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Seth Rollins is the man of the hour, now and forever. Ever since completing his redemption arc with a heartfelt reunion with Dean Ambrose, Rollins' babyface stature has grown and grown. It's come to a point where Rollins is the most loved man on the RAW roster and the babyface superstar WWE desperately hopes his big brother Roman could be.
That all aside, ever since his show-stealing hour-long performance on a RAW gauntlet night, Seth has raised the bar each and every night en route to a terrific Wrestlemania victory against the Miz and Finn Balor. In the process, he picked up from where Miz left off in making the Intercontinental championship the most relevant in WWE today.
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Aping former rival John Cena's hit United States Championship Open challenge format, Rollins has had quite a few thrilling matches against some unlikely competition. Yet WWE has barely scratched the surface of the concept, with few more stars in the wings that Rollins could share some tough fights with.
After last night's RAW he proved it, bringing the best out of Jinder Mahal in a match that unfortunately got cut short. It seems Rollins might deal with Jinder Mahal and Elias in the meantime, but who's next is always an interesting question.
So here are seven exciting superstars Rollins should tackle next.
#7 Drew McIntyre/Dolph Ziggler
This one's a bit of a cheat, but it's difficult to determine the kind of role Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre will play on the RAW roster. For all purposes, they are a tag team but one that has so far tangled with singles stars/factions rather than dive deep into the tag team division itself.
McIntyre's hotly anticipated face off with Braun Strowman highlights that there's something bigger in the works for the former chosen one. Meanwhile, this partnership has revitalized a fledgeling Dolph Ziggler, giving him a fire that once deemed him the show-off.
Anyone of these two would provide an interesting foil for Rollins. When fighting the authority, Dolph had some interesting run-ins with Rollins including a high-octane Survivor Series final that saw the men put it all out.
In contrast, the new and improved McIntyre has yet to step into the ring with Rollins, but both men are so capable you can't expect anything less than greatness. Exciting doesn't even begin to define it.
#6 Chad Gable
Proving that he can truly hang, Chad Gable had a string of phenomenal singles matches at the tail end of his Smackdown run alongside the likes of AJ Styles. It's proof that despite his diminutive stature and management's lack of real faith in him, Gable could be what Jason Jordan couldn't for management.
The same issue currently plagues Seth Rollins, despite being a favoured Top Superstar allowed to flourish with the top RAW championship that is still there (Where's Brock after all?). Rollins is unable and disallowed to step out of the shadows of Roman Reigns, even though he is far more popular among fans.
It's funny though both Chad and Seth also share Jason Jordan in common. However, none of that matters as both men could put on a firecracker of a match, the underrated terrific kind Rollins had in the middle of his WWE championship run against Neville. As with Cena's open challenge, Rollins challenge could be a proving ground for a terrific talent in limbo like Gable.
#5 Roman Reigns
Many fans do choose to forget that between his tired return to the top at this year's Wrestlemania season, Roman Reigns was revitalizing his career with a somewhat muted but still great Intercontinental title run. In fact, it was Reigns who first revived Cena's much vaunted Open challenge with stellar bouts against the likes of The Miz and Samoa Joe.
He had a wild mesh of styles to compete with and proved that if it weren't for WWE's terrible booking of him and Vince McMahon's manic wrestling style preferences Roman could definitely be a worthy big dog. Reigns'character has pretty much been hurt by management despite being in his favour, but a match against Rollins might remind some, how stellar he is in the ring despite his past few matches.
More often than not extensively profound matches between the two former brothers have not occurred apart from Money in the Bank in 2016 and to see Rollins and Reigns tear the house down once more would be fun. Plus it might even be helpful if this led to Roman's much-needed heel turn.
#4 Andrade 'Cien' Almas
Considering its implications on the modern dayWWE landscape, Money in the Bank has gone from a match to a full-fledged pay-pe-view and is now pretty much considered the little brother of WWE's big four PPV's. In that instance, despite being co-branded, Money in the Bank is the only one along with probably the big four that features RAW and Smackdown superstars facing off.
hence, why not take it one step ahead and have Seth Rollins (who lacks an opponent for the PPV) issue an open challenge for the Intercontinental championship, only to face down a Smackdown superstar. It would create for instant drama especially if a fan favourite like Almas stood up to Seth to give him a run for his money.
An anticipated dream match, the two could light the PPV on fire in a high-octane contest favouring their similar yet contrasting styles. To see Rollins face of Almas is a big deal and there's only so much time fans can wait before WWE inadvertently ruin their latest NXT graduate.
#3 Ricochet
If not a Smackdown superstar, I'm sure WWE wouldn't mind an NXT prospect mixing it up with one of their top players on RAW. Ricochet came to WWE with a bang, on the back of a stellar run across the indie especially among the New Japan Juniors and as the face of Lucha Underground.
Ricochet is melding well into the world of NXT, but if one thing his detractors have always held against him is that he is pretty much a standard high flier unable to tell a story in the ring. His stellar contests against Will Ospreay caught the same flak a few years ago, despite the thrills those matches provided.
Going head to head against an experienced veteran like Seth Rollins who was once in the same place Ricochet was in, the youngster could learn a few things about melding his fast-paced style with some storytelling technique. The fun in seeing an NXT superstar mix it up with Rollins, like Cena did during his challenge with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens is a tantalizing idea.
#2 Jason Jordan
It seems inevitable that once Dean Ambrose returns he will collide with his former partner Seth Rollins. Now, hether that will be straight away or after a prolonged time teaming together, is up for debate. However, the path to a Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan match or even rivalry is a bit unclear.
Before his injury, there were rumours stating Jordan tackle Rollins at Wrestlemania, during his growing megalomania phase. The injury might have derailed these plans with his imminent return subtly hinted through the growing tensions between a heroic Chad Gable and the McIntyre/Ziggler duo. If Jordan is to return and reunite with his former American Alpha partner, there's doubt if WWE ever fully acknowledges his time with Rollins.
Regardless, even in a normal open challenge match, seeing Jordan go one on one against Rollins would be worth the treat. Jordan despite his terrible character, is a stellar in-ring talent who can match Rollins hold for hold. Their styles will mesh perfectly to put Rollins past an open loop in both their current arcs.
#1 Finn Balor
As mentioned that Rollins vs Ambrose inevitable, adding that to the list might seem redundant especially since we've seen the contest multiple times in the past. Don't get me wrong, the duo has an exciting chemistry that Rollins also shares with Finn Balor.
While his pursuit of the Money in the Bank briefcase might be a roadblock, WWE has been building towards a full-blown rivalry between the two leaders of two of modern-day wrestling's greatest factions, since WrestleMania. If Balor were to hopefully turn heel, he could tap into that side of his that made him a real rock and roll in Japan.
With that added edge, Finn and Seth can add to their already a grand number of fights bringing to full circle the lost story of Finn's revenge over his injury at the hands of Seth that not only cost him the Universal championship but his mojo as well. They've had quite the epic battles and a few more would be the icing on the cake.
Who would you like to see challenging Seth Rollins for the Intercontinental title? Let us know in the comment section below. You can also send us news tips at [email protected].
