Who Is the Best Opponent for Brock Lesnar If He Returns to WWE?

Kofi Kingston name-dropped Brock Lesnar on Monday's WWE Raw. The Beast Incarnate hasn't appeared for the company since his match with Drew McIntyre last year at WrestleMania 36. 

The former WWE champion's contract expired in August 2020, but it would make sense for WWE to open up the checkbook and have Lesnar return now as the company recently dumped several names, including Braun Strowman, who stood to make over $1 million per year into 2023, according to Fightful Select (h/t James Holder of Inside the Ropes).

Could Vince McMahon and Co. be freeing up some capital to sign Lesnar to a massive new deal?

That certainly seems plausible, and Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Live (h/t Ringside News) suggested it was no coincidence that the crossover star came up on WWE programming. With a live crowd in place for SummerSlam in August, this would be as good of a time as any to bring The Beast back into the fold.

So, who could stand toe-to-toe with the man who ended The Undertaker's streak at WrestleMania 30? Here are the five best opponents for Lesnar if he returns to WWE.

Finn Balor

Finn Balor has had an incredible resurgence with NXT, reminding fans why he was so highly touted when he joined Raw in 2016. However, the inaugural universal champion will inevitably return to the red or blue brand to continue his career.

After his second reign as NXT champion, it wouldn't be a stretch to say he could challenge for a world title upon arrival. This could put him on a collision course with two men he has beaten in the past: Bobby Lashley or Roman Reigns. But he could also face a returning Lesnar, with whom he had a great match at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view in 2019.

The Irishman recently spoke highly of that bout during his appearance on Out of Character with Ryan Satin (h/t Jeremy Lambert of Fightful.com), so it wouldn't be hard to imagine he would be game for a rematch:

"Then there's Brock Lesnar, which was one of my favorite matches, but it was a short match. The feeling in the ring that night felt like....you go through all these days of hard work, pressure, the grind, and traveling to get to a moment where you're completely free and at ease. That was one of those nights in there with Brock. If I could bottle that feeling, I could sip it for the rest of my life and be happy."

Balor is one of the smaller guys Lesnar performed well with, so this could be a matchup worth revisiting.

Keith Lee

Lesnar shocked the WWE Universe in 2020 when he chose to enter the men's Royal Rumble match as the first entrant, but he racked up 13 eliminations before Drew McIntyre managed to throw him out of the ring en route to his win.

During The Beast's rampage, he was taken aback by entrant No. 13, Keith Lee. Four days prior, The Limitless One defeated Roderick Strong to become the NXT North American champion and then had a star-making showing at Survivor Series, where Roman Reigns offered his hand in a show of respect.

These two behemoths had an epic staredown and a brief exchange that sparked the imagination of fans. This was the first glimpse at what Lesnar vs. Lee could look like, and it's a matchup we need to see eventually.

This entry seems far off for the time being because the former NXT champion hasn't been seen since February. Still, WWE has to pencil him in as an opponent for The Beast when or if he returns.

Kofi Kingston

On the season premiere of SmackDown on Fox in October 2019, Lesnar unceremoniously ended Kingston's 180-day reign as WWE champion in mere seconds.

There is no getting around it: This was a disappointing way to end the first African-born flag-bearer's tenure after such a feel-good moment at WrestleMania 35. Even worse, The New Day man never got a rematch or a chance to prove he could hang with The Beast.

It's one of the most baffling decisions in recent memory considering the story WWE told for the better part of 2019 with the Ghana-born Superstar. So, it's bittersweet that he finally attempted to regain his title over a year later and reminded Drew McIntyre that he never received another one-on-one match.

If Lesnar returns, WWE has to right this wrong and give Kingston another chance to face him. Even if he loses, he deserves a chance to test his mettle against the man who handed him such a humiliating loss.

Roman Reigns

This entry is a no-brainer. In Lesnar's absence, Reigns has stepped up to make the Universal Championship more relevant than it has ever been with The Beast's former advocate by his side.

In many ways, Lesnar represents the last vestiges of The Tribal Chief's struggles as the company's top babyface. It took Reigns a year to dethrone his rival, but he finally did so at SummerSlam in 2018 when he won the universal title for the first time.

Unfortunately, this reign was cut short when he was forced to take a hiatus due to serious illness. Although The Head of the Table has redeemed himself during his second tenure, he still stands in the shadow of the three-time universal champion.

With a total of 686 days under his belt, no one can deny that Lesnar is more synonymous with the mantle as its longest-reigning torchbearer. Even more, no other competitor has given Reigns so much trouble.

With the aforementioned connection to Paul Heyman, these two are bound to face each other if the former MMA fighter returns to WWE. It just makes too much sense, and the storylines practically write themselves.

Bobby Lashley

Although Reigns makes perfect sense, one could argue that Bobby Lashley is the best opponent for Lesnar.

For starters, this is a fresh matchup that many fans have been dying to see since The All Mighty came back to WWE in 2018. Even more, he has made it clear on more than one occasion that this is his dream match and the main reason he returned.

In March, the WWE champion continued to be vocal about this potential showdown with The Beast. During an interview with Khal of Complex, he goaded Lesnar in preparation for his match at WrestleMania 37:

"A lot of people also throw some other names in the hat. One person that we haven't seen for a long time is Brock, we don't know where he is. 'Sup with him? Everybody thought about that fantasy matchup with me and Brock for so many years. Well, I got the WWE Championship. He's going to come back, [and] he'll usually come back for a title. Anything can happen from now until then.”

Of course, Lashley didn't face The Beast at The Showcase of the Immortals, but it would be a real shame if they don't cross paths during his first reign with the WWE title.

And it may not be that far off. SummerSlam seems like an ideal destination for this match if the company does re-sign the eight-time world champion, giving The Biggest Party of the Summer a huge draw.