If Not Roman Reigns, Then Who?

[Superstar Sleeze]

FINALLY, I get to start one of these threads!

So a lot of people do not think Roman Reigns will be ready in time for Wrestlemania. If this was the WWF of the 90s, I would say seven months that's plenty of time for Vince to work his magic. However, the WWE of the 00s, seven months does tend to mean that's plenty of time to truly fuck someone up. That is a sad state of affairs, but it is ultimately true. So lets talk solutions!

 

The question at hand is who will dethrone Brock Lesnar not who the next face of the WWE will be. Thus John Cena is eligible for discussion.

 

John Cena - With that lead in, lets talk up the obvious candidate. Cena took two hellacious beatings from Lesnar. At Extreme Rules, Lesnar got cocky and went for a big bomb and missed. He then shook it off went for the same bomb and ate chain, which was his demise. This time Lesnar was laser focused. Can Cena beat a laser focused Lesnar? How is Cena's mental psyche? Personally, I would love to see Cena take a more veteran mentorship role with somebody like his weightlifting buddy, Cesaro. In his mind, he thinks he is done, but he still can give back by mentoring. His protege urges him on to take on the beast. You could even go Achilles/Patroclaus with the protege getting mauled by Lesnar and now Cena has to stand up and fight. I would love to see him do MMA training or Rocky training vignettes kind of like Tito learning the figure-4 to break Valentine's leg so he could taste his own medicine. It is a great story but ultimately it leads us back to the same place Cena on top.

 

Dean Ambrose - He was red hot when I went to Money In The Back live and in vivid color. He has since been cooled off by slow burn booking, but he is still smoldering could be stoked into a raging fire. I see Ambrose wrestling a more wild version of Punk/Lensar and pulling it off quite well. Ultimately, I see Ambrose more in the vein of a Piper or Savage. He could be a strong number two, but he is not your Hogan. I would like to see Lesnar/Ambrose, but as a Lesnar victory.

Seth Rollins - I see Rollins as a good shot to fill their desperate need for a strong working heel that can bump around for babyface and shine them up. So many heels are bruisers that there is no one to shine up faces like a Flair would. Rollins could be that guy and no reason to turn him face or put him in the ring with Lesnar.

 

Bray Wyatt - I think Lesnar opens up the possibility of heel vs heel matches because pretty much every challenger will be cheered for. I thought Wyatt should have won at Money In The Bank to resuscitate his career. He needs to get out of this heatless Jericho feud. Another loss to a main event player seems counterproductive, but I think Wyatt standing toe to toe with Lesnar would help. There is no reason why if Wyatt were to win that he would go right back to being top heel. Why not use Lesnar to set up a top heel instead of a top face?

 

Sheamus - Sheamus is my favorite wrestler and one of the most underutilized talents on the roster. He needs to be turned heel and kept away from Lesnar.

 

Cesaro - Cesaro is my second favorite wrestler and one of the most underutilized talents on the roster. He needs to be turned face and paired with Cena.

 

Rusev - See Wyatt. It is Fedor vs. Brock, but in WWE, BABY!!! Dana, eat your heart out! Ok, so maybe not, but I think this is intriguing.

 

Jack Swagger - He is my dark horse. He has the size and amateur credentials to compete with Lesnar. Unlike Ambrose and Reigns, he is on the upswing rather than coming down from a previous high. We all know the big knock on Swagger is that he is utter dogshit on the mic. If you don't go with Cena, then the man who beats Lesnar should probably be the top face. I just don't see Swagger as the top face even if I would love to see a big face Swagger push.

 

Daniel Bryan - Keep him away from Lesnar.

 

I talked myself into Cena after initially thinking I would double push Reigns and Swagger. It is a great story and it gives time for Cesaro, Reigns, Ambrose or Swagger to separate from the pack to be the next face. Who is your pick?

[Grimmas]

Ambrose could be your Austin, he has that kind of potential.

[Sidebottom]

I'd say Ambrose also. I'm very interested to see how he develops and how versatile he can be in roles where he isn't enraged.

[The Chief]

You sold me on Swagger vs. Lesnar. Swagger will need some rehabbing but it's not impossible. He's the kind of guy who would benefit just from being in the same room as Brock. And there's already some history between Heyman and Zeb they can build on.

[WingedEagle]

I think Ambrose has a higher ceiling than Reigns, but think Mania 31 is too soon for him to be pushed to that level. You had basically 2 years of crowds getting behind Bryan heading into 30, and that followed a multi-year run where he established himself as a top worker and someone fans could get behind. The book on Ambrose & Reigns as singles was just opened and its too to climax.

 

All along I thought Bryan would fit in well against Brock and worst as be big as Summerslam felt, with strong potential for a Mania headlining match. That being said, the way Summerslam was presented I think you can make a really strong case for Cena being the best story heading into the show, especially if he's held out for a while.

[stomperspc]

I think that if WWE has decided that Reigns is going to be the face of the promotion going forward, they need to make a their best possible effort to get him ready for Brock at WrestleMania. If Brock's title run plays out as expected, it will be a huge opportunity to get someone over by beating him at WM. You don't know when you will get another chance to potentially "make" a guy like that and if they believe Reigns is the future, they need to try to position him to be ready for Lesnar in seven months.

 

That's not to say they should go with Reigns no matter what. If he gets the mega-push fan backlash and come Rumble time he just isn't where he needs to be, changing directions makes sense. I think Bryan would be the best backup plan. The fans will buy into him. The story of him returning from a career threatening injury to stop the monster heel champion that nobody else could stop is the best story out of all of the other options.

[Steenalized]

Funny thing is that I too thought of Swagger when he came on last night. He's one of the few guys who won't be dwarfed by Brock, though he is quite a bit thinner. He has amateur credentials, so you could build it up as facing Brock in a 'pure' wrestling match or something like that. You'd absolutely need Zeb to carry his promos, but I think it could be done for one of the B shows. The only problem is that now he's lost two in a row. Not exactly inspiring to go against Brock.

[Loss]

I really wish Lawler hadn't had the scare a few years ago for obvious reasons, but for selfish reasons, I think they could have done an amazing match/angle on TV with Lawler and Lesnar.

[Steenalized]

Every few months it seems like there's a new potential Lawler match up. Like him vs. the Shield when they tried to ambush him back when they were heels.

[Sidebottom]

I really wish Lawler hadn't had the scare a few years ago for obvious reasons, but for selfish reasons, I think they could have done an amazing match/angle on TV with Lawler and Lesnar.

 

Play up on the fact that Jerry once defended himself against a man with a chainsaw in Memphis, therefore has as good a shot against Lesnar as anybody else!

[evilclown]

John Cena - The obvious choice, especially if they give him some time off so it's fresh.

 

Dean Ambrose -I love Ambrose, but fans are setting themselves up for disappointment if they think he's seen as a top guy. He's weird looking, balding, and too creepy to be a main player. He's destined to be in the supporting cast for life.

Seth Rollins - There is potential here, but he's probably too ugly to be considered the next HBK. He also doesn't do quite as good a job sellign his opponents as Michaels or Flair. He's Eddy Guerrero.

 

Bray Wyatt - Not ready. No easy or compelling storyline to build.

 

Sheamus - No.

 

Cesaro - No.

 

Rusev - Not particularly over. Not a proven worker. Unclear motivation or angle. Would require Lesnar and Heyman in the babyface role.

 

Jack Swagger - Plodding and awkward in the ring. Lispy and inarticulate out of it. The lesser part of a midcard act that floundered.

 

Daniel Bryan - If he's healthy and the WWE is willing to invest in him, this might be something special.

 

Dark Horses:

 

Triple H: He's Triple H. It has to have crossed his mind.

 

CM Punk: Now that would be a hell of a story!

 

Undertaker: To end his career 22-1 and WrestleMania.

[anarchistxx]

I think Dean Ambrose would get more out of a loss to Lesnar than he would out of a win. Thinking an Austin at WM13 scenario, covered in blood, refusing to give in despite a violent onslaught by Lesnar, taking shot after shot and not staying down until Brock has to literally destroy him.

 

Jack Swagger would make an excellent short term challenger though: he is useless on the mic, but with Zeb doing the talking for him he can get really hot and get the crowd pent up. Plus he has unfinished business with Heyman from earlier this year so it would be an easy feud to book with lesnar off TV, have Cesaro go back to Heyman for a bit to warm up Swagger. He has the offence and credentials to work a very exciting competitive squash as a placeholder feud. Have to be a hell of a build to get him believable as a Wrestlemania challenger however.

[Fantastic]

Dean Ambrose = money.

 

It's amazing at just how over with the audience he is, in spite of the weird anti-wrestler character that he plays... Then again, Mick Foley....

[DMJ]

Sleeze, you didn't mention Batista or The Rock, the only two names that I could think of on Sunday night that would pose a threat.

 

Now, I'm not saying you can't build up anyone else, but those two names strike me as having a significant chance of doing it, especially if you consider that one of them could cost Lesnar the title at a prior date, leading to a feud without the title in time for Mania.

 

If I were a betting man, though, I'd have to put my money on John Cena. That beating was so brutal on Sunday, there's almost no way I can see him not getting revenge in the future.

[Mad Dog]

They've done a good job of highlighting Cesaro's freakish strength. That gives him an instant credibility against Lesnar.

[Loss]

While Summerslam was great, I still imagine this alternative universe in my head where Daniel Bryan never got hurt and had his momentum stalled after Wrestlemania. The emotion over him getting obliterated like that would have been very different and they could be selling right now that we may have seen him for the last time. Cena works almost as well, but it really would have been a different dynamic.

[The Chief]

I really hope that The Rock doesn't get involved in any way, that idea is horrible on so many levels.

[anarchistxx]

It is a shame the WWE has done such a poor job over the last couple of years with Ryback and Titus O'Neill. Two big, muscular, charismatic guys who could draw huge money with Lesnar had they been protected right. You can even work heel vs heel matches with Brock, as his whole gimmick is that he is anti-WWE and wants to destroy everyone and laugh at how low he has brought the company.

 

The Big Guy vs Brock could be the Goldberg vs Vader match that never happened, if only they made decent use of Ryback's assets. The guy is great on the mic, has a cool personality, is a reasonable worker at this point especially in sprints. He is almost a Cena-lite, a guy who looks like a big, impressive wrestler but also has a personality he can bring out that goes beyond typical pro wres tropes like angry monster heel or white meat destructive face fighting off evil.

 

Titus vs Lesnar would make an incredible visual on a big show, maybe the two most impressive looking workers in the whole company.

[Johnny Sorrow]

Ryback could overnight be a legit guy to challenge Brock and get killed. It would take just him interrupting a promo , and would immediately be over. He's one of those guys who can be instantly be programmed into a fued with Brock where he starts off as a credible threat and gets killed with no damage to his character.

[Timbo Slice]

Ryback also has a built in story with him once being a Paul Heyman Guy.

 

If they really feed Rusev to him, it's a big mistake.

 

Ambrose is the guy because he's the only one crazy enough to take him on and win. With Cena getting his rematch, you have to think the smart money is on Cena getting a little bit more offense or trying to sneak attack a way in, but Lesnar making it quick. No reason for them to do a longish match.

 

Bryan coming back and being able to work Brock would be superb. Brock knows how to work smaller wrestlers like that. It would be Brock/Eddy all over again.

[Cross Face Chicken Wing]

How about this for an out-of-left-field idea that will never happen but might work:

 

Feed Jericho to Lesnar.

 

Nobody believes that Lesnar will lose his next title defense. What's the point of having him destroy another regular on the WWE roster? Have Jericho cut off the next 30 minute Heyman promo as Lesnar stands there with that shit-eating grin. Jericho makes fun of Brock for being a big dumb meathead, the type of guy he's battled against his entire career as he's tried to carve out his space as a smallish guy in a big man's business.

 

When Brock laughs him off, Jericho puts his career on the line for one last shot at the title, and one final opportunity to go up against the type of big man who tried to hold him down his entire career.

 

Jericho sneak attacks Brock before the bell with a chair and destroys his knee, offering some glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe he could pull this off. But after about 5 minutes of hope, Brock gains the advantage and beats the holy hell out of Jericho for the win.

 

Jericho rides off into the sunset, something he should have done already, and Brock gets another convincing win to build up his unstoppable monster character.

[Mad Dog]

Why not feed Orton to Brock? Go a little crazy and try a heel vs. heel match.

[moazzam23]

Jericho and Orton would be wastes of Lesnars limited dates. Hardly anybody cares about them.

[Cross Face Chicken Wing]

Nobody gives a shit about Orton. He's not salvageable at all.

 

Moazz is right that hardly anybody cares about Jericho as well. But Jericho has the personality to pull this off and, most importantly, it'd be his retirement match so we can (finally) be rid of him for good.

 

Edit: Plus I think people enjoyed watching Brock just kick the shit out of somebody for 20 minutes at SS. They should milk that for one more PPV. You're going to get some buys from people who just want to see if Lesnar will break Jericho into tiny pieces.

[jushin muta liger]

The Jericho match isn't a bad idea. The Wyatt feud killed his interest but I think your idea would work. As for guys like Titus and Ryback, they need to be built up and repaired in the audience's mind for Reigns in order help Reigns get to Wrestlemania. Reigns needs monsters to beat in order to beat the biggest monster at the biggest show of the year.