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On the Christmas edition of WWE SmackDown, fans saw ex-New Day Superstar Big E finally overcome his rival Sami Zayn to become the new Intercontinental Champion.
Since The New Day were separated in the latest WWE Draft, fans have been wishing for a Big E push, and it feels as though this is finally happening with a run as a singles champion on SmackDown. The Superstar has set himself apart on SmackDown as a unique talent, and the fan-favorite even debuted a new theme, performed by famous rapper Wale, and has ditched his New Day entrance in favor of bringing back his old weightlifting chalk gimmick.
Big E has the potential to be one of WWE's biggest stars in 2021. It will be great to see the star embark on a meaningful singles title run with the Intercontinental Championship. Here are five potential opponents for Big E as the latest WWE Intercontinental Champion.
#5 Aleister Black
Former NXT Champion Aleister Black hasn't been seen on WWE television much in late 2020. The star turned heel following a feud with Seth Rollins and Murphy, where he lost an eye at the hands of the pair.
Aleister Black has felt somewhat forgotten of late in WWE, and a rivalry with Big E would be a great way to move the performer back up the card on SmackDown. Fans have not seen a title feud for Aleister Black in quite some time now, and the star certainly has the talent to carry a rivalry over the championship.
In 2020 both Aleister Black and Big E have undergone gimmick changes. Black turned heel after he lost an eye in kayfabe, and Big E has established himself as an individual singles star following his split from the New Day.
A feud between Black and Big E would be a great way to cement their new roles in WWE and also boost Black up the card on SmackDown.
#4 Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins has been absent from WWE since Survivor Series when he sacrificed himself in the men's 5 v 5 elimination match. The star has been on a break from WWE ever since as his fiance Becky Lynch gave birth to their first child, Roux, in early December.
It has recently been announced that Seth Rollins will return to The Blue Brand on the New Year's Day edition of SmackDown. Before his departure, Rollins appeared to lose everything, as his final disciple Murphy turned his back on the Friday Night Messiah and joined The Mysterio family.
It is unknown whether Rollins will be returning in his Messiah gimmick or something else, but if the Superstar comes back as a heel next week, a great return feud for him would be against Big E.
Currently, Big E is one of the top babyfaces in WWE, and a firm fan favorite. Having Rollins and Big E strike up a rivalry would be a great way to further cement Big E in his babyface champion status, and also solidify Seth Rollins as a heel again for his next run in the company.
#3 Shinsuke Nakamura
2018 Royal Rumble winner Shinsuke Nakamura is a former WWE Intercontinental Champion himself, and following Big E's Christmas win, the star may want to chase the title once more.
In the lumberjack match on SmackDown, former WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champion Shinsuke Nakamura appeared to be more on the side of the heel Sami Zayn. Something to also take into consideration is that Nakamura was aligned with Zayn as a member of the Artist's Collective at the start of the year, a stable which seemed to silently fizzle out.
As a part of the Artist's Collective, Nakamura helped Zayn win the Intercontinental Championship at Elimination Chamber in March, the last WWE pay-per-view with a traditional crowd in 2020.
Nakamura may align once more with Zayn, and the pair could strike up a rivalry with Big E for the title. As well as this, there is a history between Nakamura and Big E that could be explored, as the team of Nakamura and Cesaro defeated Big E and Kofi Kingston (as The New Day) to win the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships at The Horror Show at Extreme Rules back in July.
There are a handful of angles that could be explored between Big E and Shinsuke Nakamura for a great championship feud.
#2 Cesaro
Like Shinsuke Nakamura, former WWE United States Champion Cesaro appeared to be in support of his former Artist's Collective partner Sami Zayn on the Christmas Edition of SmackDown, where Big E defeated Zayn in a lumberjack match to become WWE's newest Intercontinental Champion.
There is a history between Cesaro and Big E that could be explored to develop a title feud. At The Horror Show at Extreme Rules back in July, Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura ended Big E and Kofi Kingston's reign as WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions, and at the end of the match, Cesaro took the win by power bombing Kingston through a table, leaving him injured.
To develop a rivalry between Cesaro and Big E, the former animosity between the pair back in the summer could be explored.
Cesaro has not had a singles run in WWE for quite some time. A feud between Cesaro and Big E could establish him as a singles star once more, and the duo could be set to put on a great series of matches if this was to be the case. The pair had great in-ring chemistry in their matches in tag teams, and it would be exciting to see how their dynamic would play out in a singles title feud.
#1 Jey Uso
2020 has been a great year for Jey Uso in WWE. The star has become a focal part of SmackDown due to his involvement in the return angle of his cousin, Roman Reigns as a heel. Jey Uso is doing some of his best work in quite some time, currently on SmackDown.
Big E is currently one of the biggest babyfaces in WWE. Despite becoming a champion, Big E is still one of the top favorites to win the upcoming Royal Rumble on SkyBet.
Fans have been eager to see Big E face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, and a possible lead into this rivalry could be to start a feud between Big E and Jey Uso. If Big E lost the WWE Intercontinental Championship to Uso, there would be a huge possibility of this loss being at the hands of Roman Reigns, who is controlling Jey Uso on SmackDown.
Even if Big E manages to keep the WWE Intercontinental Championship in a feud against Jey Uso, it could still lead to the Big E versus Roman Reigns feud that a lot of WWE fans appear eager to see down the line.
As well as this, Big E and Jey Uso have competed against each other multiple times in tag team action, and it would be exciting to see how their in-ring dynamic has changed now that they are singles stars, and now that Jey Uso is portraying a different persona in WWE.
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