WWE United States Championshp Scene: Who Should Be Involved?

Dolph Ziggler is currently the WWE's United States Champion. 

He gained the title back at Capitol Punishment from then-champion Kofi Kingston.  While Ziggler is an outstanding talent both in the ring and in showing off, something's got to give.

Captiol Punishment was in June.  It's now December.  Simple math dictates that he is currently on a six-month title reign.  That's a total of 180 days, give or take a few extra days.  That's 60 times the length of Christian's first run with the World Heavyweight Championship.  That's 2160 times the length of Rey Mysterio's ill-advised WWE Championship reign in July. 

Considering the longevity of Ziggler's title reign and the minimal amount of time Mysterio and Christian held the higher ranking titles speaks volumes to the lack of contenders for the United States Championship.

Granted, Mysterio and Christian's respective title reigns should not have flamed out so quickly, both men lost those titles so quickly because the number of challengers for the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships far exceed the contenders for the mid-card straps.

It would appear,at this point in time, that Ziggler is propelling himself toward a main event spot, meaning the United States Championship can become expendable. 

Now, it's just a matter of who should and will get an opportunity to take that precious championship away from Dolph.

Let's take a look at those who deserve their chance with the title. 

Zack Ryder

Obviously Long Island Iced Z should be the first in line for the United States Championship run.

Ryder single handily developed a following.  There was no help from creative, no insistence by Vince McMahon to give this guy a chance. Zack Ryder took to social media networks and made a name for himself.

He's since be rewarded by numerous spots on both Raw and SmackDown, multiple US title matches--all of which ended poorly for Ryder--and even main evented Raw. 

Everytime we think Ryder is getting his title reign, that idea is taken away from us in the blink of an eye. 

Fortunately for Ryder, there doesn't seem to be another competitor for Ziggler that has any standing for a title shot, so Ryder is the best option at this point.

Title Reign Possibility: 9/10

Mason Ryan

Other than Ryder, Mason Ryan is the only other face mid-card superstar getting any sort of attention in the ring.

When Ryan first turned face, he took out Ziggler and his partner Jack Swagger to do it.  Many believed that if not Ryder, Ryan would be the man to take the championship away from Ziggler. Except to this day, nothing has been done with Ryan to make him appear to be a credible threat.  In my opinion, he's still pretty green in the ring and his physique may be a little too big for him to compete against smaller opponents, as it looks as if he has a hard time inflicting pain on them.  Again, that's just my opinion.

At this point, if Ryder continues to be denied his title reign, expect Ryan to be the one to take home the gold in the near future.

Title Reign Possibility: 7/10

Santino

Were a long ways removed from the days of Santino, the relevant wrestler. 

He's a former tag team and Intercontinental champion as well as one of the most entertaining men in the WWE. 

Since returning from a terrible car accident, Santino has been used as a jobber to Cody Rhodes and Kevin Nash and hanging out with the Muppets on their appearance on the show. 

Santino is a consignment professional and deserves to have something going on rather than just an extra used for laughs. 

Plus, how funny would it be for Ziggler, the guy who like to ask us "How good am I at this?" to lose to a guy like Santino?

I'm all for it, but it seems unlikely. 

Title Reign Possibility: 4/10

Jack Swagger

Jack Swagger makes one of most logical choices when it comes to guys to not only take the United States Championship away from Ziggler but also simultaneously propel him into the main event scene.

Here's how the following situation would go to make sense of it all:

*Swagger wins some sort of United States No.1 contender match, setting up the match against Ziggler.

*Ziggler is angered that he has to take on his stable partner, Vickie has to decide who's side she's on.

*Swagger begins to get in the head of Ziggler during matches of his, angering Ziggler even more. 

*During the match, Ziggler has the clear upper hand, dominating most of the match and decides to have a little fun by slapping Swagger around.  Vickie doesn't appreciate one client humiliating the other and tries to get involved with the match.  Ziggler, in turn, shoves her off the apron out of anger of the situation. 

*Match continues and Swagger now has the advantage.  He goes for the pin, just as Ziggler is about to kick out, Vickie holds his legs down, costing him the match. 

*Ziggler becomes so angered he chases Vickie around the ring some more, trying to get revenge but is met by a Swagger Bomb. 

*A few weeks pass and Ziggler is in Vickie's dog house.  Swagger is now her new favorite. 

*Eventually, Ziggler gets so fed up of all the hogwash he takes out Swagger, maybe costing him the US title, and quits the stable, makes fun of Swagger and Vickie and immediately turns face for getting rid of the screaming witch. 

This storyline has one of the most credible possibilities and if handled properly, can easily be accomplished.  While this too doesn't seem likely, I'd like to think it could happen sooner rather than later. 

Title Reign Possibility: 8/10

Brodus Clay

Come on, Brodus Clay.  Would you just show up already? I'm getting sick of waiting to see where your direction is going to go. 

Until he does finally show up, let's consider the possibility of him immediately being put into the United States Championship race. 

Once Clay does show up, based on all the hype surrounding him on Raw, he will have some sort of big impact.  What's more of an impact than taking out one of the fastest rising stars in the WWE and possibly costing him the US title in the process. 

Here's how I see this one going:

*Clay finally makes his appearance on Raw, maybe during a match of Ziggler's.  He takes the opportunity to demolish Ziggler, writing him off of television for at most a week or two. 

*Clay gets the chance to brag about taking out the "showoff" and starts targeting other men such as Santino and Ryder.

*Ziggler makes a triumphant return before Clay can inflict the same pain on one of them like he did to Ziggler.

*Since the Interim Raw GM is so high on Clay, he sets up a United States Championship match with a painful stipulation attached to it. 

*Clay gets his chance inflict more pain and ends up winning the match, but Ziggler still looks amazing in defeat.  Clay tries to finish what he started and attempt to throw Ziggler off of the stage.  Ziggler doesn't allow him to do so, wriggles out of the predicament and super kicks Clay off of the stage.

Three different things are accomplished in this scenario. 

1. The United States title is off of Ziggler

2. Clay is seen as a formidable threat to everyone in the locker room

3. Ziggler's face turn is a huge success for taking out the big threat of Clay before he could be damaged too much.

This is one scenario that not only makes great sense, but it can help both men's careers dramatically.

Title Reign Possibility: 9/10

What Do You Think?

That's my list of men who should be involved with the United States Championship picture.

Even though only one of these guys is currently in the mix, all five of the men listed make logical sense and, with the proper time and work, can be done perfectly.

What do you think?

Who has the best chance to take the US title away from Dolph Ziggler?

If none of these five, who?