5 WWE stars who could replace Seth Rollins as Raw's top babyface

In January 2019, Seth Rollins established himself as the top babyface on the WWE roster after winning the Royal Rumble to become the No.1 contender for Brock Lesnar’s Universal Championship.

The following night, he received some kind words in the middle of the ring on Raw from his long-time mentor, Triple H, while the chants of “Slay The Beast! Slay The Beast!” from the Phoenix crowd were as loud as you will hear in modern-day WWE.

Despite keeping up that momentum until WrestleMania 35, where he defeated Lesnar to win the Universal Championship, there is no denying that the former Shield member has struggled to retain a large amount of support that he had earlier this year.

Once again, “The Beastslayer” finds himself in a situation ahead of SummerSlam where he has to defeat Lesnar in order to win the most prestigious title on Raw. However, on this occasion, he can no longer boast the momentum that he previously had before WrestleMania, as proven on the August 5 episode of Raw when fans barely reacted to his defiant promo after yet another beatdown from Lesnar.

Moving forward, the most obvious outcome at SummerSlam appears to be for “The Beast” to retain his title, with Rollins moving away from the Universal Championship picture to open up a spot for somebody else to take on the role as the top babyface on Raw.

So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at five Superstars who could become the next main crowd-pleaser on WWE’s flagship show.

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#5 Ricochet

Ever since Paul Heyman started his new behind-the-scenes role as the Executive Director of Raw, Ricochet has been positioned as one of the most featured Superstars on the show.

Previously, “The One and Only” received plenty of television time in his makeshift tag team with Aleister Black and in a brief one-on-one rivalry with Robert Roode, but it felt like he was being somewhat overlooked as a mid-card member of the roster.

Judging by the last few weeks, it would appear that those within WWE have big plans for the former NXT Superstar, especially after he was originally booked to appear in Seth Rollins’ place in the segment with D-Generation X and The Kliq at Raw Reunion in July.

Right now, it looks as though the former United States Champion will be used in a similar role to how Finn Balor was presented during his time on Raw, but it is not too far-fetched to wonder if he could soon be sky-rocketed to the main-event scene.

#4 Bray Wyatt

Okay, so there is absolutely nothing about “The Fiend” that tells you that he is a babyface, but you only need to listen to the weekly crowd reactions to know that fans are invested in Bray Wyatt more than any other Superstar right now.

On Sunday, the one-time WWE Champion will go head-to-head with ultimate babyface Finn Balor, but who will the majority of fans be cheering for? Not Balor, who is due to take a two-month sabbatical after SummerSlam. They’ll be cheering for Wyatt.

After the PPV, it will be interesting to see which direction WWE will go next with Wyatt’s “Fiend” character. Will he continue to attack legends, just like Mick Foley and Kurt Angle, whilst feuding with a babyface at the same time? Or will he be catapulted straight to the main-event scene?

Given the amount of momentum that the former Wyatt Family leader has built up in recent months, there would be few better challengers to face heel Brock Lesnar after SummerSlam than Wyatt.

#3 Becky Lynch

The next main babyface on Raw does not necessarily have to be a man – it could be “The Man” instead.

There is an argument to be had that Becky Lynch is already the top babyface on Raw, given that she has maintained much of the support that she gained in the build-up to her historic Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championship triumph at WrestleMania 35.

But, from a storyline perspective, it is clear that WWE has prioritised Seth Rollins and the Universal Championship over the former Shield member’s real-life girlfriend and her reign as Raw Women’s Champion over the last few months.

Realistically, is a rivalry with Natalya going to be deemed worthy of getting Lynch back to the main-event level? No. However, if this storyline leads to the return of Natalya’s training partner, Ronda Rousey, then there is no doubt that “The Man” will be presented as the top babyface on Raw once again.

#2 Roman Reigns

“I’m not a bad guy. I’m not a good guy. I’m THE guy!”

Those words, said by Roman Reigns following his WrestleMania 32 victory over Triple H in 2016, cemented “The Big Dog” as WWE’s most polarising figure.

Despite the clear attempt by WWE’s decision-makers to tell the audience that Reigns is not a “good guy”, it has been made obvious over the last few years that the four-time WrestleMania main-eventer should be viewed as one of the main babyfaces on the roster.

It has taken a while for Reigns to work his way back into the top spot on WWE television following his return from battling leukemia earlier in 2019, but he now has a lot more momentum than Seth Rollins heading into SummerSlam, which is crazy to think when you consider that he does not even have a match at the PPV.

With a rivalry with Daniel Bryan and Rowan lined up, it is safe to assume that Reigns will play a huge part on Raw and SmackDown Live as a top babyface after SummerSlam.

#1 Braun Strowman

Like Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman has not been booked to compete in a match at SummerSlam.

The reason why is unknown – he defeated Bobby Lashley in a Last Man Standing match at the previous pay-per-view, Extreme Rules – but a likely explanation could be due to the fact that WWE is looking to use him as more of a ‘special attraction’ moving forward.

It is worth noting that the first episode of Raw under Paul Heyman’s leadership kicked off with Strowman and Bobby Lashley charging through an LED wall, causing multiple explosions in the process, and it was reported in July by Sportskeeda’s Tom Colohue that Heyman is a big fan of “The Monster Among Men”.

“The idea is to get Strowman back to his roots as a monster, just destroying everything in his path. He hasn’t been used as effectively as he could be.”

Given that the 2019 Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal winner is not due to have a match on Sunday, perhaps we could see him return to his monstrous antics as a top babyface after the PPV on Raw.