Who Should Beat Roman Reigns for the Title? Reacting to WWE Fans' Popular Picks

Credit: WWE

Welcome to the Bleacher Report pro wrestling mailbag.

The B/R community has always been outspoken, especially when it comes to opinions on professional wrestling and its biggest stars.

We will answer your questions and react to your hot takes about WWE, All Elite Wrestling and the world of pro wrestling.

This week's question: Who should be the person to take the unified world title from Roman Reigns? Answers included everyone from talents who are currently in NXT to legends who would have to come out of retirement. 

Check out what the B/R community thought.

"Cody Rhodes." (@lbuckner, @rthomp75, @DantheMan82 and more)

One of the top responses to our crowdsourcing post was Cody Rhodes, and it's easy to see why he is such a popular choice.

Management gave him a big reintroduction to the WWE Universe at WrestleMania 38 and appears to be treating him as a top star moving forward, but the story behind the win is what would make it work.

The American Nightmare has voiced his desire to win the WWE Championship to honor his late father, Dusty Rhodes. His first promo was all about wanting to hold the belt that his dad never officially won, so WWE has a built-in storyline that the fans will love.

Dusty was a beloved figure in pro wrestling who continued to influence the business for years after he retired from the ring. He was a world champion, but never in WWE.

Rhodes' brother, Dustin, was never able to win that honor, either, so the former All Elite Wrestling star finally achieving that goal would be a feel-good moment. 

Seeing as Rhodes never won the AEW World Championship, WWE giving him the belt would also establish that it is willing to push former AEW talents who sign with the company in the future. 

"Jey Uso." (@mljenkins83, @rynohammer, @dondrebarnes and more)

I was pleasantly surprised to see so many people say Jey Uso should be the one to dethrone Reigns. While I don't think it's something WWE could do right now, it is something it could work toward. 

At one time, the crowd was firmly behind Jey in his feud with Reigns. They put on some incredible matches and told a fantastic story that remains one of the highlights of The Tribal Chief's entire title reign.

Once Jimmy returned from injury and The Usos won the SmackDown tag team titles again, all hopes of a singles run for Jey seemed to come to a screeching halt.

As much as I think the story and payoff would be worth it, I do not see WWE giving the honor of dethroning one of the longest-reigning champions in modern pro wrestling to his cousin. Management is going to give that moment to someone with a little more name recognition as a singles star.

However, Jey being the one to cost Reigns the title and initiate a family feud that has nothing to do with the belt seems like a real possibility. 

"Solo Sikoa." (@truthsupreme606, @NxSoulxN, @jacobschiller and more)

Seeing a lot of people mention Jey was a little surprising, but seeing several people say Solo Sikoa should be the one to dethrone Reigns was outright shocking.

For one thing, the 29-year-old has barely been in WWE for a cup of coffee. He is still in NXT and still establishing himself to the WWE Universe.

It would take way too long to get him ready, call him up and push him hard enough to justify taking the belt from Reigns. By the time all of that happened, The Tribal Chief will have lost the title to somebody else.

A better option would be adding Sikoa to The Bloodline as its midcard star. Having him win the Intercontinental or United States Championship for the stable would make them one of the most dominant factions in WWE history. 

"Demon Balor." (@stevev44, @lordlamb2, MrFr3sH11 and more)

It's hard to say what Finn Balor's future holds after losing the U.S. title on Monday, but he is somebody WWE could easily build back up into a top contender.

The last time Reigns battled The Demon, WWE set up the ring so the turnbuckle collapsed and cost Balor the match. It was a weird booking decision that baffled and upset fans.

The Prince is a great babyface who is capable of working against opponents of any size. It's obvious WWE values what he brings to the table, so he is one of the people I see being a realistic possibility.

After losing the U.S. title to Theory, Balor should take some time off and return in a month or two to begin setting up a program that could culminate in a SummerSlam main event on July 30. 

Having the Irishman defeat The Tribal Chief would give The Biggest Party of the Summer a huge moment that the majority of the WWE Universe would love. 

"The Rock." (@travisbrockie, @BBruins1, @ggfl1 and more)

Even though WWE has made no mention of The Rock returning, and he has always played coy about it, many people expect him to be the one to take down Reigns at next year's WrestleMania 39.

The downside to a huge match like that would be having to watch The Tribal Chief dominate the competition for another year. His run has been fun, but it needs to end sooner than next April or people will turn on the company.

A match as big as The Tribal Chief vs. The Great One doesn't even need a belt to make it special. Their star power would be more than enough to sell a stadium's worth of tickets. 

If WWE wants to book Rocky vs. Reigns at 'Mania, it should have somebody win the title before then so management can have a big championship match one night and a marquee bout between the two cousins on the other. 

"Bron Breakker." (@BigBlueD)

Bron Breakker is the shiny new toy in NXT who seems destined for greatness, but it's way too soon to give him a world title on the main roster, especially if a light shove from Joe Gacy is enough to push him off of an elevated platform. 

"Matt Riddle." (@JoeLuisi, @Ddaven01)

I will pay WWE a nominal fee to ensure this does not happen. 

"AJ Styles." (@RazorbackMyrick)

AJ Styles has been one of the MVPs of WWE for years. He would be an excellent choice as the babyface who overcomes the heel faction and wins the world title. 

"Brock Lesnar." (@caedonbachman)

This might cause a riot. A lot of fans are tired of seeing Brock Lesnar with a title and that was when there were two belts. If there is just one world title, WWE needs to keep The Beast away from it for quite some time. 

"Drew McIntyre." (@killerkid24, Ddaven01)

If WWE was going to use Drew McIntyre in this spot, it would need to spend a few months building him back up into the same dominant badass who beat Lesnar in five minutes in 2020. 

"The Brooklyn Brawler or Duane Gill." (@Rbm1961)

You might joke, but the side of me that likes to watch the world burn would cheer so hard for The Brooklyn Brawler beating Reigns. 

"Anyone but Goldberg, please." (@yousefzadehj)

This is a sentiment I can support. Goldberg can be fun in short bursts, but he shouldn't hold another title in WWE. 

"Veer." (@MgoblueBayBay, @ssebastian79)

Part of me is tempted to just make a joke about Veer taking months to finally come and how this would be premature, but my heart's not in it. 

"David Arquette." (@ggfl1)

Only if it's in a deathmatch so people can see how different David Arquette is from his days in WCW.