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Brock Lesnar is once again the Universal Champion. After we all thought we had seen the last of the evil part-timer champion who didn't give a damn about the company, the Beast is back on top, and back off our screens.
The shocking news of Roman Reigns and his battle with leukaemia rocked the WWE to its core and forced a huge change in plans for the main event scene on Raw. At Crown Jewel, Lesnar regained the Universal title vacated by Reigns in a sad and frustrating squash match against Braun Strowman.
The fact that WWE needed Lesnar to hold the gold again just shows the absolute lack of legitimate main event talent they have made besides Roman Reigns. The lack of faith shown in the current roster of full-time talent has boiled down to their absolute failure to create new stars.
A few of them are on the cusp of greatness, but none of them is here yet. Strowman could be a valid argument but again, he got squashed in a match he really should have won. WWE has no choice but to push multiple superstars into the main event picture.
They spent such a long time building up Reigns to dethrone Lesnar but forgot to give anyone else the spare keys to the kingdom. After the Big Dog finally won the Universal Championship, it looked like it was finally time to build the top of the Raw roster back up. However, we are back to square one.
WWE needs to pick the right guy to take the title from Lesnar, the guy who will lead Raw into this new era of great talent. There are a few superstars who could be considered to slay the Beast once and for all, but who is the most likely one?
#4 Braun Strowman
The decision to not put the big red belt on Braun Strowman was a bizarre one, surely having a full-time wrestler as champion over a part-timer is the way to go. However, there have been reports that Strowman is working hurt so perhaps that has factored into Lesnar's title victory.
Maybe the ultimate plan is for the Monster Among Men to finally topple the part wrestler-part UFC fighter. He certainly has been the number two star on Raw for the past two years and it seems like a natural progression for him to win a world title. Hopefully, his knee injury does not hamper his prospects in a major way.
Strowman won the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, seemingly guaranteeing himself a Universal Championship win. He did not even need the briefcase to become a world champion. However, it all went terribly wrong.
Strowman's cash-in turned out to be a waste when Lesnar invaded Hell in a Cell. Once he gets his knees fixed, Braun Strowman will have the all clear to finally vanquish the ghost of failing to beat Brock Lesnar. It would be a logical and perfect end to a feud that seems to have gone off the rails in the past week or so.
#3 Bobby Lashley
When Bobby Lashley returned to WWE, it seemed like one of the prime objectives of his second run with the company was to have a one-on-one match with Brock Lesnar. It hasn't happened yet and the thought of it seemed dead and buried after Lesnar lost the Universal title.
However, the Beast's victory at Crown Jewel has rejuvenated the possibility of this match happening. Lashley turned heel in October, alongside new manager Lio Rush. So far, the pair has garnered a fair amount of heat from the WWE universe. The cruiserweight would be a fantastic speaking foil for Lesnar's advocate Paul Heyman and the match would surely be a hard-hitting one.
So far, Lashley's current run has been somewhat of a disappointment. But a feud and match with Lesnar would certainly revitalise him, more so than his partnership with Rush. The match would be a unique one, with two heel powerhouses going at it. Lio Rush bumping for the Beast would also be one hell of a sight to see.
It will be a huge deal if Bobby Lashley is the one to end Brock Lesnar's reign of dominance on Raw, as he finally fulfils the massive potential he showed 13 years ago. It all depends on how far WWE is willing to push the Dominator.
#2 Seth Rollins
Back when Brock Lesnar was Universal Champion for the first time, the one person people were clamouring for to dethrone the Beast was Seth Rollins. After WrestleMania when Lesnar was happily sitting at home with Raw's world championship, Rollins took on the mantle of being the top male champion on the Red brand.
His Intercontinental title open challenges were a constant highlight of Raw, having great matches with the likes of Elias, Finn Balor and Kevin Owens. He has also gotten ridiculously over with the crowd over the course of the past year.
Rollins has taken multiple shots at the part-time champion, foreshadowing a possible title showdown. The last time the pair met in a match, Rollins was being manhandled by a babyface Lesnar before The Undertaker interfered.
This time, the match would be different. It would be similar to the Beast’s matches against the likes of CM Punk and AJ Styles. Seth Rollins has been the WWE Champion before, winning the title from Lesnar at WrestleMania 31. He certainly is equipped to do so again, this time as the most popular babyface in the company.
#1 Drew McIntyre
Out of every promising upper-card wrestler on Raw, one has been booked much stronger than everyone else. Drew McIntyre entered the main roster scene during the Superstar Shakeup in April, pairing up with Dolph Ziggler.
The Scotsman has single-handedly turned Ziggler's career around in terms of relevance and has brought a new ruthless attitude to the main roster. After three years away from WWE, McIntyre joined NXT and won the NXT Championship on the night before SummerSlam in 2017. He has had a very steady and organic climb to the top of the card.
The Scottish Psychopath looks like a million bucks every single time he steps into a WWE ring. He is a big guy but can do everything in the ring. McIntyre has had multiple great performances on Raw against the likes of Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose.
Currently, he has been having beef with Braun Strowman and could very well take him out to write the Monster off WWE TV. This week on Raw, McIntyre took on Kurt Angle in a match which eerily resembled Brock Lesnar's squash of Hulk Hogan. The Scotsman made Angle tap out in extremely impressive fashion. If that does not prove that WWE has big plans for him, what will?
Drew McIntyre is very much in pole position to be the first ever UK-born world champion in the WWE and he could very well get there. He is all set to conquer the Beast and become the next superstar to carry Raw on his massive shoulders.
