Who Should Be Dean Ambrose’s Next Opponent for the WWE Championship?
With Dean Ambrose retaining his WWE Championship at Battleground Sunday, who will be next in line for a title shot?
Battleground this past Sunday marked the final time certain superstars would have shared the same ring together for quite some time. Ambrose retained his Championship where he ultimately pinned Roman Reigns after hitting his finisher, Dirty Deeds. Both Reigns and Seth Rollins will make their homes on Monday Night Raw while Ambrose will head to SmackDown live. He will bring his WWE title along with him, which begs the question “who is next in line for a championship match?”
Only superstars from the SmackDown brand can receive a title shot. WWE can approach this in multiple ways. They can host an eight-man tournament to ultimately decide a number one contender or they can go the route of a Battle Royal. Battle Royals are always fan favorites. They may also elect to have a triple threat match or fatal four way between the brands top superstars to decide who gets a shot.
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If WWE decides to go that route of a multi-man match, SmackDown’s biggest names include the likes of AJ Styles, John Cena, Bray Wyatt, and Dolph Ziggler. They could also elect to throw Alberto Del Rio into the mix if they so choose.
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With the New Era officially in full swing, these options seem like the only option to decide the new number one contender. With the brand split, it is essentially a fresh start for the superstars, so there is no clear number one contender at the moment. However, certain superstars will make the claim why they are deserving. Most like Styles and Cena.
Styles can argue that he being the second overall pick, should earn the immediate right. However, it was Cena that finished Styles and the Club at Battleground. This match will be one of the main events featured at Summerslam next month, so it is safe to say Ambrose will be taking on a huge name in WWE.
Shane McMahon, has repeatedly said the New Era is about new opportunities and giving them to those who deserve them. In which case, wrestlers such as Apollo Crews or Baron Corbin could at least be in consideration to have a chance in the matter. However, I don’t see this being the case.
With the WWE Championship on SmackDown, where does that leave Raw? With top guys like Rollins and Reigns left title-less, one might think that Raw will host a tournament or Battle Royal type matches to decide a champion for their brand. It is only fair that both shows have a champion at the top of their roster.
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As the first week post brand split begins, there is much anticipation to see what direction both shows are headed in. Who will be next to face the Lunatic Fringe, Dean Ambrose? What will Raw do without the WWE title? We should have all of these questions answered after the conclusion of SmackDown Tuesday night. I for one, am looking forward to see what exactly unfolds.