In terms of crossover stars, there aren't many if any bigger than Brock Lesnar. The Beast Incarnate has conquered both the UFC and WWE for years now, switching back and forth whilst still managing to maintain the highest level of quality. Hell, even a bout of diverticulitis didn't slow the guy down.
But all good things do eventually come to an end, and there's going to come a day when Brock decides that enough is enough and he'll call time on his second tenure in professional wrestling.
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Whether people will see it as a success or not is a debate for a different day, as we are going to be questioning something a little more important than that. What we want to talk about is who could be the next Beast for Paul Heyman to manage in the WWE.
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Now whilst there are a lot of contenders within the company itself, for something this big we should be looking outside of the squared circle - towards the Octagon.
With Brock's most dominant period in sports entertainment coming off the back of his run as an MMA fighter, it seems only logical to consider that the UFC would be the best place to look for his replacement.
So with that being said, let's take a trip into the depths of mixed martial arts and see which five UFC fighters could replace Brock Lesnar as Paul Heyman's Beast.
#1 Daniel Cormier
In terms of character, Daniel Cormier has more than everyone on this list combined. The UFC's Light Heavyweight Champion knows how to sell fights and if that wasn't enough, his ability inside the Octagon is almost flawless.
The former amateur wrestler has a similar background to Brock and is a known fan of the business, so it makes sense.
Determining whether or not he has the right look for Vince, however, is a different matter entirely. In order for DC to succeed inside of a WWE ring, McMahon and friends would have to book him in a way that allows the WWE Universe to see how he can pick his opponents apart.
Also read: 5 MMA Heavyweights That Would destroy Brock Lesnar in a WWE Ring
Brock is great, but Cormier is a different sort of animal.
That's not to say one is better than the other, but Cormier would be able to get under the skin of the audience with ease and that in itself is a great sign. When you piece together that he has all the skills necessary to thrive in an entertainment based setting, it really is a no-brainer. Mr Heyman, meet Mr Cormier.
Onto another man who's look may initially throw some higher-ups off.
#2 Mark Hunt
Now this would be personal. Mark Hunt, the man who was defeated by Brock Lesnar at UFC 200 before the decision was overturned, would be a solid choice to replace Brock. First off, he doesn't need to say a word because his absolute dominance inside the ring would do the talking for the king of walk-away knockouts.
Second of all, there's a great story there. Hunt realised that nothing in this life comes easy and is still harbouring a severe hatred for Lesnar, so he decides to take his place atop the pedestal of WWE.
In doing so, he brings with him a brutal style that sees the New Zealander knock out superstars left, right and centre.
You could have him switch between babyface and heel because, in reality, the fans would likely start cheering him like there's no tomorrow. Then again, it seems likely that Heyman could get Hunt over as a bad guy within two minutes. Either way, you just know Hunt would be entertaining.
We move from one personal matter to another big one.
#3 Cain Velasquez
Boy oh boy, this would be tough for Brock to swallow. Cain Velasquez, the man who took Lesnar's UFC Heavyweight Championship and gave him the scar under his eye, could do great things as Heyman's Beast.
Whilst he may be one of the weaker choices on this list, Velasquez' style would be very much based around mat work and pounding his opponents until they can no longer get up.
You likely aren't going to get anything fancy from Cain as was the case with Brock, but that doesn't mean you aren't going to enjoy yourself watching him.
Heyman could spin some utter gold on the stick by insinuating that Velasquez was always the better man and whilst it may not be a long lasting partnership, it would certainly be profitable.
Who knows, maybe it could even lead to a future Lesnar return in order to build up a solid storyline. The match itself may not be too great and fans would probably criticise WWE for somewhat 'copying' the UFC, but you can't deny that it would draw in some casual fans.
If anything, you could make it a strong style type bout. That's like printing money.
From a former world champ to the current one.
#4 Stipe Miocic
The Cleveland hero Stipe Miocic has more charisma in his little finger than half of the WWE roster. Now, that may be an overstatement, but nobody can argue that Stipe being a part of professional wrestling wouldn't be bucket loads of fun.
The Heavyweight Champion of the world is forever growing his image both in and outside of MMA, and WWE seems like the natural next step.
If he were to be brought over it would make sense to cast him as a babyface, but then again, given his appearance and ruthless nature in the ring, it wouldn't be too difficult to make him a monster heel.
Miocic is a smart businessman and granted it would be an odd transition at first, the end product would make everything worth it.
Stipe's somewhat resemblance to Vladimir Kozlov may throw the WWE Universe off the idea, but in the grand scheme of things what matters is his ability to draw. The guy has a wild fanbase and it's getting larger and larger with each passing week, which begs the question - why have WWE not reached out to him for a bigger appearance yet?
#5 Andrei Arlovski
The legend Andrei Arlovski just screams "natural heel", with his look and past dominance inside the octagon backing up that persona. The guy would be an instant heat market in the company and whilst he may not appear to be as large as Brock, he's still an intimidating figure.
The 37-year-old Belarusian has done it all in UFC, and one of the big things left for him to attempt could be a run in professional wrestling. Some may believe that it won't exactly suit Andrei, but he has all of the credentials necessary to have a pretty good go at it.
Plus, and this can't be understated, Paul Heyman's influence would fix a lot of problems.
Just picture it now. Arlovski loses his next fight against Francis Ngannou and then in the weeks following WrestleMania, he pops up with Heyman as a no-nonsense businessman who transforms into a fighting machine once he is given an opponent. The story writes itself and he's young enough to get some serious legs out of it.
UFC, WWE - whatever it may be, they aren't as different as some people may choose to assume.
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