or her cashing in on whoever the new champion is at that time. Whether the moment happens at WrestleMania or not, you can expect Carmella will be Smackdown Women's Champion by June 2018 at the latest.

#2 Elias

Elias could walk his way to championship glory in 2018

The WWE Universe has found itself slowly becoming more and more enamored by the talent that is Elias. He made his mark in a three-year stint in NXT, before making his debut on the main roster in 2017, when he arrived on Raw as part of the WWE draft. While he spent most of 2017 finding his feet and establishing himself, 2018 has already gotten off to a momentous start, seeing him take out John Cena with a guitar shot at Raw's 25th Anniversary episode, eliminating the Cenation leader from the Royal Rumble, and winning a recent match against Cena and Braun Strowman that will see him enter the Raw Men's Elimination Chamber match up as the last participant.

This guy is great to watch in the ring and he knows how to work a crowd. He has proved he can hang with some of WWE's top names, and will no doubt show he has the potential to be a main event player at Elimination Chamber, and the WWE Universe will get to 'Walk With Elias' as he marches towards his first singles gold in 2018. It's clear that WWE see's the talent Elias possesses, already having had him get over Cena more than once, who has been the face of the company for over a decade now, and now giving him an opportunity to be in a WrestleMania 34 main event if he is successful at Elimination Chamber. While I don't expect to see Elias win that match, I do see an Intercontinental Championship run in his near future.

#1 Aleister Black

Aleister Black could be the NXT big thing in WWE

After making his debut in 2017, Aleister Black has quickly risen to the top of the ranks in WWE NXT, remaining undefeated until the very end of 2017. We saw him have some memorable and incredible matches with the likes of current NXT Champion Andrade 'Cien' Almas, Hideo Itami, a breath taking must see match with Velveteen Dream at Takeover: Brooklyn III, and his recent street fight at TakeOver: War Games with Adam Cole. In the ring Black is incredibly gifted, using his unique background in martial arts and kick boxing to help him stand out, along with one of the coolest and most unique entrances in WWE, to win over the NXT Universe and become a major fan favorite.

While the NXT Championship picture is currently centered around Almas and Johnny Gargano, I feel the next challenger to the championship has to be Black, and I fully expect to see him win the NXT Championship at the next TakeOver event, which will be TakeOver: New Orleans in April. Having had so many incredible matches since making his debut, and being one of the best in-ring performers on WWE's entire roster, the sky really is the limit for Black, who has real potential to go on and become one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time.