Brock Lesnar - Who's next?

Brock Lesnar has disappeared from WWE television after his victory over Triple H at Extreme Rules. Since the former UFC champion is only on a limited number of dates, it is unlikely that he would appear before SummerSlam. With his long-drawn out feud with Triple H thankfully over, a lot of names have been thrown up for his next possible opponent.

Lesnar works an extremely physical style of wrestling, and many of the smaller wrestlers wouldn’t be believable opponents against him, unless the WWE increases the intensity of these smaller stars, as most of their best performers are far smaller than Lesnar.

A match against Lesnar is huge deal for a superstar, and it can raise the stock of a superstar or add another storied chapter to the successful career of another. Lesnar is already a lock to face CM Punk and the Rock in the future, so they won’t be included in the names given below.

Lesnar’s possible future opponents should be:

Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho is a near 15-year veteran of the WWE and one of their greatest of all time. If memory serves me right, Jericho never faced Lesnar in a serious feud during Lesnar’s initial run. The feud has the potential to be an excellent one, in the mould of Lesnar vs Angle. A big powerhouse against a smaller, nimble and technically proficient athlete.

Imagine the battles on the microphone between Y2J and Paul Heyman! Two legendary heroes going back and forth, and the crowd would obviously be behind Jericho. Jericho is one of the few who have the ability to keep up with Lesnar, and would be able to fight back using his own strengths, despite the large size difference. After all, Jericho has successfully wrestled the likes of Batista, Kane and Big Show in the past.

Randy Orton

Despite his bland, stagnant babyface character, Orton is still one of the most over wrestlers in the WWE. Having rotted in mid-card hell for nearly two years now, Orton would be itching at the chance to have a big feud again, and who better to face than Brock Lesnar. Orton and Lesnar are two of the most successful superstars the WWE has produced in the last decade, and despite Orton’s fall from glory, the crowd still cares about him.

I’m quite unsure of how a feud between them could possible start, but given Orton’s wide range as a performer these days, you can be sure that he has the ability to make this a good watchable feud. Plus Randy also has a certain mainstream appeal to his name, and a match between Orton and Lesnar has a certain monetary appeal to it, instead of watching Lesnar fight Triple H again and again.

Daniel Bryan

One of the most popular wrestlers in the WWE today, and he is certain to get back into championship contention again. Bryan might be smaller than most, but he has a very aggressive style when he wrestles, and that is certainly required to make him a believable opponent to Brock Lesnar.

Bryan is a superstar that the WWE can really make money of, and need to start marketing him that way, after a year in the tag team division. Facing a superstar of Lesnar’s stature would certainly take his career to the next level, and a strong showing against the Next Big Thing would do wonders for his career. Bryan’s underdog status would be much greater against such a physical opponent, and a victory would only be that much more treasured and valued.

Also given how much better he has become on a microphone, a duel with Paul Heyman would again only serve to help Bryan’s cause.

So whom do you think Brock Lesnar should face in the future?