5 Superstars WWE will put the WWE Championship on after Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan shocked the world by defeating AJ Styles for the latter's WWE Championship on the November 13th, 2018, episode of SmackDown Live.

Styles' lengthy reign as WWE Champion (371 days) coming to an abrupt end on the go-home episode of SmackDown Live before the Survivor Series PPV, was quite shocking. However, what shocked the WWE Universe even more, was the way in which Bryan won the title.

Bryan hit Styles with one of the most brutal low-blows I've ever witnessed in recent times...Alright, perhaps not as brutal as the ones Shinsuke Nakamura repeatedly hit Styles with during their long-running rivalry earlier this year.

Regardless, Bryan incapacitated Styles with the low blow, hit him with his finisher, the Running Knee, scored the pinfall victory and became the new WWE Champion. The WWE recently confirmed that Bryan will defend his title against Styles at the TLC (Tables, Ladders & Chairs) PPV on December 16th, 2018.

Make no mistake about it, Bryan is on a hot streak right now, and is considered to be the favorite to beat Styles at TLC and retain his WWE Championship. However, "The Flying G.O.A.T." faces a murderers' row of challengers on SmackDown Live -- all of whom are hungry to win the title.

Today, we look at a select few top Superstars whom the WWE could put the WWE Championship on after Daniel Bryan...

#5 After beating AJ Styles at TLC, Daniel Bryan could lose to Styles at the Royal Rumble PPV

Daniel Bryan (left) could lose the WWE Championship to the man he won it from, AJ Styles (center)

Alright, first off, let's get the usual suspects out the way! AJ Styles was originally supposed to defend his WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan at the Crown Jewel event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 2nd, 2018.

However, Bryan allegedly refused to go to Saudi Arabia and wrestle at Crown Jewel, due to which, Styles defended his WWE Championship against Bryan on the October 30th, 2018, episode of SmackDown Live -- in a match where Styles submitted Bryan with the Calf-Crusher.

Well, despite losing "clean" to Styles, Bryan received another shot at the WWE Championship, and faced Styles on SmackDown Live (November 13th, 2018), wherein he beat The Phenomenal One and won the title...I'd like to add another important part of the equation here, that the vast majority of professional wrestling experts believe that Bryan will successfully defend his title against Styles at the TLC PPV on December 16th.

Now, although Styles may lose to Bryan at TLC, it'd only be fair for the WWE to give him another shot at the title he held for so long! The Royal Rumble PPV has historically been a special event of Styles, as he made his WWE debut in the 2016 'Rumble and faced John Cena in an instant classic matchup in the 2017 edition of the Royal Rumble event.

Out of all the people we've listed in this discussion, Styles is probably the least likely to beat Bryan right now. However, the Royal Rumble PPV (January 27th, 2019) would be the perfect time for the WWE to book Styles to regain the WWE Championship from Bryan...

#4 After teasing us for most of 2018, the WWE could finally put the WWE Championship on Shinsuke Nakamura in 2019

Daniel Bryan (left) could be on Shinsuke Nakamura's (right) radar in the weeks to come

When Shinsuke Nakamura won the Men's Royal Rumble Match on January 28th, 2018, every WWE fan in attendance for the Royal Rumble event at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was on his/her feet!

Besides, heading into WrestleMania 34 (April 8th, 2018), all signs pointed towards Nakamura defeating then-WWE Champion AJ Styles, and winning the title for the first time in his WWE career. Well, Nakamura lost at 'Mania, and turned heel by hitting a savage low blow on Styles on "The Grandest Stage Of Them All", but in the months that followed, the Japanese phenom failed to win the WWE Championship.

However, Nakamura did win the United States Title, and still holds it with pride! That said, the WWE Championship is still regarded as the biggest prize on WWE's SmackDown Live brand, and after the promotion teased the possibility of "The Artist" winning the WWE Championship for a better part of 2018; it only makes sense that they finally make him champion in the weeks to come.

I'd like to make an important point about our discussion here: Although I've listed every top Superstar and the analysis which indicates why they're likely to become the next WWE Champion after Daniel Bryan's reign ends, in my personal opinion, I'd absolutely love it if Nakamura is the one to dethrone Bryan! After all, Nakamura is a charismatic genius and deserves to hold the most prestigious title in the world of sports-entertainment...

#3 Heel Randy Orton could beat heel Daniel Bryan, and become a 14-time World Champion

Daniel Bryan (left) could fall victim to "The Viper" Randy Orton (center)

I'm going ask you an honest question now -- What's common between Randy Orton and Charlotte Flair? Well, no need to scratch your head trying to answer that question!

Both Orton and Flair are currently playing up the "psychopathic" aspect of their respective characters in SmackDown Live's ongoing storylines. In fact, both Superstars have received a ton of praise from both fans and experts alike for expertly enacting their on-screen characters -- going all out with their crazy behavior!

Orton has always been one of the most popular WWE Superstars, who also enjoys a great amount of mainstream notoriety, partly due to the "Randy Orton RKO Outta' Nowhere" memes and videos that was one of the biggest talking points on the internet about 4 years back, and still is quite popular.

Besides, with AJ Styles unlikely to defeat Bryan, and Samoa Joe currently dealing with a few nagging injury issues (Joe continues to wrestle despite dealing with minor injuries), the WWE will surely be looking at the possibility of Orton beating Bryan for the title...In case Orton beats Bryan at either the Royal Rumble PPV (January 27th, 2019), Elimination Chamber (February 2019), Fastlane (March 2019), or WrestleMania 35 (April 7th, 2019), he will become a 14-time World Champion.

Orton is already a 13-time World Champion (having won the WWE Championship 9 times, and the World Heavyweight Title 4 times)...

#2 Lars Sullivan or The Miz could defeat Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan (left) could lose the WWE Championship to The Miz (center) or Lars Sullivan (right)

The reason Lars Sullivan has been included in this discussion of ours, is because "The Freak" is undoubtedly due for a huge push when he debuts on the main roster. However, I must note that in order to win the WWE Championship, Sullivan has to be assigned to the SmackDown Live brand rather than the RAW brand.

There's always the chance that Sullivan ends up on RAW, and well, if he does end up on RAW, I believe he won't be able to beat the red brand's reigning kingpin Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title. That brings me to someone who is currently a SmackDown Live Superstar, The Miz!

Now, over the past few days, the professional wrestling world has been busy with speculation that The Miz could be involved in a WrestleMania 35 storyline with Shane McMahon -- with The Miz rumored to be turning face, and facing Shane O'Mac in a match at 'Mania.

However, let's face it, wouldn't you want to see a babyface Miz take on the heel version of Daniel Bryan? This is a feud that has been years in the making, and although they did face each other earlier this year, their feud seemed rushed and involved a few other Superstars such as The Miz's wife Maryse and Bryan's wife Brie Bella.

Don't be surprised if the WWE books a babyface Miz to feud with this villainous version of Bryan -- with The Miz possibly beating Bryan and winning the WWE Championship either at the Royal Rumble (January 27th, 2019) or WrestleMania 35 (April 7th, 2019)...

#1 Jeff Hardy could win the WWE Championship, more than a decade after he first won the title

Daniel Bryan (left) could drop the WWE Championship to Jeff Hardy (right) at the Royal Rumble PPV or at WrestleMania 35

I'd like to note a few stats here before we expound on this topic. Jeff Hardy has won the WWE Championship only once in his career thus far -- back when he faced Triple H and Edge in a Triple Threat Match at the Armageddon PPV on December 14th, 2008, wherein he scored the pinfall victory over Edge to win the first World Championship of his professional wrestling career, the WWE Championship.

Alright, now that we're done with the stats, let's move forward! Considering that Hardy's WWE Championship win came on December 14th, 2008, the fact remains that it'll be approximately a decade later that he now finds himself in a position to once again win the WWE Championship.

Now, although Hardy did capture the World Heavyweight Title (Big Gold belt) in WWE twice in 2009, before leaving for TNA (now--Impact Wrestling) and winning the TNA World Heavyweight Championship 3 times, the significance of the WWE Championship is undeniable.

I'd like to assert that if the promotional higher-ups don't put the WWE Championship on Orton or The Miz (who, I believe, are the best bets to dethrone Daniel Bryan as the champion); Hardy is perhaps the likeliest candidate to become the next WWE Champion.