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Who Should Be The Next WWE Universal Champion?
Believable Beast-Slayers
Brock Lesnar is the current WWE Universal champion, but he shouldn't be. He faced Jinder Mahal, the current WWE Champion, at Survivor Series on November 19. Unfortunately, nothing was on the line in this match except for pride. Fans must wait a while longer to see Lesnar in a title match. Most likely, that won't be until the Royal Rumble on January 28.
Is there any chance that Lesnar will drop the title before WrestleMania? Probably not. It's been well-established and widely rumored, for over six months, that the WrestleMania 34 main event will be Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal title. Love it or hate it, it's part of WWE's big plan to make Reigns the new face of the company. Last year, Reigns retired The Undertaker; this year, he'll slay the Beast. As the old Hank Williams ditty goes, "It's all over but the crying."
But what if, against all odds, WWE swerves its fans and puts the title on someone other than Reigns? Or, imagine the post-WrestleMania landscape, when Reigns is the new Universal champion. Who should be next in line to hold Raw's exclusive title? Here are seven men, not including Reigns, who would do a great job of representing WWE's flagship brand. It's important to dream.
AJ Styles
The first two superstars on this list are signed to SmackDown. But there's a lot of time between now and WrestleMania. Should a Superstar Shakeup happen, AJ Styles would be an obvious Universal title contender. In terms of being the total package--someone who can fly high, mat wrestle, slug it out, and keep up the intensity--Styles is in a class of his own.
But because he's so talented, WWE is currently using him to get other, younger stars over. He lost his feud with Baron Corbin. He lost his match at TLC to Finn Balor. He's currently feuding with Jinder Mahal, and even though Styles currently holds the WWE Championship, he may lose that soon too.
None of this actually hurts Styles' reputation; he's that rare talent who's simply burial-proof. But a Universal title run is probably far down the road.
Shinsuke Nakamura
This guy was so over at one point. Listen to the crowd on the night of his debut, and then listen to it today. Shinsuke Nakamura is now less of a special attraction, and more "just another guy" on the roster. When he's participating in SmackDown tag matches and losing them, something is very, very wrong.
But less than a year ago, this same guy was breaking Samoa Joe's jaw. Of course he has a shot at the Universal title, should a Superstar Shakeup send him to Raw. And crowds still love him. But WWE needs to do a better job of protecting him and keeping him strong instead of jobbing him out to Jinder Mahal.
Finn Balor
Finn Balor is the only former Universal champion on this list; obviously, he should have a shot at winning back a title that he never lost in the first place. He dislocated his shoulder in his title-clinching match against Seth Rollins, and since dropping the title and returning, has not been allowed to challenge for it again.
Will he become Universal champion again? The circumstances of Balor winning the title were a perfect storm. First, Roman Reigns had recently tested positive for a drug violation, which meant that temporarily, he was out of the mix. Balor had just moved up from NXT; he was white-hot, and WWE clearly saw dollar signs when they put the title on him. But a year and a half later, he's losing to the likes of Kane, and he was booked in a makeup vs. makeup fight against Bray Wyatt. It's hard to take him as seriously. Maybe after a rebuilding phase, WWE can revisit him.
Seth Rollins
He's the cover star for WWE 2K18. Clearly, the company has placed faith in him and sees the Kingslayer in a prominent future role. He's held the WWE Championship recently and was this close to holding the Universal title. That he's a contender in the main event picture is a foregone conclusion.
Currently, Seth Rollins is teamed with Dean Ambrose, and that's working out very well; they're Raw Tag Team Champions. But eventually, The Shield will break up again. And when they do, Seth Rollins can fight Reigns and hopefully, defeat him.
Braun Strowman
Obviously. There is no one more believable. Strowman has clean wins over nearly everyone. He's given Reigns a more difficult, physically challenging time than any other superstar. His recent demolition of the Miztourage proves the WWE Universe is ready for an anti-hero, monster babyface like him.
The only problem is that Lesnar steamrolled Strowman when they battled at No Mercy, pinning the big man with a single F-5. It took three F-5's to pin The Undertaker at WrestleMania. It took two of them to pin John Cena at SummerSlam (2014). This is no way to build up a new, young, up-and-coming star.
Why did WWE do it? Probably so that when Reigns does topple Lesnar, it looks even more impressive. But in the long-term, this was a short-sighted, questionable decision.
Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe suffers from the same problem as Strowman. In his title match against Lesnar, he was also taken out with a single F-5 and made to look foolish. Joe's also coming back from injury; he has to build up his rep on the main roster, again, before WWE will give him another shot at the gold.
Interestingly enough, Joe's age may work in his favor. He's no spring chicken; he's 38 years old, and even though lots of wrestlers are in that age range, he's got a whole lot of miles on his body--18 years of road wear and tear. If WWE is going to thank him for his years of service, and recognize his greatness by giving him a short run with the title--the company needs to do that soon.
The Miz
It's a dark horse pick, admittedly. But man, oh man, this would be incredible.
The Miz has come a long way in a year-and-a-half. His ringwork has more intensity. His technical skill--particularly his selling--has gotten sharper and snappier. And his promo ability is unrivaled. Miz is one of those guys who doesn't read off any old script that WWE Creative gives him; he improvises, makes it his own, and throws in some real-life spice to make the insults burn more.
He wouldn't be a dominant champion; clearly, he would have to cheat in order to win and hold onto the title. But regardless, it would be extremely entertaining. No one does cowardly heel work better than The Miz, and it would be interesting to see the numerous ways one can cheat to win.
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Brock Lesnar is the current WWE Universal champion, but he shouldn't be. He faced Jinder Mahal, the current WWE Champion, at Survivor Series on November 19. Unfortunately, nothing was on the line in this match except for pride. Fans must wait a while longer to see Lesnar in a title match. Most likely, that won't be until the Royal Rumble on January 28.
Is there any chance that Lesnar will drop the title before WrestleMania? Probably not. It's been well-established and widely rumored, for over six months, that the WrestleMania 34 main event will be Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns for the Universal title. Love it or hate it, it's part of WWE's big plan to make Reigns the new face of the company. Last year, Reigns retired The Undertaker; this year, he'll slay the Beast. As the old Hank Williams ditty goes, "It's all over but the crying."
But what if, against all odds, WWE swerves its fans and puts the title on someone other than Reigns? Or, imagine the post-WrestleMania landscape, when Reigns is the new Universal champion. Who should be next in line to hold Raw's exclusive title? Here are seven men, not including Reigns, who would do a great job of representing WWE's flagship brand. It's important to dream.
AJ Styles
The first two superstars on this list are signed to SmackDown. But there's a lot of time between now and WrestleMania. Should a Superstar Shakeup happen, AJ Styles would be an obvious Universal title contender. In terms of being the total package--someone who can fly high, mat wrestle, slug it out, and keep up the intensity--Styles is in a class of his own.
But because he's so talented, WWE is currently using him to get other, younger stars over. He lost his feud with Baron Corbin. He lost his match at TLC to Finn Balor. He's currently feuding with Jinder Mahal, and even though Styles currently holds the WWE Championship, he may lose that soon too.
None of this actually hurts Styles' reputation; he's that rare talent who's simply burial-proof. But a Universal title run is probably far down the road.
Shinsuke Nakamura
This guy was so over at one point. Listen to the crowd on the night of his debut, and then listen to it today. Shinsuke Nakamura is now less of a special attraction, and more "just another guy" on the roster. When he's participating in SmackDown tag matches and losing them, something is very, very wrong.
But less than a year ago, this same guy was breaking Samoa Joe's jaw. Of course he has a shot at the Universal title, should a Superstar Shakeup send him to Raw. And crowds still love him. But WWE needs to do a better job of protecting him and keeping him strong instead of jobbing him out to Jinder Mahal.
Finn Balor
Finn Balor is the only former Universal champion on this list; obviously, he should have a shot at winning back a title that he never lost in the first place. He dislocated his shoulder in his title-clinching match against Seth Rollins, and since dropping the title and returning, has not been allowed to challenge for it again.
Will he become Universal champion again? The circumstances of Balor winning the title were a perfect storm. First, Roman Reigns had recently tested positive for a drug violation, which meant that temporarily, he was out of the mix. Balor had just moved up from NXT; he was white-hot, and WWE clearly saw dollar signs when they put the title on him. But a year and a half later, he's losing to the likes of Kane, and he was booked in a makeup vs. makeup fight against Bray Wyatt. It's hard to take him as seriously. Maybe after a rebuilding phase, WWE can revisit him.
Seth Rollins
He's the cover star for WWE 2K18. Clearly, the company has placed faith in him and sees the Kingslayer in a prominent future role. He's held the WWE Championship recently and was this close to holding the Universal title. That he's a contender in the main event picture is a foregone conclusion.
Currently, Seth Rollins is teamed with Dean Ambrose, and that's working out very well; they're Raw Tag Team Champions. But eventually, The Shield will break up again. And when they do, Seth Rollins can fight Reigns and hopefully, defeat him.
Braun Strowman
Obviously. There is no one more believable. Strowman has clean wins over nearly everyone. He's given Reigns a more difficult, physically challenging time than any other superstar. His recent demolition of the Miztourage proves the WWE Universe is ready for an anti-hero, monster babyface like him.
The only problem is that Lesnar steamrolled Strowman when they battled at No Mercy, pinning the big man with a single F-5. It took three F-5's to pin The Undertaker at WrestleMania. It took two of them to pin John Cena at SummerSlam (2014). This is no way to build up a new, young, up-and-coming star.
Why did WWE do it? Probably so that when Reigns does topple Lesnar, it looks even more impressive. But in the long-term, this was a short-sighted, questionable decision.
Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe suffers from the same problem as Strowman. In his title match against Lesnar, he was also taken out with a single F-5 and made to look foolish. Joe's also coming back from injury; he has to build up his rep on the main roster, again, before WWE will give him another shot at the gold.
Interestingly enough, Joe's age may work in his favor. He's no spring chicken; he's 38 years old, and even though lots of wrestlers are in that age range, he's got a whole lot of miles on his body--18 years of road wear and tear. If WWE is going to thank him for his years of service, and recognize his greatness by giving him a short run with the title--the company needs to do that soon.
The Miz
It's a dark horse pick, admittedly. But man, oh man, this would be incredible.
The Miz has come a long way in a year-and-a-half. His ringwork has more intensity. His technical skill--particularly his selling--has gotten sharper and snappier. And his promo ability is unrivaled. Miz is one of those guys who doesn't read off any old script that WWE Creative gives him; he improvises, makes it his own, and throws in some real-life spice to make the insults burn more.
He wouldn't be a dominant champion; clearly, he would have to cheat in order to win and hold onto the title. But regardless, it would be extremely entertaining. No one does cowardly heel work better than The Miz, and it would be interesting to see the numerous ways one can cheat to win.
More...