Brock Lesnar's Next Opponent After WWE Survivor Series Isn't on the Main Roster

After a one-sided loss to Goldberg at Sunday's Survivor Series, Brock Lesnar is now embroiled in what is arguably his most intriguing feud to date.

There's a good chance that WWE hasn't seen the last of Goldberg vs. Lesnar.

WWE has demonstrated a familiar pattern of Lesnar return matches with opponents such as Triple H, John Cena and The Undertaker. Goldberg likely won't be an exception. 

But moving forward, it will be more productive for Lesnar to feud with an up-and-coming star, and one who isn't even currently on the main roster. Lesnar will hardly be damaged by even a dominating loss to Goldberg. The former WWE and UFC champion has suffered equally devastating losses throughout his athletic career with not a scratch on his drawing power. 

Whenever his feud with Goldberg ends, this drawing power can be transferred to an NXT hopeful who is more than ready for prime time. The two most ideal candidates to battle and potentially slay Lesnar, are NXT's championship program: Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura. 

Both Nakamura and Joe have shined throughout a lengthy main event program that has spanned two NXT TakeOver specials. Zack Zimmerman of ProWrestling.net praised their rematch from NXT TakeOver: Toronto, calling it a "very nice match" with physicality that "felt in line with the story these two have built."

Both are seasoned veterans who have no functional reason to continue toiling in NXT. Both NXT Superstars are well into their 30s, so time is of the essence in terms of not only promoting them to the main roster but immediately making it work. 

And while Nakamura does have a brief history with Lesnar, Joe is the ideal choice to battle him, as it would represent a simulated heavyweight bout. Joe's very physical style is reminiscent of Lesnar's mixed martial arts offense and would be a believable choice to defeat Lesnar.

Joe has not been shy about potentially facing Lesnar in a high-stakes match.

In a recent interview with this writer for Forbes, which was conducted ahead of SummerSlam, the Samoan Submission Machine admitted he was pulling for Lesnar to defat Randy Orton: "For selfish reasons, I’d like to see Brock stand tall until I get my hands on him... I’d like to see Brock pull through so I can get my shot at him.”

A surprise Royal Rumble appearance helped launch AJ Styles to superstardom, and while a similar template couldn't hurt Samoa Joe, putting him straight into a program with Lesnar would immediately legitimize him to more mainstream fans. 

After over a year in NXT, it's time for Joe to move on. His shocking NXT title victory indicates he'll be sticking around, but at the same time, Joe is set to defend the championship in Australia. Whoever emerges from NXT's tours of Australia and Japan without the NXT Championship should be a shoo-in to leave for the main roster. 

There is hope yet. 

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.