Thursday, October 2, 2014

Top Ten Thursday: Potential Brock Lesnar Opponents

With Brock Lesnar working a part time schedule, we only get a few matches from him. We've seen him wrestle Triple H and John Cena three times. I want no more of that. No more Big Show either. I'd love to see new matchups, like his SummerSlam classic with CM Punk. So here is my list of ten guys that I'd love to see him wrestle for the first time ever. Some are realistic, others aren't. Oh well. That's the fun.

10. The NXT Five

This is one of the more unrealistic choices on my list and yes, I'm cheating by putting five guys here. It's my list though. Adrian Neville is the one I'd least like to see face Brock. However, Sami Zayn would bump like a madman for him and he can have great matches with anyone. I've yet to see much of Finn Balor but I hear great things. Hideo Itami is fantastic and hits hard. I'd be very intrigued by a match between Brock and him. The number one choice from this list is Kevin Steen. I've seen this dude have complete wars before and that's exactly what a match between him and Brock would be. War. 

9. Bray Wyatt

For sure, this would be an intriguing battle. I'm not sure if their styles would mesh well since Bray Wyatt has only really had a handful of matches that standout to me. Actually, only about two. But they were with Daniel Bryan and Sheamus, two guys who can work their ass off. Brock is similar as he can go. While I would be interested in a program between two, the matches may not work as well since Brock is all about dominance. I doubt this will happen since both are heels and Bray has fallen pretty hard lately.

8. Roman Reigns

Easily one of the more realistic choices on this list. Roman Reigns is pegged to be the WWE's next big star although he did fall victim to a hernia injury. He was starting to receive some backlash from the fans so the injury might be a blessing in disguise. He gets time away and absence makes the heart grow fonder. He can come back, possibly win the Royal Rumble and if Brock Lesnar is still WWE World Heavyweight Champion, dethrone him at WrestleMania 31. He would be the one to beat the one in twenty one and one. That's at least the way I've seen it going for a while. Roman still has in-ring improvements to make, which is what puts him lower on this list, but this would probably be fun.

7. Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho is one of those guys that can always be counted on to produce good matches. His stuff with Bray Wyatt was good but not great and his match with Randy Orton recently was good but had no heat. A legitimate feud with Brock Lesnar would of course get good heat and Jericho can be counted on to produce a good match with him. I'm not sure if Jericho can handle the physical war with Brock at his age, but I'm sure it would be really good. I would've loved if he earned a title shot at Brock before he left. That didn't happen though and this match probably never will.

6. Cesaro

Coming out of WrestleMania XXX and being paired with Paul Heyman, a LOT of people on the internet clamored for Brock/Cesaro at SummerSlam. Of course, the Heyman experiment failed and Cesaro was relegated to the SummerSlam Kickoff show. Cesaro needs a TON of work on his character but man, a match pitting him against Brock would be a physical war and I am dying to see it. This is another that I doubt would happen due to Cesaro's placement on the card but I can dream can't I?

5. Seth Rollins

I nearly lost my mind at Night of Champions when the above photo happened. Seth Rollins came very close to cashing in Money in the Bank on Brock Lesnar and winning the WWE World Heavyweight Title. Again, this is a match that I'd love to see but I don't think will happen except for a cash in. Seth Rollins isn't turning face anytime soon and neither is Brock. Both guys are technically working for the Authority and if any member of that team is turning face, it won't be these two. It will be the next guy on this list. Regardless, this would more than likely be a fun and interesting match as Seth would bump seriously for Brock.

4. Randy Orton

Randy Orton's heel turn has disappointed heavily. He wanted to turn heel for so long and once he did, it fell flat. He lost all of the edge that made Orton cool. Now there are rumors of him turning face on the road to WrestleMania and the only way that would work is if he got back to his "Viper" roots. That vicious Randy Orton would make a great opponent for Brock Lesnar. I would love to see this match and I've wanted it since Brock returned in 2012. When Orton is motivated there are few guys who are better than him. A major program with Brock Lesnar should be enough to motivate Randy into a top notch performance.

3. Dean Ambrose

The single hottest act in pro wrestling today is Dean Ambrose. When he left to film a movie, Raw became a chore to watch. He returns and spices things up, at least when he's on screen. A match between him and Brock Lesnar would be a chaotic brawl. Ambrose is magnetic to watch and would be one of the few character who would challenge Brock without a care in the world. I could see him doing any and everything to get his hands on Brock even though he knows that he'd get beaten up. It would make for compelling television and that's all I can ask for.

2. Sheamus

A move to the mid-card has hurt the possibility of a Sheamus/Brock Lesnar match. I never even thought of this until I watched their Slam City episode together. I was instantly thinking "this would be a great match." Adding to that, since Sheamus returned at the 2014 Royal Rumble, he has developed a more strike based offense and has had some hard hitting contests. His two Pay-Per-View matches with Cesaro this year have been brutal. He would be one of the few guys that I could see taking it to Brock as much as Brock takes it to him. I need this match to happen but it won't unless Sheamus gets a build back up towards the top.

1. Daniel Bryan

I know that Daniel Bryan just had neck surgery. I know that he probably can't take the physical beating that a Brock Lesnar match brings with it. I know that this is probably unrealistic due to those circumstances and I understand that. It's still a dream of mine. Once Brock Lesnar ended The Undertaker's streak and Bryan won the WWE World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania XXX, I felt that a clash was inevitable. Bryan got injured which changed things but they would have a war. I've seen Bryan take physical beatings against the likes of Samoa Joe, Nigel McGuinness and Takeshia Morishima. While none of those guys are Brock, Bryan knows how work with brutal opponents and this would be great.