10 Best Opponents For Daniel Bryan At WWE WrestleMania 35

A few months ago, when WWE decided to go in its seemingly "new direction," the one factor that sorta convinced me they were serious about such a venture was bringing 205 Live stalwart Mustafa Ali to SmackDown, and on his second week, having him pin WWE Champion Daniel Bryan in a tag match. This was, if nothing else, a token effort to show to fans they were really willing to push new stars and make WWE seem different.

And, if nothing else, Mustafa has been well protected over the last couple of months. He's been programmed against main event-level opponents, and he's been allowed to cut promos that feel genuine and not the product of a peanut gallery of writers.

Even so, if his push results in a never-ending process of stop-start booking, anything they do is all for naught. If WWE are serious about putting new talent in the spotlight where they belong, then they should put one of the company's most natural modern babyfaces in a spot where people will notice him at WrestleMania. He doesn't have to win the title in a match against Bryan, he just has to be promoted and portrayed as a guy who really does belong in such a setting.

All the people on this list would make for great challengers to the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, but if most of them are nods to the past, Mustafa Ali is a nod to the future.