WWE Survivor Series 2015: Top Challengers for Alberto Del Rio at Marquee PPV

The chase for Alberto Del Rio's United States Championship promises to be one of the best offerings at WWE Survivor Series 2015. Del Rio's best potential opponents at the pay-per-view all have show-stealing ability.

While Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns and others gear up for marquee matchups at the event, Dean Ambrose and others have less clear paths to get on the card. Pitting them against Del Rio would not be the midcard limbo a U.S. title bout once was.

The championship's prestige is on the rise, and Del Rio's surprise return to WWE has buzz crackling around him.

How does the company best take advantage of that? How does it assure itself a stellar match and compelling story?

Daniel Bryan is inactive. Dolph Ziggler will be busy with Tyler Breeze. Randy Orton's shoulder has kept him out of action for the past few weeks, and WWE hasn't offered any concrete info on how long to expect him out.

John Cena has been on a sabbatical since losing the title.

That still leaves a number of prime options. Former champs and Superstars on the periphery of other narratives are among those who would make the best challengers.

4. Heath Slater

The story is the appeal here. Slater never got the title shot he demanded for much of Cena's reign. Folks pushed him aside to accept Cena's challenge. Slater only ended up talking about taking on Cena.

Having him emerge once more with his mind set on taking home the U.S. title would be a fun moment.

There's a cult-following appeal to Slater. He's a lovable loser, with his failures serving as a running gag. Slater earning a spot opposite Del Rio would be a welcome surprise.

However, he's more of a wild-card option than a sure thing. That's because Slater vs. Del Rio would not be nearly as good of a match as other possible title bouts for Survivor Series.

Slater has never been a top-notch in-ring performer. Going with him would lead to a better moment than match. It'd be an exciting curveball, though, making the perennial underdog an entertaining transitional opponent for the champ.

3. Dean Ambrose

Should Ambrose take on Del Rio, there is no built-in story to proceed with other than the former wanting to be U.S. champion once again.

The appeal of the matchup lies in what would happen once the bell rings. The Lunatic Fringe and Del Rio had good chemistry with each other when they faced off last year. Their matches blended brawling and mat wrestling, creating an intriguing merging of styles.

Ambrose has built a reputation as one of the better performers working today. Del Rio has always been an artist in the ring, but he looks even better this time around, seemingly energized by his time away from WWE.

Putting those two guys together is a winning formula.

It's not clear, though, whether Ambrose is done with The Wyatt Family. Are Kane and Undertaker going to recruit him to take down the backwoods clan? If so, Ambrose will have to wait to pursue his second U.S. title reign.

2. Neville

WWE knows exactly the kind of high-quality match it would get with Neville challenging Del Rio. Those grapplers just put on an excellent show on Monday's Raw.

Neville and Mexico's Greatest Export wrestled like they had been competing against each other for years. And Del Rio's lucha libre experience bolstered the bout, as he's fully familiar with working against smaller, faster guys with a tendency to fly.

The company could have Neville look to prove himself by going after Del Rio.

So far, The Man Who Gravity Forgot has come up just short again and again. He went to the finals of the King of the Ring tourney before losing. He nearly had Cena beat for the U.S. title.  He came close to taking home the Money in the Bank briefcase this June.

Neville could talk up how much he needs a major win, and going after a guy who just beat him—a decorated champ like Del Rio—is just what he needs.

And unlike with Ambrose, there's not another feud pulling him away from a potential one with Del Rio. Neville has been teaming with Cesaro, but that's felt like more of a stopgap move than a walk in any particular direction.

1. Cesaro

Neville's current tag team partner is the best bet for Del Rio at Survivor Series.

Cesaro promises to deliver an outstanding match with the champ. He's been doing that with just about everybody lately. CageMatch.net indicates that Del Rio vs. Cesaro is a fresh matchup on top of that, something fans haven't seen since spring of 2013.

Like with Ambrose, there's a chance to have a former-titleholder-wants-his-title-back storyline here. Beyond that, Cesaro's past with Zeb Colter creates some ready-made conflict and a variety of angles to take with the story.

Colter once managed Cesaro and Jack Swagger as a tag team. The King of Swing left Del Rio's current cornerman to be part of Paul Heyman's crew. Drawing on that history would be smart.

Plus, Colter has seemingly employed an us-against-them mentality with North America and the rest of the world. According to A.V. Club's Kyle Fowle, he called Neville an entitled immigrant on last week's Raw.

WWE can run with that same line of thinking with The Swiss Superman.

Yes, Stardust has been stalking Cesaro, but not much has happened there. That can been a feud that remains on the horizon, or Stardust, Del Rio and Cesaro can all collide in the near future.

And as good as Neville vs. Del Rio would be, Cesaro's track record—including recent two recent Match of the Year candidates against Cena—speak to him outdoing his partner. The possibilities with Colter only make the decision easier.

Cesaro vs. Del Rio would be a showcase of power versus precision and technician versus technician—a contest that threatens to be the best clash at Survivor Series.