WWE's Next Title Holders

With the WWE Draft mixing up the respective rosters of Smackdown, Raw and ECW just a few weeks ago, the title situation seems to have changed drastically. Months ago the WWE title was being fought over by the likes of Triple H, Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy and John Cena. The World Heavyweight title up until about a week ago was cinched around the waist of Smackdown superstar Edge. But now the World Heavyweight champion resides on Raw, as CM Punk cashed in his Money in the Bank title shot. Triple H was drafted by Smackdown, bringing the WWE title to the new show. Kane was the ECW champion for just a week before being drafted to Raw, then losing in a Triple Threat match to new ECW star, Mark Henry.

So who are the likely successors to each of these title holders? Here's some thoughts on each of the three titles and who may wear the belt next.

ECW Title - Mark Henry is definitely a behemoth and now he seems to have aligned himself with former wrestling great, Tony Atlas. This gives Henry a new hype man manager to promote him in the ring as Teddy Long once did. An interesting point is that weeks ago, Mark Henry was being beat around the ring by Undertaker, Batista and Kane as they prepped for various PPV matches. Now Henry has gained a dominant position on ECW. The fact that US Champion Matt Hardy shifted over to ECW seems to put him in prime position to become the next champion though. He'll likely lose the US title at some point to a star on Smackdown, possibly Shelton Benjamin or even Vladimir Kozlov. But expect Matt to show ECW exactly how "extreme" he is by winning the major title.

Other possibilities: Tommy Dreamer the ECW original or Colin Delaney in a very, very short (fluke type) title reign.

WWE Title - Right now Triple H continues to wear the title proudly, as he has for just a few months. It wouldn't be all that surprising for Edge to concoct some sort of trickery or scheme and steal the belt away at Great American Bash in about a week. Beyond Edge if you look down the roster of contenders, you'd have to give MVP, Mr. Kennedy, Umaga and Jeff Hardy a legit shot at the WWE title as well. It appears as if Edge will be Triple H's likely successor though giving him more title reigns to add to his impressive resume.

Other possibilities: Jeff Hardy, MVP or Umaga

World Heavyweight Title - Punk makes an interesting champion, and you'd have to wonder if he will be a champ of a few weeks (by losing to Batista) or have a longer reign. He was able to prove himself against Snitsky, but that's not much proof of being a champ. Punk needs a legit, clean win over The Animal to solidify himself as champ. It's going to be a tough job, but it would most likely put Punk way over with the fans. With that said, it seems Punk may be a placeholder unfortunately, awaiting the return of Randy Orton. Orton's beaten Punk before, and very likely will be the heel to come back and win it.

Other possibilities: JBL or William Regal

Some of the other "next" title holders appear to be stars like Shelton Benjamin (US title?), Katie Lea (WWE Women's title), Paul Burchill (Intercontintental) and Michelle McCool (WWE Divas Champion).

Feel free to leave your comments below on who will become the "Next" champions of the WWE..