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Brock Lesnar once again captured the WWE Universal Championship, this time around by defeating Braun Strowman for the vacant title at WWE Crown Jewel on November 2nd. However, although Lesnar may have once again captured the premier title on WWE's RAW brand, it's no secret that the WWE is constantly on the lookout for the next top star to face The Beast Incarnate and beat him for the coveted title.
Following the unfortunate return of Roman Reigns' leukemia, and him resultantly vacating the Universal Title, Lesnar coolly walked recaptured the gold, thereby leaving the WWE Universe in a state of uncertainty...again! Let's not pretend as though the hulking beast of a man will hang around and defend his Universal Championship week in and week out like Reigns used to do.
Until someone beats him for the gold, we can expect the Universal Title to be nothing more than a part-time attraction on RAW and the WWE's PPV events. Nevertheless, the only reason WWE chose to book Lesnar as the Universal Champion at Crown Jewel, is in order to buy themselves time so that they could plan and then decide which Superstar other than Reigns they'd like to place the title on going forward.
Today, we take a brief look at a few top Superstars whom the WWE will likely put the Universal Title on after Brock Lesnar's reign ends...
#5 Drew McIntyre
Perhaps the likeliest candidate to succeed Brock Lesnar as the WWE Universal Champion, Drew McIntyre truly turned out to be Vince McMahon's "Chosen One" -- which in turn makes us applaud McMahon's genius in the first place; remembering how the WWE boss had noted a few years ago that McIntyre is a star in the making.
An important point I'd like to add here though, is that we may not see McIntyre capture the Universal Title before the 2019 Royal Rumble event which takes place at the Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona on January 27th. Lesnar is currently scheduled to face WWE Champion Daniel Bryan in a Champion vs. Champion match at Survivor Series on November 18th, and isn't likely to defend the Universal Title anytime before the Royal Rumble PPV early next year.
Regardless, McIntyre's near-perfect physique, and vastly-improved promo skills have undoubtedly made him a force to reckon with in WWE, and you mustn't be surprised if he beats Lesnar for the Universal Title at the Royal Rumble PPV...
#4 Braun Strowman
Yes, Braun Strowman has faced Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title on multiple occasions before, only to come up short in his efforts to slay The Beast. However, Strowman's most recent loss to Lesnar, which came at WWE Crown Jewel on November 2nd, wasn't a "clean" one, so to speak.
Before their matchup got underway, the Acting General Manager of Monday Night RAW, Baron Corbin, viciously attacked Strowman with the Universal Title belt from behind -- dinging The Monster Among Men in the back of his head! Needless to say, Brock Lesnar, ever the opportunist, jumped on Strowman, and after a sickening barrage of F5s, pinned Strowman.
Make no mistake about it though, Strowman is still one of the brightest talents on the RAW roster today, and a loss to Lesnar which was marred by "Outside Interference", didn't really hurt his brand all that much.
Nevertheless, I'd like to emphasize that I still rate Drew McIntyre's chances of winning the Universal Title, higher than that of Strowman, because the professional wrestling rumor mill has lately been abuzz with talks about a potential Wyatt Family reunion -- which could seriously hurt Strowman's chances of continuing his singles run and winning a major world title...
#3 Seth Rollins
The Architect aka The Kingslayer aka The Man -- Seth Rollins is, beyond the shadow of a doubt, one of the very best sports-entertainers walking the face of this planet right now. Rollins has captured every meaningful title you possibly can in the WWE, except the Universal Championship.
After all, who could forget his feud with Finn Balor over the coveted title? Well, The Architect is presently involved in a highly personal rivalry with his former Shield brother Dean Ambrose, and considering the fact that Rollins holds the Intercontinental Title, we can expect him and Ambrose to feud over it in the weeks to come -- their personal differences obviously being more significant than the IC title, in this case.
However, once Rollins is finished with the ongoing feud with Ambrose, the WWE could easily insert him into the Universal Title picture against Brock Lesnar. Nevertheless, it's extremely essential for us to understand here, that if Drew McIntyre or Braun Strowman do not beat Lesnar for the title at the Royal Rumble; we can expect The Beast to hold the title well into the month of February.
That said, the Elimination Chamber PPV (the date and venue for which are yet to be officially announced by the WWE) will likely take place in the month of February. And we can expect Rollins to take on Lesnar at the PPV.
Lesnar did not defend his title at last year's edition of the event, but with the company's top star Roman Reigns unlikely to return for the February 2019 PPV, the WWE will move heaven and earth to have The Beast show up at the Elimination Chamber event...
#2 Elias
Before the Elias haters who are just as passionate, if not more, than his fans, get out the pitchforks; just hear me out. As I'd noted earlier, if Drew McIntyre or Braun Strowman fail to beat Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship, it's likely that The Beast will hold the title till the Elimination Chamber PPV in February of 2019.
I'd also like to hark back to the Elimination Chamber Match featuring Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, John Cena, The Miz, Finn Balor and Elias -- the winner of which would go on to receive a shot at Brock Lesnar's Universal Title at WrestleMania 34. When the match was done with, Reigns emerged as the winner, however, what really grabbed our attention is that Lesnar should've defended his title in the Elimination Chamber Match!
Well, at the 2019 Elimination Chamber PPV, with Reigns still recovering from leukemia, you'd better believe that the WWE will try their level best to rope in Lesnar to wrestle at the event. In that scenario, it's highly likely that the WWE could swerve us by having a young, hungry lion like Elias beat 6 or 7 other Superstars (including Lesnar) in the Elimination Chamber Match and become the new Universal Champion...
#1 John Cena
John Cena has, for quite some time, been on the verge of breaking Ric Flair's record of being a 16-time World Champion. Cena is currently tied with Flair at 16, and would break The Nature Boy's record, should he become a 17-time World Champion.
Granted that Cena is now a part-time WWE Superstar, and has a lot on his plate, particularly as regards his blossoming Hollywood career -- Regardless, the pro-wrestling rumor mill was recently set abuzz with banter that the WWE may perhaps be looking at a potential rivalry between Cena and Brock Lesnar for WrestleMania 35.
The mere thought of Cena defeating Lesnar at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 7th, 2019, gives me goosebumps! Super Cena slaying The Beast Incarnate on The Grandest Stage Of Them All would be truly iconic!
Frankly speaking, if the WWE could book Bill Goldberg -- who'd been away from the ring for well over a decade -- as Universal Champion; they could easily put the title on Cena.
Which WWE Superstar would you like to see dethrone Brock Lesnar as the Universal Champion? Please give us your thoughts in the comments section below!
