WWE: 7 Superstars Who Could Challenge CM Punk Before He Faces the Rock

CM Punk will face The Rock.

Even if we don't know when this epic match will take place, it is going to happen at some point.

There's just no way that what transpired on Raw 1000 ever would have happened if the plan wasn't for Punk and The Rock to eventually meet in the ring, likely with the WWE Championship on the line.

The huge clash could take place at the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania 29, but either way, bet your bottom dollar that it's going down.

Before Punk takes on The Rock, though, he's going to need some new feuds to keen him busy.

Here are seven superstars who could challenge CM Punk before he faces The Rock.

Note: Big Show and John Cena will NOT be on this list. Obviously, they're about to challenge Cena at SummerSlam. And yes, I know this article may be pointless if Cena or Show walks away as WWE Champion on Sunday.

7. Kane

It wasn't very long ago that CM Punk was feuding with Kane for the WWE Championship, but don't be shocked if it happens again.

Just consider what Kane's role has been so far in 2012.

Essentially, he's been a "fill-in" guy who feuds with the WWE's top superstars when they have nothing better to do at the time.

He did it with John Cena at the beginning of the year, Randy Orton at WrestleMania time and is now doing it with Daniel Bryan in a rehashed feud that already happened earlier this year.

I could easily see Kane doing the same with Punk in the not-so-distant future.

Especially since Kane's now a full-fledged babyface and Punk is in the process of going heel, a potential Kane/Punk rivalry could be one of those filler feuds in which—like with Orton and Cena—the bigger star (in this case, Punk) ultimately goes over.

After all, I don't think fans are pining to see a Kane/Punk rivalry, especially so soon after it just happened.

But Kane has enough credibility to put on this feud with Punk and make it work, assuming creative doesn't screw it up.

6. Sheamus

Right now, CM Punk and Sheamus are the WWE's two World champions, so barring an unforeseen title unification match (not gonna happen), these two probably aren't feuding any time in the near future.

But what if Sheamus drops the World Heavyweight Championship soon (likely because of a Dolph Ziggler cash-in) and Punk manages to hold onto the WWE title into the fall?

Then, this rivalry would indeed seem very possible a few months from now.

Odds are that Sheamus is going to hold onto the World title for the foreseeable future, but should he lose that belt, there's a potential money-making feud with Punk lined up for him.

As the WWE is currently situated, Punk and Sheamus are arguably the company's No. 2 and No. 3 stars, respectively, so a first-ever rivalry between the two is something that could definitely draw.

It's never been done before, and I'm not sure it'll ever mean more than it would in a few months from now when Punk is full-fledged heel and Sheamus is still as popular ever.

Plus, it wouldn't be all that shocking to see Sheamus pull a Daniel Bryan by dropping the World Heavyweight title and seamlessly transitioning into a feud for the WWE Championship.

5. Chris Jericho

Wouldn't this be weird?

CM Punk and Chris Jericho spent most of the first half of 2012 feuding over the WWE Championship, but it was Punk who was the top babyface at the time while Y2J was the despicable heel.

Yet, here we are four months after their feud ended, and Punk is going heel while Jericho recently turned face.

Although there are rumors and questions remaining about Jericho's immediate and long-term futures in the WWE, I think his next hiatus will be a short, temporary one and expect him to be back possibly later this year.

That opens up the possibility for another Y2J/Punk feud, where the script is flipped.

I'm not crazy about two guys feuding so soon after they last did so, but this one might work with two great performers like Punk and Jericho involved, especially since they've swapped sides of the fence.

The WWE may not want to go this route, but as evidenced by a boatload of other feuds in the past, it's not out of the question for two guys to have a feud not long after their last one.

4. Wade Barrett

The WWE begin airing vignettes promoting the return of Wade Barrett on last week's Raw, and one thing seems pretty clear: He's in line for a big push whenever he does come back.

It remains to be seen whether Barrett will make his return on Raw or SmackDown, who he'll be going after and whether he'll be instantly thrust into the World title scene.

But regardless of the specifics of his comeback, it's safe to say that Barrett is going to be doing big things in the near future.

In fact, it was rumored at one point that Barrett would return to challenge CM Punk for the WWE title.

In all likelihood, Punk's heel turn has thrown a wrench into those plans, but you never really know what the WWE's mindset is and what creative might do with Barrett upon his return.

After all, there is some history between Punk and Barrett, but the two have never really had a full-fledged feud.

It's pretty safe to say that that will change at some point. The only real question is when.

3. Rey Mysterio

Back in 2010, CM Punk and Rey Mysterio had a fantastic feud that resulted in a number of great matches between the two.

On last week's Raw, they faced each other again, showing that the chemistry they had developed two years ago was certainly still there.

What's this mean? That the WWE might pull the trigger on another feud between Punk and Mysterio.

I'm honestly not sure that Mysterio is viewed as a top guy right now (he's been somewhat of an afterthought sine his return), but he's another guy who could be used to put Punk over strongly.

Although most wrestling fans can agree that the chances of Mysterio ending Punk's lengthy WWE Championship are almost nonexistent, Mysterio vs. Punk is a potentially entertaining filler feud that could help Punk bide his time until he takes on The Rock and give him another notch on his belt.

As noted earlier, these two had some great bouts a couple of years ago, and there's no doubt that they could even top those matches now that Punk is a bigger superstar than he was then.

A potential Punk/Mysterio rivalry will depend largely upon how much the WWE wants to push Mysterio, but there are definitely worse things than having the high-flying superstar get another short World title feud.

2. Triple H

Yes, again.

In the summer of 2011, CM Punk was the hottest act in the wrestling business, and it didn't take long for Triple H to want a piece of the pie and start feuding with Punk.

Weirdly enough, I could see this happening again.

Now that Punk's going heel again, the stage is set for us to see Triple H vs. Punk: Part Two, especially when you consider that SummerSlam's right around the corner.

Let's say, for example, that Brock Lesnar and Triple H main event SummerSlam, Punk successfully defends his WWE title earlier in the show and then Punk interferes in Triple H's match and costs him the bout because he's pissed that he's not in the main event.

Does that really seem that unlikely? Of course not.

There's a lot of history between Punk and Triple H, and I'm not sure that their beef was ever really settled once and for all.

If they're feuding a couple of weeks or couple of months from now, I'll be the guy saying, "I told you so."

1. Randy Orton

In 2011, CM Punk and Randy Orton clashed in a WrestleMania rivalry.

The feud itself and the matches between the two were somewhat disappointing given the two superstars involved, but that doesn't mean the WWE won't let these two go at it again.

In fact, it seems very likely that that's exactly what could happen sometime soon.

With Punk now going heel and Orton recently returning, the WWE has an opportunity to put on a major rivalry between two guys who are fresher than most.

In the immediate future, Punk will be a recently turned heel while Orton will still be a popular babyface who's been missed by the fans during his absence.

The WWE can give us a feud that's already happened, sure. But things are much different now that Punk is exponentially more popular than he was during this 2011 feud and Orton only recently came back.

With Punk having faced just about every top WWE star during his current title reign (John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Big Show, Kane, Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, Alberto Del Rio, etc.), Orton would provide him with a new opponent and a feud that people would want to see.

Drake Oz is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter and ask him any wrestling-related questions on Formspring.