WWE bold predictions: Brock Lesnar won’t win, John Cena return?

1. Kofi Kingston will retain the WWE Championship

Brock Lesnar was the Universal Champion as recently as SummerSlam 2019, as Seth Rollins ended Lesnar’s third reign with the title in the same way that he ended Lesnar’s first.

Rollins has been unbeatable with “The Stomp”, using it, as well as his old finisher “The Pedigree”, to devastating effect at the last Pay Per View, Clash of Champions, to defeat Braun Strowman.

Does Kofi Kingston have a similar equalizer in the venerable “Trouble in Paradise”, which is one of the most aesthetically pleasing kicks in wrestling? The move came up big at WrestleMania 35 when Kingston won his WWE Title against nemesis Daniel Bryan, but it may be harder to pull off against “The Beast”.

That said, it might not matter. Kingston doesn’t have to beat Lesnar in order to retain his title, and while it feels weird for WWE to have a non-finish in their big title match for the debut episode of SmackDown, it sounds like a great way to build intrigue for the next episode…if there’s enough of a distraction for it to be worth it.

Kingston has been an amazing WWE Champion, and it would be deflating for someone like Lesnar to win on SmackDown’s first episode.

I think SmackDown will need a big “anything goes” angle before someone like Lesnar wins the title, and it’d be better for Lesnar to be immersed in a storyline before winning the brand’s top title. Like, regardless of his status as a “draw” or whatever it is we’re calling it these days.