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WrestleMania is just over a month away, and seemingly all of the card's top matches have been announced or are obvious, but one that has barely any direction is United States Championship[. R-Truth's win over Shinsuke Nakamura came as a big shock after a Mixed Match Challenge victory alongside Carmella, and while it's good to see WWE push different stars in spots, he's just not a credible champion in 2019.
His run has been enjoyable though, and bringing back the United States Open Challenge that John Cena had massive success with is fun, but eventually, the fairytale reign has to come to an end. That may not happen at WrestleMania, but with so many more legitimate and better competitors out there, it can't last for too long. So here are 5 options for Truth's Open Challenge opponent at WrestleMania 35.
#5. Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn has been out of action for quite some time, but now that he's recovered from his injury, it's time the WWE find a great way to re-introduce him to the WWE Universe. Zayn left us as a heel alongside Kevin Owens, but he does his best work as a babyface. While Johnny Gargano and Mustafa Ali are both just as good as Sami as an underdog, no one does it quite like The Underdog From the Underground.
R-Truth isn't a top heel at all, so this might make the chemistry of the bout a bit different if they do want Sami to be a face once again, but, he's too good a performer to not make it work. The WWE Universe expect big moments and surprises at WrestleMania, thus, hearing that incredibly catchy theme tune that we've all come to love would be huge. Also, putting Zayn back on Smackdown where he can be a top babyface finally is a win all around.
#4. Aleister Black
Aleister Black has been appearing alongside Ricochet since making his main roster debut, but he's best as a singles star, and a breakout performance at WrestleMania could cement his position as a top name for the future. The Anti-Hero has built up quite an aura around himself through NXT, and a win over Elias immediately makes it known that he means business. A victory on the Grandest Stage of Them All is the next logical step.
Black is one of the hardest strikers in the WWE and can put on a great match with any style, so him coming out as the surprise at WrestleMania with his entrance makes it known that WWE sees him as a big player going forward. As mentioned above, Black has been teaming up with Ricochet since arriving in the big leagues, including a win over The Revival, and that could mean they become involved in the Tag Title match at WrestleMania. If that doesn't happen, a US title match is a great way to get him on the card.
#3. Andrade
Andrade is one of the fastest rising stars in the WWE, and with his series of incredible matches against Rey Mysterio putting him on the map, it's time for him to move on to bigger and better things. He's lost some of the steam that he gained during his fantastic run at the top of NXT, but he's proven to be an incredible performer, and giving him the title now would be a great way to see how the crowd take to him as a Champion.
In terms of in-ring quality, there's few better opponents in the WWE for Truth, and allowing him to put on a great, athletic contest with El Idolo would give him the respect he deserves as a worker. This one is more likely to happen heading into WrestleMania than on the big stage because the surprise is going to be used on a bigger name (like potentially our next 2 candidates), but if they want a great wrestling match, Andrade is the way to go.
#2. John Cena
John Cena is one of the greatest performers in WWE history, and as we expected, he's cut down to a part-time role while pursuing his career in Hollywood. However, it wouldn't be WrestleMania without Big Match John. He's not been advertised yet, and his plans for WrestleMania haven't been decided, so, having him challenge the man who's picked up on his United States Open Challenge would be very exciting, and a great way to elevate Truth.
We are likely only going to get a few John Cena matches every year from here on out, so having him go up against the hottest young talent in the world makes sense. WrestleMania, though, is about moments, and this would be a great one. Cena winning and restarting the Open Challenge series he created several years ago is a definite possibility, but a clean loss to Truth would cement him as a great mid-card Champion who will be set up for a big 2019.
#1. Bray Wyatt
Bray Wyatt has been out of action for quite some time, and the WWE has been waiting for a creative way to introduce him. As the saying goes, the simpler the better, and WrestleMania would be a great stage for it to be set into action. Many have speculated that his return may have something to do with the new Daniel Bryan, and if that happens, we can take him off this list, but a Championship bout would be an exciting way to bring him back.
WrestleMania is shaping up to have many incredible moments, and 70,000 people welcoming back The Eater of Worlds would be amazing to see. Bray has had limited Championship success over his WWE career, despite being one of the most interesting and entertaining characters on the roster. Welcoming him back with a victory would be a way to kick-start the second part of his career with WWE.
