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Although Styles' next pay-per-view match will be a champion vs champion affair against Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series, the same matchup as the one at last year's event, it will be a non-title match. This leaves quite some time for the WWE to buildup Styles' next opponent. Which is essential, since the buildup to Styles vs Joe at Crown Jewel was noticeably rushed due to Daniel Bryan's apparent refusal to travel to Saudi Arabia. It seems WWE creatives intend to let Styles hold the belt until a worthy competitor emerges, here we look at the 4 superstars who could take the championship off Styles.
#1 Daniel Bryan
Although losing clean to Styles on the Smackdown preceding Crown Jewel, Bryan would be a fantastic candidate to finally be the face of Smackdown. A fan favourite in his own right, Bryan has not yet been champion since his return from injury and were he to take the title off Styles in a classic match, the likes of which both wrestlers are more than capable of producing, it would indeed be a historic moment, one that could possibly live up to Bryan's Wrestlemania 30 title win.
#2 Randy Orton
A heel Randy Orton is what's best for business. Having been one of the constant top dogs of the WWE for the past 15 years, Orton has been on a bit of a barren run, not being involved in the championship picture since is forgettable reign was ended by Jinder Mahal at Backlash 2017. However, since turning heel Orton is working intensely to develop his character, his feud with Jeff Hardy being one of the most gruesome and controversial in recent memory. A heel Orton taking on, possibly the most over face and the best wrestler in the company has all the makings of a fantastic feud.
#3 Finn Balor
A dream match for fans who followed the pair in NJPW, Styles and Balor have both been leaders of the infamous Bullet Club, the two would surely compliment each other well, and likely have some fantastic matches, provided they are booked right. Of course, to set this one up, Balor would have to go to Smackdown and rebuild his character, which has become a bit stale in the past few months, from scratch.
#4 The Miz
A superstar who is long overdue a title reign, The Miz, certainly one of the top heels in the company for the past few years, would be a good candidate to take the title off Styles, especially if this led to him feuding with Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania, a match that always excites fans due to the long, well-documented history between the two. However, this scenario seems the most unlikely out of the 4, since The Miz seemed to suffer a serious injury at Crown Jewel, whether that was Kayfabe or not is a question that will be answered on next week's Smackdown.
It will be awfully interesting to see the direction Styles' fantastic title reign takes, beyond Survivor Series!
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