Extreme Rules is set to feature one of the most entertaining main events in recent years. Raw will be sending out five of the biggest stars in WWE to compete in the same match and determine the first challenger for Brock Lesnar’s Universal title.
Every Superstar in it has a case to be number one contender. Each one has held one of WWE’s top titles at one time or another, with Joe having been NXT champion, Rollins being NXT and WWE champion, Reigns and Wyatt being WWE champion, and Balor being the first ever Universal champion.
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So there’s clearly a worth cast of Superstars vying to challenge the Beast Incarnate. But still, as always, some candidates are more worthy than others. For some guys, it may just not be there time. For others, they may just not be as realistic of a challenger to Lesnar as others.
That’s why this list is going to rank the Superstars in this match from least to most likely to win. So, who could we see taking on Lesnar for the Universal title, and who stands virtually no chance? Let’s get into it.
#5 Samoa Joe
For Samoa Joe, this is just a case of wrong place, wrong time.
Joe vs. Lesnar is a dream match for a lot of people. It would be a clash of two titans who have no problem hitting their opponents as hard as possible. They make every match feel brutal and realistic, so it would be a treat to see them face off against each other some day.
But that day will likely not be anytime soon. Since coming to the main roster, Joe has gained little to no momentum. Hopefully, it’s just a matter of time before he’s booked a little better, but so far the former NXT champion has fallen into the background a bit.
If Joe somehow managed to win this Sunday, it wouldn’t be a shock because he lacks the talent. He has all the talent in the world. It would just be a shock that WWE suddenly decided to make him relevant despite losing most of his important matches since being called up.
A win for him would feel awkward and out of place right now. Joe absolutely has what it takes to challenge someone like Lesnar in the future, but it’s going to take a little time before he feels credible enough on the main roster to do so.
#4 Bray Wyatt
WWE has abruptly dropped plenty of storylines in the past and expected fans to just forget about it. The problem? Fans have pretty good memories, and when a feud just ends for no apparent reason, it makes things pretty awkward.
One such storyline is the Wyatt Family vs. Brock Lesnar. Despite Bray and company attacking Lesnar on Raw and eliminating him from the Royal Rumble, we never saw Wyatt vs. Lesnar at any point, and it was never mentioned again.
Now if continuity were something WWE took seriously, maybe Wyatt would actually stand a chance in this match. But it’s not, and the former feud between the Beast and the Wyatts hasn’t even been mentioned since the fatal 5-way was announced.
Couple that with the fact that Bray nearly always gets the short end of the stick in big matches and you quickly realise he has one of the worst chances to win this match out of anyone.
He’s only above Joe in this list because of the slim chance WWE decides to re-hash the dropped storyline. That and Wyatt’s “down with the machine” schtick perfectly aligns with the task of trying to take down a guy like Lesnar.
But again, how many times has Wyatt actually come out on top in big matches? Don’t expect anything to change at Extreme Rules.
#3 Seth Rollins
If Seth Rollins wins at Extreme Rules, it would not be the first time we’ve seen him take on Brock Lesnar with a world title on the line. We’ve seen this before when Rollins hijacked the title at WrestleMania 31 and Lesnar chased it before becoming occupied by the Undertaker.
This time, the roles would be reversed in a couple of ways. First, Lesnar is the champion, and it would be Rollins chasing the gold. Second, the fans would actually be rooting for Rollins this time around rather than rooting for his slimy, annoying face to be punched in so hard it comes out the back of his head.
And since things would be so different this time around, it could prompt WWE to pull the trigger. It wouldn’t feel like a recycled story, and it would be our first opportunity to root for Rollins to win a world title since turning face.
Rollins is by no means the most likely Superstar to win this match, but unlike Samoa Joe and Bray Wyatt, he does have a pretty good chance. WWE has shown a willingness to put him in plenty of big spots, and a feud with Lesnar would be yet another one.
Also read: 5 surprises that could happen in the Extreme Rules Fatal 5-way
#2 Roman Reigns
If you’re a wrestling fan and you’ve spent any amount of time on the internet in the past year, you probably know WWE wants Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns at some point. With Reigns being an even bigger star than he was when he and Lesnar faced off at WrestleMania 31, this is a money feud, and WWE knows it.
The question is when it will happen? Will WWE wait until WrestleMania 34 to pull the trigger on it? Or could they do it sooner, perhaps at SummerSlam which is just a few months away?
The latter is probably what fans are most hopeful will happen. The idea of Lesnar holding the title all the way until next April is unappealing to say the least, so why not get the ball rolling on this feud in advance of the second biggest PPV of the year?
The biggest argument against doing it now is Reigns’ ongoing feud with Braun Strowman. Strowman’s hurt right now but is expected back soon. And if he goes after anyone but Reigns when he comes back, it would be a big surprise.
However, WWE’s willingness to abandon storylines can’t be underestimated. And even if they don’t abandon it altogether, they could always insert Strowman into a potential showdown between the Big Dog and the Beast.
Reigns is certainly one of the most likely challengers to Lesnar’s title, but there is one man who is more suited to take him on right now.
#1 Finn Balor
Finn Balor seems to the Superstar best positioned to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal title. He’s fully healthy, he has no other feuds to worry about, and to top it all off, Paul Heyman himself specified that he’d like to see Balor vs. Lesnar above all other possible matchups.
WWE pushed Balor harder than they’ve ever pushed anyone when he came up from NXT. He won every match, including defeating Roman Reigns clean on Raw, en route to facing Seth Rollins for the Universal title. Then he won that too, becoming the first ever Universal Champion before he had to relinquish it due to injury.
WWE obviously loves Balor and has big plans for him. Whether they’re ready to pit him against Lesnar right now is a different story, but it certainly wouldn’t be much of a surprise.
The fact that Heyman endorsed Balor this past Monday on Raw should tell you all you need to know about Balor’s odds to win on Sunday. With that kind of segment being put on TV, at the very least Balor is going to look like one of the two strongest Superstars in the match.
And at the very most, Balor could end up as the first challenger to Lesnar’s Universal title. Could the Demon King finally have the chance to recapture the championship he never lost? We’ll find out at Extreme Rules.
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