5 wrestlers who could be top babyfaces on Smackdown after recent events

Last week's Smackdown shook things up atop the main event card of the Tuesday night brand.

The two top faces of the brand, AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan, have been slated for decidedly different roles going forward.

Styles is in the midst of negotiating a new contract that will see his dates reduced a la Randy Orton's last few contracts.

The grind of being the champion for over a year took its toll (much like Samoa Joe suggested during their feud) and Styles wishes to spend more time with his family. If that's the case, he might not be as featured as he had been once his rematch/feud with Bryan over the title ends.

In the match between Styles and Bryan, Bryan effectively turned heel when he kicked Styles below the belt. He confirmed as much on this week's Smackdown with his promo of how the 'Yes Movement' is over. He ran down the fans during the promo and appears to be one of the top heels on the brand going forward.

So with the top two babyfaces effectively leaving in one way or another, who are left to pick up the slack atop the card?

Here are several options that could do so.

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#5 Rey Mysterio

Rey will always be one of the most popular stars in WWE history.

Bryan is going to need challengers after Styles, and Mysterio is likely to be one of them. Although his best days are behind him, he's still super over with the crowd and can still put on an entertaining match.

The styles of Bryan and Mysterio would mesh well with fast-paced action and technical wrestling. It would be a huge change for Bryan getting to portray the 'bigger' wrestler in a potential feud.

Mysterio is currently embroiled in a feud with Randy Orton, but that should hopefully be over within the next two months.

They wouldn't have brought Mysterio back if they didn't still think he could have some use and a short run atop the card while Bryan is a heel champion could help stem the tide.

He likely won't win the title but there aren't exactly a ton of face options left on Smackdown as things currently sit.

#4 Jeff Hardy

Jeff Hardy is one of the few credible faces on Smackdown that could challenge Daniel Bryan

Not too long ago, reports suggested that Jeff Hardy was injured, leading to the reason why he ultimately dropped the United States Championship to Shinsuke Nakamura.

But over the last two months, however, he's been very active. Competing at Crown Jewel and Survivor Series, as well as his numerous matches on Smackdown with Orton, have kept him quite busy.

He might not have been too severely injured as previously believed or perhaps it was just speculation or might also still be working hurt.

Another reason why he dropped the belt to Nakamura could be because they wanted to get the belt from Orton to Nakamura without the two heels needing to feud.

Whatever the case is, Hardy is still a huge fan favorite despite his advancing age and the damage that has been done to his body.

He's viewed as one of the top stars on Smackdown, hence his inclusion in the Best in the World tournament debacle. Hardy vs. Bryan would be a good feud but would seem like the ending with Bryan winning would be a foregone conclusion.

Bryan will probably hold the belt until at least Wrestlemania 35 and he will need feuds to keep him busy until then.

A feud with Hardy is a good place-holder until the Showcase of the Immortals rolls around next April. Hardy wouldn't lose anything if he's soundly defeated by Bryan and Bryan can say he beat one of the main offenders of pandering to 'the people'.

Hardy, Rusev and Mysterio are three of the biggest fan favorites on the show and Bryan's platform as a heel champ seems like it will likely involve running down the wrestlers that the fans love.

Hardy certainly fits the bill.

#3 Rusev

Rusev Day is always ready and waiting for a push.

No matter when he shows up or how he is booked, Rusev will likely always be over with the fans.

His 'Rusev Day' gimmick isn't on par with the 'Yes Movement' but it's another sign of a wrestler who got over organically with the crowd.

He had great matches with Chad Gable, AJ Styles (for the title), Andrade Almas and Bryan himself, and always delivers in the ring.

He hasn't had a huge role lately on Smackdown but could easily be thrust into the main event for a feud with the American Dragon.

Bryan can compare the 'Yes Movement' with 'Rusev Day' and say that its time is up once he defeats Rusev. He's one of the few wrestlers that might get the entire crowd to cheer for him against a heel Daniel Bryan.

The clock is ticking on Rusev as a WWE wrestler. He's stated his frustrations with his place on the roster several times before and he might not be the most-loved guy backstage by creative anyways.

They still probably hold the whole 'engagement to Lana' fiasco against him as well as the flip-flopping of facing and not facing the Undertaker at the Greatest Royal Rumble.

If creative just stuck with him during the height of the 'Rusev Day' gimmick, they might have created another main-event star.

Instead, it might have run its course with the Aiden English feud.

#2 Big E

Big E and Daniel Bryan displayed fabulous chemistry during their time together in the gauntlet match this past summer

This might take a lot to happen, but Big E, along with the rest of the New Day, are already hugely over with fans.

They're talent on the mic and their ability to shill merchandise will also always keep the New Day fresh in the minds of WWE creative.

They can only have so many feuds with the Usos/Bar over the tag titles before their feuds are seen as stale. They already are to me.

Therein lies the perfect opportunity to have Big E either leave the group to strike out on his own or have the whole group declare that they're shifting their focuses to the WWE Championship.

They are one of the few groups of faces left who could match his wits on the mic and in the ring with Daniel Bryan, but Big E is the most likely to get a serious singles' push.

He's always been a favorite of the boys in charge and he had a good run in the gauntlet match on Smackdown prior to Money in the Bank.

The gauntlet match was to give us AJ Styles' next challenger for the title at Money in the Bank and Big E started the match against Bryan. The two started the gauntlet match and had excellent chemistry. Both are technically sound but it was Rusev who ultimately won the title opportunity against Styles.

Whenever a singles title opportunity is up for grabs and the New Day is involved, Big E has usually been involved.

Kofi Kingston is great as a midcard face as is Xavier Woods. Big E is the main threat of the New Day and he has plenty of charisma to stand alone if need be.

#1 The Miz

The Miz and Daniel Bryan will always be perfect foils for one another.

The most logical challenger left for Daniel Bryan that is currently on the Smackdown roster is his longtime rival, The Miz.

I used to dislike the Miz due to his reality television beginnings but he's done such great work over the last five or six years.

While the Miz is always fantastic in his role as a heel, things might be shaping up for a face run in the near future.

Bryan has always been the face whenever the two have feuded, but he's now a bearded heel champion. The Miz has actually seemed like he's making a slow turn to the side of the light recently.

His willingness to work with Daniel Bryan during the lead up to choosing Survivor Series teams was one example. His praise for Shane McMahon this week on Smackdown was another out of character moment for the A-Lister.

Normally after such a disastrous showing at Survivor Series the old Miz would have run down the GM of the show. Instead, he praised him and even wanted to be in a tag team with Shane.

The subtle seeds of a face turn are being planted and it's likely to set up a Wrestlemania program with his mortal enemy.

The Miz is best as a hated heel when his wife Maryse is around. She hasn't been on the show since the last feud with Bryan. If Miz does turn to the face side of things, he might have more options for feuds going forward also.

When you're aligned one way or the other for so long, the options of opponents often get exhausted.

Any push for Miz towards a potential WWE Championship match at Wrestlemania 35 would be a nice move for a superstar who has shown tireless devotion and loyalty to the WWE.

He's one of the longest-tenured WWE superstars yet has only had one World Championship reign. He deserves another.