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In the aftermath of Roman Reigns' shock announcement on last nights RAW, the WWE now needs to find a new star to be the face of the company. Roman Reigns led the WWE in terms of overall popularity and merchandise sales and the WWE will find it difficult to replace the man who quickly ascended to the top of the company. Here we will look at five superstars who the WWE may now turn to, in order to fill the void that Roman Reigns departure has left in the company.
#5 Ronda Rousey
With so much being made of the apparent 'Women's Revolution', the WWE will likely be considering using a female wrestler as their next top star. Naturally, this would fall to Ronda Rousey, who has been instantly pushed to the top of the women's card and has the largest international following thanks to her stint at the top of the UFC.
The 31-year-old is likely to headline the majority of the women's divisions PPV matches and if the WWE gives her a huge undefeated run, it could get the company a massive amount of mainstream attention. A female at the top of the company, however, has never been done before, and the WWE may be reluctant to make such a big change.
#4 Finn Balor
Balor is one of the WWE's best in-ring performers and he had an incredibly memorable run during his time in NXT. Despite this the Irishman has not quite reached the heights expected of him while on RAW and considering the star's age, it may be now or never to push him to the top.
The 37-year-old is well liked among both casual and hardcore fans, and his ability to get over as 'The Demon King' is always something that the WWE can use to their advantage. The WWE would be wise to push the star during his remaining prime years, however it is unknown at this point if Balor can be successful in leading a company the size of the WWE.
#3 Braun Strowman
Strowman has undoubtedly seen the biggest push out of any WWE star over the past 12 months. Roman Reigns' was seemingly the only wrestler in the way of Braun Strowman making it to the top of the card, and Reign's is now temporarily out of the picture.
Questions do however remain over Strowman's ability to lead a company, as the wrestler's merchandise levels are eclipsed by other wrestler's. The WWE also has a historic reluctance to put a big man at the top of the company so it seems as though Strowman will instead continue to be the WWE's resident destroyer.
Hope, however, does remain, as the company just this week reportedly tested Strowman's ability to get over as a babyface.
#2 Drew McIntyre
So much was promised during McIntyre's first run in the WWE after he was labelled 'The Chosen One' by WWE owner Vince McMahon. His potential initially went unfulfilled, as he surprisingly left the company in 2014. After leaving the Scottish wrestler transformed his career, and after just months of debuting in Impact Wrestling, he was already arguably their biggest star.
Since his WWE return, the 33-year-old has already had a huge push to the top of the card. The wrestler has got into the best shape of his career and his in-ring action continues to be among the best, especially considering his size. McIntyre's character worked best as a babyface while in Impact Wrestling, so the WWE may soon opt to re-work his character into one that the fans can get behind.
Despite only just re-signing with the company, McIntyre has the potential to be a huge force for the next five years in the company, so his ability to replace Roman Reign's should not be ruled out.
#1 Seth Rollins
Yes, another Shield member is the most likely candidate to replace Roman Reigns at the top of the company. Rollins is hugely popular with the WWE Universe, has already built up an impressive body of work and he is currently in the prime of his career. Rollins influence can be judged by his crowd reaction's, which have been described as the best out of all the current wrestlers.
Seth Rollins is one of the most talented guys at getting himself over as either a heel or a baby-face, and the WWE would probably like him to remain the latter if they were to position him at the top of the company. It is also worth noting that it was reported just back in April that Rollins had caught Roman Reigns up in merchandise sales, so it seems that the company already has the perfect replacement during the Big Dogs absence.
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