#2 Samoa Joe
The second name on this list is a more familiar name to the WWE Championship picture in the recent months. Joe has had a long-standing feud with Styles during the summer wherein he displayed his exceptional promo skills. The feud was portrayed to be extremely personal and did make Joe look like a legitimate contender for the title.
However, with three losses to Styles in Summerslam, Super Show Down and Crown Jewel respectively, Joe's credibility as a challenger has been dented. WWE might still be inclined to continue with this feud given the Styles and Joe's chemistry on and off the ring.
Samoa Joe has been one of the most intimidating wrestlers in the WWE with his impeccable work on the microphone as a heel and his unrealistic athleticism. Joe's work during his feud with Brock Lesnar in 2017 introduced us to his prowess as a main-event star.
Samoa Joe could easily be considered as someone who should have been a Universal Champion or a WWE Champion a long time ago. However, his momentum has been derailed on multiple occasions due to injuries and might resist the WWE upper management to give the title to Samoa Joe.