Analyzing the top 5 contenders for Jeff Hardy's United States Championship

The United States Championship went from Smackdown to Raw and back to Smackdown on this year's Superstar Shakeup, as champion Jinder Mahal returned to Monday Night Raw and saw Jeff Hardy capture the gold and take his title with him to the blue brand. The shakeup has revitalized both brands and Smackdown Live in particular seems to have multiple stars who can work in both the WWE Championship picture or the United States Championship picture.

Jeff Hardy has a title defense against Jinder Mahal at the Greatest Royal Rumble, but the title is unlikely to change hands once again. With Jeff Hardy extremely over with the WWE Universe right now, the championship scene looks extremely intriguing with all the talent that Smackdown Live has acquired.

For clarity purposes, we will list the top five possible contenders for Hardy's strap, and we will then analyse each competitor and how a feud with the incumbent may play out.

#5 Randy Orton

The familiar foes are most likely to cross paths again.

On Smackdown Live, Jeff Hardy interrupted Randy Orton and walked past him as he was answering Shelton Benjamin's open challenge. This could lay the seeds for a possible rivalry over the US Title in the coming weeks.

A heel Randy Orton would make this feud an absolute barnburner. Orton can turn by attacking Hardy for that very insulting gesture on Smackdown Live, showing how insecure he is of being upstaged. This dynamic would go great with Jeff's perennial fighting-from-the-ground-up character, and the two can put on a very compelling feud.

The feud that the two had over the WWE Title in 2008 was great of course, but both wrestlers were in their prime then. Orton's slow and methodical style would mesh well with Hardy's high-octane offense and that would build a great match too, as the calculating Orton will try and control the pace, whereas the fast moving Hardy will try to break that and overwhelm Orton with quick and effective offense.

This will definitely be much better than Orton's dragging feuds with Bobby Roode and Jinder Mahal.

#4 Shelton Benjamin

A feud with Hardy could be the kick that Shelton Benjamin needs.

As Shelton Benjamin cut a great heel promo on Smackdown Live, telling the crowd that he didn't need former tag team partner Chad Gable, but it was actually vice versa, we saw a new Benjamin. It is easy to forget how talented he is, both on the mic and in the ring.

Unlike Orton vs Hardy, Benjamin vs Hardy would see two very similar styles be used against each other. That absolutely guarantees car crashes for matches, provided they are allowed to let loose on each other. Benjamin can also use his wrestling background in these matches, keeping Hardy down and minimizing his offense and controlling the bout.

The promos would be extremely intriguing, as Benjamin can be portrayed as someone wanting to regain his influence and clout over the WWE Universe as one of the best wrestlers in the company. They will have to tread this line carefully though, as they may just start showing Benjamin as the Smackdown Live equivalent of Dolph Ziggler. If executed correctly, Hardy and Benjamin could actually be one of the best feuds WWE can offer us.

#3 Rusev

One can only hope.

From how over the Bulgarian Brute has gotten, this may just be the maximum that the WWE would be willing to push him. WWE are extremely reluctant to unlock the potential that Rusev Day actually has. A feud with Jeff Hardy for the United States Championship may just be the best that Rusev gets.

Rusev is a former US Champion himself and it can be easily forgotten that he actually had a good reign as champion. Apart from his regular squashing of Jack Swagger, his program with Cena was actually good, despite the outcome. He would be the perfect heel to partner against Jeff Hardy.

Rusev can use his brutish style against Hardy to pummel and beat the high flyer. A fight back from that is something that may be a common route WWE uses but it works nonetheless, especially when you have Jeff Hardy selling the offence. Whether or not WWE put the title on Rusev again is a different story, but the potential that this feud can have is limitless provided that WWE allows them to work to their strengths.

#2 Andrade 'Cien' Almas

The five-star man himself.

Even though an argument can be made that Almas needs to go to a more high profile feud than fight for the midcard title, he needs to work his way up the Smackdown Live hierarchy, as many casual viewers wouldn't know about him. Inserting this supremely talented up and comer against the grizzled veteran Jeff Hardy would be a very intriguing storyline, especially because it's multi-faceted.

This feud can have the traditional old guard vs new guard feel to it, which would get the story over with the crowd. Considering how beloved both men are, Almas will need to go extra heel in this story to make him more despicable. Zelina Vega would be the perfect manager to help Almas get the edge over Hardy in their interactions.

Hardy can show how his superior experience helps him get the edge in their first few matches; however, if the story can build to a point where Almas conquers the veteran and takes the belt with him, this could be an absolute belter of a rivalry and something that WWE should really consider.

#1 Samoa Joe

The Samoan Submission Machine vs The Charismatic Enigma?

It is but obvious that Samoa Joe is a main event player. There is no reason why he should fight for the secondary championship on Smackdown Live, especially after his recent promos against Roman Reigns. He is one of the best on the mic and one of the best in-ring. However, the WWE Title seems to be heading into a long term AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura direction. With Daniel Bryan entering a feud with either The Miz or Big Cass, this is one of the best options for Joe in the interim.

It is high time that Joe gets the monster Strowman push, and it lines up perfectly that he gets said push on Smackdown Live. Using Jeff Hardy as his first foe is one of the best directions that the company can go in.

Joe can be shown as this unstoppable machine that wants gold around his waist. That can be perfectly portrayed if they show him on a relentless pursuit of the United States Championship. He can choke Hardy out to win it, and continue that dominance in his title defenses. Hardy is an essentially bulletproof commodity for WWE, and rebuilding him after this won't be an issue.

Starting Joe's new tenure on Smackdown Live like this would be the perfect situation, as Seth Rollins and Finn Balor have proved that fighting for a midcard title is not a demotion if you can generate the buzz required. Samoa Joe is money, and he will make this title money.