Projecting Top Contenders for Daniel Bryan's WWE Title at Extreme Rules

Heading into the Extreme Rules pay-per-view next month, fans may be wondering: Just who will be the next challenger for Daniel Bryan's belt?

People in management should actually have a few interesting options for the spot right now.

Following his sensational—and Streak-ending—victory over The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXX, Brock Lesnar's stock in the company has arguably never been higher.

At the beginning of the year, manager Paul Heyman spoke up vociferously about how wholly deserving his client was of a title shot. Is it now time to revive this angle again?

Credit: WWE.com

The arguments for it are strong.

Lesnar vs. Bryan would be a new match—at a time when WWE don't have too many fresh options for pay-per-view. And the storyline would be compelling, too: Can the underdog Bryan once again overcome the odds, or is Lesnar just too powerful an opponent?

Throw in the unrivaled vocal skills of Heyman, and this could be a fantastic, big-drawing feud.

Of course, one potential problem is that Lesnar would almost certainly have to win at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view to maintain his WrestleMania momentum. Is WWE's booking crew prepared to put an end to Bryan's title reign so quickly?

Credit: WWE.com

A more obvious—and frankly, rather dull—challenger would be Triple H. On Monday's Raw “The Game” was absolutely irate over his WrestleMania loss to Bryan and appeared keen to rectify things.

Could he put himself in a match with Bryan at Extreme Rules for the belt?

Let's hope not. While the two men work well together—their WrestleMania clash was superb—it's hard to see anyone getting that excited at the prospect of another singles rematch.

Randy Orton and Batista may be better choices.

Credit: WWE.com

Batista would probably be the better option, especially since WWE has finally gotten on board with him as a heel (it really has no choice after he flopped so massively as a babyface at the beginning of the year).

Thanks to his gaudy fashion sense, obnoxious mannerisms and smug, arrogant attitude, Batista has thrived as a heel in the past, so there’s no reason he can’t do so again.

Could “The Animal” take the spot at Extreme Rules? It's an appealing idea.

Orton, meanwhile, would be a good choice, but following their lacklustre program last year, it remains to be seen whether there’s any real potential in another Bryan/Orton storyline.

Following his WrestleMania victory, the challengers seem to be lining up for WWE’s new World Heavyweight Champion. Can he fend them off and go on to have the long reign many feel he deserves?