5 Possible US Championship contenders for AJ Styles after Cedric Alexander

AJ Styles is currently the United States Champion, and he most recently defended the title against Cedric Alexander on the Clash Of Champions kickoff show, in what turned out to be a bit of a squash match.

It felt strange to see the two-time WWE Champion wrestle before the pay-per-view began. It was also an unfortunate moment for Alexander, who seemed to be at the end of a brand new push on Monday Night Raw. He pinned Styles at Madison Square Garden a week ago.

Since then, the former Cruiserweight Champion has lost to the United States Champion on two consecutive shows, and was beaten up by The OC after each defeat.

It doesn't seem like Alexander will face the Phenomenal One for the US Title once again, but even if he does, don't expect him to pick up the gold. There are quite a few options on the Red Brand who could be the next challengers for the star-spangled belt.

Here are five WWE Superstars who could face AJ Styles for the United States Championship next.

#5 Cesaro

Despite his talent, Cesaro is continually placed in the mid-card of RAW. Last night, he lost to Rey Mysterio but he should be doing so much more.

Cesaro is definitely a star, especially after his fantastic match against Ilja Dragunov at NXT UK Takeover: Cardiff. The crowd was rightly chanting, "Are you watching, Vince McMahon?". The chairman has said in the past that Cesaro is someone who doesn't connect with the WWE fans.

That could not be further from the truth. When given the chance to do something of note, he is over more often than not. Cesaro is also a machine in the ring and he could seriously take off as a possible main eventer, only if WWE gave him the chance to let loose as a babyface.

He could be an excellent challenger for the United States Championship. The match that Cesaro and AJ Styles could share would certainly be looked back on as a classic.

#4 Finn Balor

Finn Balor was last seen on WWE TV getting brutalized by the Fiend and is currently on leave from the company, getting married a month ago.

However, like for every other impending Superstar return, WWE should start running down ideas for his return. One idea could be for him to become a part of Raw and instantly get involved with AJ Styles and The OC.

However, Balor could initially come in and challenge The Phenomenal One for the United States Championship, remaining a babyface in the process for just a little while longer.

We all know that these two could put on a fantastic match against one another, so why not get a match or two against each other before the eventual turn?

Following a defeat due to The OC's malicious numbers game, Balor could give in and finally join his friends from Japan. The former NXT Champion could really make this group a force, after a slightly rocky period for Styles and company.

This could have many potential storylines, like a complete domination of Raw or perhaps Balor kicking Styles himself out of his own faction. This would instantly make the United States Championship much more prestigious.

#3 Braun Strowman

Can The Monster Among Men salvage something?

Braun Strowman has not had much luck in recent times, after losing two championship matches at Clash Of Champions. However, he could smash his bad luck by going after the United States Championship again.

Strowman faced AJ Styles for the title last month, but interference from Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson shifted his focus over to their RAW Tag Team Championships along with Seth Rollins. Now that his issue with the Universal Champion is over, The Monster Among Men could go after another piece of singles gold.

The match that Strowman and Styles shared on Raw was a decent one, with a standard concept. The smaller heel tried to chop down the man-mountain, before getting desperate following a referee bump.

The story between them could resume soon, providing some fun matches and shenanigans. If this is the direction that WWE is heading in, Strowman should go over. But given his record in title matches, who knows?

The company needs to do something to keep Strowman relevant after losing another big match and one of the best ways to do so would be to give him a solid title reign.

#2 Samoa Joe

Exactly last year, AJ Styles and Samoa Joe were embroiled in a bitter feud over the former's WWE Championship. Styles was the valiant babyface, defending his family's honour against the manipulative mastermind in Joe.

A year later, The Phenomenal One is the heel leader of the OC and the Samoan Submission Machine is pretty much stuck in a limbo.

His last big piece of storyline contribution was showing compassion towards Roman Reigns and getting him medical help after Erick Rowan (unless there's another twist in this storyline) almost crashed into his car.

So perhaps, we could see a possible face turn from Joe in the near future. He would make a great foil for The OC, reversing the roles from his feud with Styles one year ago on SmackDown Live.

The matches that the two former TNA megastars had with one another were terrific and they could tear it up again. Seeing the former two-time NXT Champion go on a violent rampage against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson en route to getting to the United States Champion would be fun to watch.

Also, Joe has not yet had a US Title match since losing it to Ricochet in June.

#1 Rey Mysterio

When Rey Mysterio returned to WWE full-time in October of last year, fans immediately pointed out some of the dream matches with current Superstars that the legendary luchador could have.

While a lot of them have happened, like bouts against Andrade and Cesaro, one big dream match that is yet to take place is between Mysterio and AJ Styles. The two have faced off in a triple threat match with Samoa Joe, but a one-on-one match between the two veterans would certainly be a treat for the WWE universe.

The Master of the 619 looked set to retire a few weeks ago, but he was talked out of it by his son, Dominick. Now, Mysterio looks to be going on a redemptive run. He defeated Gran Metalik and Cesaro recently, gathering some momentum for a possible storyline in the near future.

That storyline could turn out to be against the Phenomenal One for the United States Championship. And like Samoa Joe, Mysterio has not received a rematch for his US Title following his forfeiture of said belt. He did not even get beaten for it.

A feud with the OC could play on Mysterio's Ultimate Underdog status and get the fans behind him in a major way.