5 Superstars WWE will put the WWE Championship on after Daniel BryanÂ
Daniel Bryan shocked the world by defeating AJ Styles for the latter's WWE Championship on the November 13th, 2018, episode of SmackDown Live.
Styles' lengthy reign as WWE Champion (371 days) coming to an abrupt end on the go-home episode of SmackDown Live before the Survivor Series PPV, was quite shocking. However, what shocked the WWE Universe even more, was the way in which Bryan won the title.
Bryan hit Styles with one of the most brutal low-blows I've ever witnessed in recent times...Alright, perhaps not as brutal as the ones Shinsuke Nakamura repeatedly hit Styles with during their long-running rivalry earlier this year.
Regardless, Bryan incapacitated Styles with the low blow, hit him with his finisher, the Running Knee, scored the pinfall victory and became the new WWE Champion. The WWE recently confirmed that Bryan will defend his title against Styles at the TLC (Tables, Ladders & Chairs) PPV on December 16th, 2018.
Make no mistake about it, Bryan is on a hot streak right now, and is considered to be the favorite to beat Styles at TLC and retain his WWE Championship. However, "The Flying G.O.A.T." faces a murderers' row of challengers on SmackDown Live -- all of whom are hungry to win the title.
Today, we look at a select few top Superstars whom the WWE could put the WWE Championship on after Daniel Bryan...
#5 After beating AJ Styles at TLC, Daniel Bryan could lose to Styles at the Royal Rumble PPV
Alright, first off, let's get the usual suspects out the way! AJ Styles was originally supposed to defend his WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan at the Crown Jewel event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 2nd, 2018.
However, Bryan allegedly refused to go to Saudi Arabia and wrestle at Crown Jewel, due to which, Styles defended his WWE Championship against Bryan on the October 30th, 2018, episode of SmackDown Live -- in a match where Styles submitted Bryan with the Calf-Crusher.
Well, despite losing "clean" to Styles, Bryan received another shot at the WWE Championship, and faced Styles on SmackDown Live (November 13th, 2018), wherein he beat The Phenomenal One and won the title...I'd like to add another important part of the equation here, that the vast majority of professional wrestling experts believe that Bryan will successfully defend his title against Styles at the TLC PPV on December 16th.
Now, although Styles may lose to Bryan at TLC, it'd only be fair for the WWE to give him another shot at the title he held for so long! The Royal Rumble PPV has historically been a special event of Styles, as he made his WWE debut in the 2016 'Rumble and faced John Cena in an instant classic matchup in the 2017 edition of the Royal Rumble event.
Out of all the people we've listed in this discussion, Styles is probably the least likely to beat Bryan right now. However, the Royal Rumble PPV (January 27th, 2019) would be the perfect time for the WWE to book Styles to regain the WWE Championship from Bryan...