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WWE NXT UK Superstar WALTER's historic NXT United Kingdom Championship reign finally came to an end this past weekend at NXT TakeOver 36.
The Austrian star was defeated by NXT UK's Ilja Dragunov in a match that many members of the WWE Universe are already hailing as the match of the year.
The defeat marked the end of WALTER's incredible 870 day NXT United Kingdom Championship reign. Now that he is no longer the champion, many pundits and fans are questioning what is next for WALTER in WWE.
Currently residing in Europe, WALTER has stated that he does not want to move to the United States of America several times in the past. This would effectively rule out any long term run on RAW, SmackDown or NXT.
However, after dropping the NXT UK Championship, some are speculating that WALTER may have softened on this stance and could soon be seen on Monday Night RAW or Friday Night SmackDown.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at some WALTER matches we would want to see on the WWE main roster.
#5 Current WWE Intercontinental Champion King Nakamura
Shinsuke Nakamura has seen a resurgence on Friday Night SmackDown in recent months.
The former NXT Champion recently became the WWE King of The Ring after defeating former King Baron Crobin on an episode of Friday Night SmackDown on FOX earlier this summer.
King Nakamura then continued this momentum into capturing the WWE Intercontinental Championship for the second time in his career. This came after he defeated former champion Apollo Crews on a recent episode of SmackDown.
In addition to being the "King of WWE," Nakamura is often referred to as "The King of Strong-Style" by many in the world of professional wrestling.
Arguably nobody hits stronger or harder than WALTER. The former NXT UK Champion's physical and stiff matches have become the stuff of legend. WALTER's brutal chops are often replayed on social media in the days after his matches.
Some of Shinsuke Nakamura's greatest matches in his career have come in New Japan Pro Wrestling when the style is incredibly stiff and physical. WALTER and Shinsuke Nakamura could put on a stiff match rarely seen on WWE television should they eventually face off.
#4 Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor
Former WWE Universal Champion Finn Balor is finally back on the WWE main roster.
After appearing on the main roster for two and a half years, Finn Balor returned to WWE NXT in the fall of 2019. Balor reinvented himself in NXT, turning heel and gaining a much needed edge to his character.
This run resulted in Finn Balor capturing the NXT Championship for the second time in his career. However, it became clear that Balor had accomplished everything he needed on NXT and the Irish superstar returned to SmackDown in July.
There had been plans for WALTER and Finn Balor to have a match during Balor's time in NXT. The NXT UK TakeOver Dublin show in April 2020 was rumored to have WALTER vs Finn Balor as the main event of the show for the NXT UK Championship.
However, the event was postponed and later canceled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps WWE can finally deliver the much anticipated WALTER vs Finn Balor match on the main roster. With WALTER still based in Europe, it's not out of the realm of possibility that the match could be presented during a future European tour.
#3 Current WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns
Current Universal Champion Roman Reigns is experiencing the run of his career on Friday Night SmackDown.
The Tribal Chief has held the WWE Universal Championship for close to a full calendar year and shows no sign of dropping the championship any time soon.
Roman Reigns has recently defeated the likes of Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, Edge and John Cena to retain his WWE Universal Championship. Now that Brock Lesnar has returned at SummerSlam, it appears that another showdown with The Beast is on the horizon.
However, many do suggest that Roman Reigns is rapidly running out of credible opponents to defend the Universal Championship against on Friday Night SmackDown.
Should WALTER move to the main roster, the Austrian star would pose a serious and credible threat to Reigns' Universal Title reign. Not only would WALTER be a breath of fresh air on SmackDown, but he would also be an opponent that Roman Reigns has never faced before.
#2 Current WWE Champion Bobby Lashley
WWE Champion Bobby Lashley is currently dominating on Monday Night RAW.
Since capturing the championship in March, The All Mighty WWE Champion has defeated the likes of Drew McIntyre, Kofi Kingston and WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg to retain the title.
However, an issue for Lashley on RAW is the lack of credible top contenders for the All Mighty WWE Champion to face off against. WALTER would certainly be an opponent that would be more than credible to square off against Lashley.
Bobby Lashley recently retained the WWE Championship in one-sided, dominant matches against Kofi Kingston and Bobby Lashley.
It would be incredibly interesting to see if he could assert the same type of dominance against the former NXT United Kingdom Champion WALTER.
#1 Former WWE Champion Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar made his shocking return to WWE this past weekend at the SummerSlam pay-per-view event.
Lesnar appeared after the conclusion of the Roman Reigns vs John Cena Universal Championship main event, staring down both Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman.
This marked Brock Lesnar's first appearance on WWE television since appearing in the main event of WrestleMania 36 Night Two in April 2020.
For years, many fans have called for a dream match scenario between Brock Lesnar and WALTER inside a WWE ring.
The physical and hard-hitting style of both Lesnar and WALTER would seemingly make for an all-time classic between two WWE Superstars who have never competed against each other before.
Whilst a match between the two does appear unlikely, now that Lesnar is back in WWE, anything is possible.
