3 Wrestlers Who Could Dethrone Roman Reigns and 3 Who Shouldn't

It was only a matter of time until 'the Big Dog' became Universal Champion. WWE had him face Brock Lesnar three times and each time, we figured Reigns would triumph. They fooled us twice, pushing the inevitable outcome of the tiresome feud even further.

Finally, 'the Big Dog' captured his first Universal Title. While it was never in question, it became increasingly frustrating as WWE prolonged his win month after month.

Now that Reigns has finally taken the belt off of Lesnar, we can speculate as to who is the best option to dethrone him. It'll make many fans happy, as long as he doesn't miraculously take the title off of himself.

There are several worthy candidates and some who aren't so worthy. Who will be the one to lift Thor's hammer off of Roman's waist?

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Could: Braun Strowman

'The Monster Among Men' as Universal Champion has been a thought Vince has toyed with.

Strowman and Reigns have had quite the rivalry over the last couple of years. But when the title has been on the line, Braun has failed at every turn.

He lost to Lesnar in his only singles match for the title. It was pitiful that he lost by a single F5. He lost by default in a triple-threat title match with Kane at the Royal Rumble a few years ago.

At this year's Hell in a Cell, the match ended in a no-contest merely to prolong the feud to Crown Jewel. What was lost in the outcome was that Strowman failed in his attempt to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase. Yet another cash-in attempt wasted. What was the point of him winning the briefcase anyway?

The crowd has been firmly behind Strowman for the better part of the last two years. Unfortunately, he's only third in Vince's hierarchy behind Reigns and Lesnar respectively. They missed opportunities when he was red hot. He could have won the Royal Rumble last year, but they opted for Shinsuke Nakamura instead.

The time isn't running out. They failed to strike while the iron was hot, but the crowd still loves Strowman. Making him champion will be met with uproarious cheer whenever they decide to pull the trigger. Here's hoping it's sooner rather than later. He needs a Universal Title run to legitimize his spot at the top of the roster and not just push ambulances and dumpsters around.

Shouldn't: Dolph Ziggler

'The Showoff' has won every other title except the Universal Championship.

Hear me out with this one.

Yes, Dolph is clearly one of the best wrestlers and true workhorses on the roster. He's been loyal to WWE and rarely has a bad match. It would be a feel-good story for those who have always been a fan of Ziggler, but it's not too likely to happen.

The problem is that he is so amazing at making other wrestlers look good. WWE wouldn't want to put the belt around his waist because he's too valuable in this ability. Having safe matches with wrestlers new to the main roster isn't something any old wrestler can do.

Just see his feuds with AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura and Bobby Roode. Those guys don't need help to look good, but it doesn't hurt having the best move seller in the other corner.

WWE invested in him as main champion when he cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Alberto Del Rio. Unfortunately, he got hurt. That might have soured the brass on Ziggler as a main-event player.

They likely wouldn't do so again. If they wouldn't let him be champion on Smackdown, there's no way he's going to hold the gaudy red belt. They see him as a talented mid-carder who can occasionally move up to the main-event scene when needed.

Could: Drew McIntyre

McIntyre has always had the look of a champion that Vince loves.

The 'Scottish Psychopath,' as the commentators love to call him, has always been someone oozing with potential.

He was nicknamed 'the Chosen One' in his first run with the company and he had runs with both the Intercontinental Title and the tag-team belts. He's got the look that those in charge love and he returned to the main roster after Wrestlemania looking like a million bucks.

McIntyre's also someone who has never been tried out as a main-eventer. He can talk the talk and his matches with Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Reigns himself have proven he can put on great performances. He's even rumored to be the next in line once Reigns is done with Lesnar and Strowman at Crown Jewel.

His partnership with both Strowman and Ziggler appears to be over after this past Raw. He looked like he was done with Ziggler when he didn't stop Braun from power-slamming the Showoff. He was certainly done with Strowman when he hit him with a claymore kick at the end of Raw.

Another reason he could be the one to dethrone Reigns is that he's a new face to the title scene. Over the last two years, it's been Kevin Owens, Goldberg, Rollins, Reigns, Lesnar, Strowman and Kane.

Out of that list, only Kevin Owens hasn't been a regular in the main-event scene. Kane was just a filler in the triple threat match to take the pin.

People get bored of the same thing over and over. It's why I soured on Hulk Hogan as a kid and numerous fans have been sick of Roman for years. McIntyre provides a new face to the title scene who is believable, deserving and ready to run with the belt. Or ready, willing and Gable.

Shouldn't: Seth Rollins

WWE will probably revisit this rivalry in the near future.

I know this isn't a popular decision, but once again, hear me out.

I'd have no problem with this one coming to fruition. Seth Rollins is arguably one of the top three performers on the entire roster. He rarely has bad matches and makes anyone he faces look great. He's also won every title under the sun that WWE has to offer.

His talent begets his worthiness of the Universal Title. People aren't sick of him and he can actually put on entertaining matches over 20 minutes. The only problem is that Rollins has already beaten Reigns twice for titles.

He cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Roman to win the title at Wrestlemania 31 in 2015. He returned from injury in 2016 and beat Reigns to win the title again at Money in the Bank in 2016. Would Vince McMahon let him do it a third time?

Dean Ambrose did cash in on Seth only moments later, but the fact still remains that Rollins has decisively defeated Roman twice for championships. Creative certainly won't let him do it a third time now that Reigns is finally Universal Champion.

They've wasted too much time already to make Reigns the face of the company. Although it would probably be met with positive reactions, they're not going to have him lose the belt to Seth Rollins a third time. They've invested too much in Roman Reigns, sometimes to the detriment of the product and the other wrestlers.

Could: Dean Ambrose

'The Lunatic Fringe' would be a perfect choice to take the title off Reigns.

Unlike Rollins, Ambrose has never beaten Reigns in a high-stakes match.

After Rollins relinquished his WWE Championship due to injury in November of 2015, WWE held a mini-tournament to crown a new champion. The fact that both Reigns and Ambrose were in the tournament made the finals a foregone conclusion.

Reigns defeated his Shield brother in the finals as expected. What made things worse was that Sheamus cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase not five minutes later.

What we were left with was months of back-and-forth hot-shotting of the belt between the Big Dog and Sheamus. The crowd loathed Sheamus and creative felt that would finally get Roman over. It didn't work.

The reason why Ambrose dethroning Reigns would be poetic is because he's never beaten Roman for the title. It's a story left unwritten and one the fans would eat up. Ambrose has come back from his injury on fire, and they keep hinting at dissension among the Shield.

The 'brothers' would put on a great match regardless of alignments. The fact that they've been so close since the Shield split would make the storytelling leading up to the match much more intense. Dean's always been seen as the third-best of the Shield member and a Universal Title win over Reigns would legitimize him as a main-eventer.

While they'd probably turn Ambrose heel to do this, the crowd will treat him like they treat Becky Lynch-as the hero. The storytelling behind an Ambrose win over Roman would be extremely cathartic whether he's the underdog face or heel.

Shouldn't: The Rock

The background says it all.

There have already been rumblings that the Rock will be the one dethrone Roman at the upcoming Wrestlemania. He's already opened as the betting favorite to win the Royal Rumble. Lots of fans will love this and lots of fans will hate the idea.

While the Rumble betting odds can still change between now and January, the Rock winning the Universal Championship would be a huge mistake on several levels.

First of all, it would be revisiting the same problem as having Brock Lesnar as Champion. Fans would be outraged with another part-timer as the main champion of WWE. They already clamored for someone, anyone to take the title of Lesnar. Putting it on the Rock would just re-open a can of worms the WWE closed after Summerslam.

The second problem would be that he can no longer have sustained matches. As has been the case over the last three 'Manias, the main event has almost been 30 minutes long.

Triple H is near the Rock in age, but he's kept himself in game shape (pun intended) every year. He wrestles on house shows sometimes just to stay ring ready. The Rock struggled in his last match with John Cena. He was injured, but he has clearly traded stamina for looking like a Greek god.

A third problem is in the picture above. The Rock has moved on from the WWE. He's the highest-grossing movie star in the world. Why would he leave Hollywood? Does he need to win another title?

Sure he shows up every now and then to promote a movie or steal a full-timer's spotlight, but he is in career mode as a movie star. That's fine. He shined a lot brighter in his seven years as an active wrestler than most do in five years. He's been even more successful as a action star.

I'm not saying that they shouldn't have the match. Just don't have it be involved with the title. Both guys can still be in a main event match. They're both big names that would sell tickets regardless. But knowing WWE, the title will have to be involved. McMahon will be seeing dollar signs in his dreams.