With the WWE Draft in the rearview mirror, rosters for both Raw and SmackDown have been permanently set. Superstars such as Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Gunther, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and The Judgement Day have been drafted to Raw. On the other side, superstars such as Roman Reigns, Austin Theory, Bianca Belair, Bobby Lashley, Edge, and AJ Styles have been drafted to SmackDown. Raw will crown a new World Heavyweight Champion, while SmackDown will be the home of the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
It will be a challenging time being a main event superstar on the SmackDown brand. As much as I love Roman Reigns, he's a part-time champion. One issue WWE has had during his title reign is the lack of opportunity for the other main event superstars. The world championship scene suffers when Reigns isn't around, and SmackDown will have that same issue moving forward. I imagine they will try to make the United States Championship as prestigious as possible since it'll be the most defended championship on that brand.
That said, a handful of main event superstars will go after Roman Reigns and his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. One major issue WWE has is they built up Reigns into an unbeatable force and put themselves into a corner. It's hard to imagine any superstars dethroning Reigns anytime soon besides Cody Rhodes or maybe Jey Uso. With Rhodes drafted to Raw, Reigns doesn't have to worry about him for now. But if WWE builds up credible opponents to dethrone Reigns, they can make some different stories work. Here are four superstars who should challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
Bobby Lashley
The fact that Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley haven't crossed paths during Reigns' title run is insane. A match between two of the best superstars WWE has to offer is guaranteed to be must-see television. It would be cool if WWE did a Hurt Business/Bloodline story, but I won't get my hopes up. As great as that would be, a story between Lashley and Reigns will be just fine. Bobby Lashley is a former 2-time WWE Champion and a worthy challenger for Roman Reigns' titles. If anybody on the roster can make you believe he can dethrone Reigns, it's him. Lashley has beaten nearly everybody on the roster except for Roman Reigns. WWE shouldn't waste their time and get this program started very soon.
AJ Styles
This is an obvious choice. AJ Styles gave Roman Reigns two of his best matches when Reigns was WWE Champion in 2016. These two have great chemistry in the ring and would still put on an excellent match seven years later. Styles is 45 and still competing at a high level, so they must make this match happen soon. It would be fantastic if Styles got another world title run before he retires, but for now, I just want to see him competing for those titles.
Sheamus
A match between Roman Reigns and Sheamus would be a banger. These two have plenty of history together, dating back to 2015, and Sheamus has plenty of experience dethroning Roman Reigns for world championships. Like Bobby Lashley, Sheamus is a worthy challenger for Roman Reigns' titles. He's always been great, but he's been on fire over the last year and has put on banger after banger. They feuded last year, which involved an incredible WarGames match, but a one-on-one match would tear the house down.
Montez Ford
Let me have this one. Obviously, Montez Ford isn't dethroning Roman Reigns for his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, but he can be a great challenger. The Street Profits were drafted to SmackDown and will stay together despite rumors of the team splitting up. Although they were drafted as a team, that doesn't mean neither can have matches on their own. Ford and Reigns have locked up in the past, but they need to revisit it soon. Ford is a future star in the company and would benefit tremendously from a program with the Tribal Chief. Although the outcome would be predictable, Ford can put on an incredible showing and prove that he belongs in the main event scene. Let a man dream.
Those are four superstars who can challenge Roman Reigns for his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship on SmackDown. As I said earlier, it's hard to imagine anybody but Cody Rhodes or Jey Uso dethroning Reigns, but WWE can still tell some solid stories in the meantime.
For more content like this, subscribe to Stache Club Wrestling for weekly quizzes, predictions, and reactions, and listen to Dante and John's weekly wrestling podcast every Thursday!
Follow Us
Subscribe