10 Potential Superstars That Could Succeed Roman Reigns As WWE Champion

By Matt Davis /

5. AJ Styles

If Nakamura has a chance to become the next WWE Champion, the one strike against him may be his limited English. We see how WWE has handled Hideo Itami, the former KENTA, who had a similar issue, but the lack of strong English skills may be enough to keep Nakamura out of the WWE picture for now. Top guys have to cut 20 minute promos, after all. With that being said, Nakamura's loss may be AJ Styles' gain as WWE absolutely will want these new talents coming over from Japan to make an immediate impact. Styles is arguably the best wrestler in the world today and is absolutely qualified and capable of being the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from an in-ring perspective. AJ could be used as the new Authority golden boy or, perhaps, as a leader of a modified Bullet Club/Balor Club faction that WWE has been rumored to be considering. Either way, a quick debut where he wins the WWE title off of Roman Reigns, directly or indirectly, would certainly cement Styles as a big-time player, something WWE desperately needs right now. The last time WWE awarded their championship to the winner of the Royal Rumble, Vince McMahon used that match to establish Ric Flair as a new main event superstar to the WWE audience. A similar opportunity may have presented itself some 24 years later.