3 Best options and three worst options to dethrone Seth Rollins as Universal Champion

Just as the man who dethroned Brock Lesnar for the title had to be someone special, the same applies to whomever ends up taking the title from the current champion, Seth Rollins. The title is finally getting some prestige thanks to Rollins actually defending it like the championship matters. During Lesnar's reigns, it appeared as if it was literally just a job to him and he showed up for defenses simply because they were part of his contracts.

Now that RAW truly has a champion other than R-Truth who shows up 24/7, he has a huge target on his back. We've seen both Baron Corbin and Lesnar taunt 'the Beastslayer' only to come up empty in their attempts to wrest the title from Rollins.

Rollins won't hold the title forever, but whoever he drops the title to must be someone worthy of the title and someone that will be a fighting champion like he is. For those reasons, there are some good options and some bad choices regarding who will eventually become the next Universal Champion.

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Best Option - AJ Styles

I wouldn't be complaining if these two guys squared off again over the title

Two of the best Superstars of this generation already had a 'Match of the Year' candidate showing at this year's Money in the Bank. It was a dream match finally come to life once Styles joined RAW following the Superstar Shake Up.

The two men have styles that mesh together easily and despite both men being faces, the match still worked. People will cheer for either man regardless of if they are heels or faces simply because of their phenomenal in-ring ability.

Styles had his shot at the Universal Championship, but you have to figure that he'll get another crack at the title in the near future. He's among the top stars in the company and although he carried the WWE Championship for much of his SmackDown tenure, fans wouldn't be in an uproar if he was the man to dethrone 'the Kingslayer'. Styles is like Daniel Bryan in that even if they are heels, they are still so great in the ring that wrestling purists will root for them no matter what.

Worst Option - Baron Corbin

The former Constable is still acting like he is owed something

As evidenced by his two prior failures as capturing the title, it just isn't in the cards for Corbin to be the man to take the title off of Rollins. He's done decent heel work, but for whatever reason, he just doesn't click with the audience. They may boo him, but it's more of a 'go away' boo like those Shane McMahon receives.

A truly great heel gets boos from the audience because of his or her work, much like Bryan or Kevin Owens. Corbin doesn't have that ability despite the constant push from Creative lately.

He was never probably going to win his matches with Rollins, but they had to have someone challenge Rollins between MITB and SummerSlam. Since there was little to no chance of Corbin winning the belt, it made sense.

The Lone Wolf was his own worst enemy, barking at the referee and getting in his face. He's the only reason he lost, not officiating or anything else. He's better suited for mid-card heeldom whereas the likes of Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe have both the in-ring talent and mic skills to be main-event heels, even if they aren't booked that way.

Best Option - Drew McIntyre

McIntyre has feuded with Rollins a few times since joining the main roster over a year ago

Unlike Corbin, McIntyre is a main-event level heel despite losing to Roman Reigns twice. He has that 'It Factor' that just isn't evident in every Superstar. Despite that, McIntyre has been relegated to being a lackey of Shane McMahon for the last month or so.

Just like McMahon needs to go away, McIntyre needs to separate himself from McMahon in order to cut his own path of destruction. Corbin is more like the corporate lackey than 'the Scottish Psychopath'.

McIntyre is good enough at his job that if he was the one to take the title off of Rollins then fans would boo him because he's good at what he does. There would also be a portion of the WWE Universe that would love to see him win the title because of the work he has put in over the last five years. Despite being a heel, he'd likely get a 'You deserve it' chance if he won the Universal Championship.

Worst Option - Any SmackDown Superstar

The Wildcard Rule has blurred the lines of the shows

WWE isn't outright admitting it, but a lot of us know that the brand split is dead. Superstars, and usually ones that are high up in the food chain, have been randomly splitting time on both shows, from Kofi Kingston to Roman Reigns to Alexa Bliss to Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens.

While it has given a lot of exposure to a crop of some of the talented wrestlers on the roster, it actually does a disservice to those further down the food chain. Mid-card stars will have an even harder shot at moving up the card if some of their TV time is given to a star from the other show.

Because of that, no star from SmackDown should get the right of dethroning Rollins. The brand split might still exist in name and WWE needs to abide by that when it comes to championships. Outside of the RAW Women's Title picture, every division has plenty of stars that could challenge for belts.

By having stars from the other show challenge for titles, it's an indirect admittance that they only trust certain stars to challenge for the belts. A RAW Superstar should dethrone Rollins when the time is right.

Best Option - Bray Wyatt

The new character of Bray Wyatt needs a meaningful debut

Want a way to re-debut Bray Wyatt and make an immediate and serious impact? After a decent title run for Rollins, have the new version of Wyatt target Rollins and eventually be the one to win the title. He was booked unfavorably for most of his prior run after losing feuds to everyone, from John Cena to the Undertaker to Roman Reigns.

WWE might have realized that they ruined his credibility because he was away from the company for the better part of nine months. He returned with his Firefly Fun House segments on TV but those need to turn into something tangible real soon.

Wyatt had the backing of the WWE Universe even though he lost most of his major feuds. He still has good will with the audience, especially the portion that respects the character work he has done both before and after his return.

Giving Wyatt a Universal Championship win over Rollins would at least salvage the man because the character might be slightly different. It still, however, holds some of the negative connotations from his previous booking until he nets a major win. This could be that major win.

Worst Option - Brock Lesnar

Lesnar might be loved by management but its a different story with a big portion of the WWE Universe

Brock Lesnar as a major champion in WWE is a mistake that WWE must not repeat. The ratings dipped to some serious lows when he was Universal Champion. Although they haven't skyrocketed, it's 100% better to have the title on RAW weekly rather than once a month or once every two months.

While he initially tormented Rollins and tried to cash in on him after winning MITB, Lesnar was unsuccessful and hasn't been seen in a few weeks. Hopefully, it will be a long time before he returns, but with SummerSlam approaching, he might attempt a cash-in on either Rollins or Kofi Kingston.

Most of the fans who have stuck with the company through these rough times might tap out if they have to go through another Lesnar title reign. I wouldn't put it past WWE to have Lesnar successfully cash in, especially with a move to Fox in the fall. Lesnar's name carries mainstream weight due to his early success in the UFC.

But having 'the Beast' be the man to take the title from Rollins would be more steps back instead of forward, and WWE cannot afford any more steps backward. Things need to improve and improve fast if WWE wants to continue to rule the landscape of professional wrestling.