WWE: Five Wrestlers That Should Defeat Jeff Hardy for US Championship

Raphael Garcia

Credit: WWE.com

Jeff Hardy as the United States Champion hasn’t been as enjoyable as many expected. With that in mind, it’s time to remove the belt from his waist and put it around one of these WWE Superstars in the near future.

Jeff Hardy is a legend within the world of professional wrestling, but especially in that of the WWE. He debuted for the company back in 1994 and bounced around a bit before making it big with his brother, Matt. He deserves the respect and praise that fans throw his way every time he steps in the ring.

But that doesn’t mean he needs to hold an important title like the United States Championship. He’s been the champion since taking the title from Jinder Mahal back in April. Since then, his run with the title has not lived up to expectations. Yes, he still gets the major reactions from many of the fans on live shows, but he doesn’t need to take up a premier roster slot that could be better filled with the likes of someone else.

These are five men that would be better served as the United States Championship. These names have the opportunity to create fresh feuds while delivering in the ring and telling a story each time out. Jeff Hardy is a star, through and through, but it’s time for the US title to move on to a new waist.

Photo by WWE’s Twitter

Samoa Joe

Samoa Joe is perhaps the best heel on the WWE roster today; regardless of brand. He can match anyone in the ring move for move, then cut a promo that’s both witty and frightening at the same time. Joe is a viable threat that can snatch away any title at a moment’s notice. He has a certain level of believability around him that’s rare in professional wrestling and that needs to be leveraged into a major run as a big start within the WWE.

While it’s easy to see Joe as a threat in the main event picture, WWE Creative has yet to pull the trigger to put him in that slot. However, they could keep him relevant by putting the United States title on Joe. There are a number of faces within the SmackDown roster that could be an excellent chase for Joe as champion. But the first step of the process is having Joe remove the belt from Hardy and do so in a violent fashion.

As the United States champion it would be interesting to see what Joe would do against some of the other wrestlers on the roster. Could we see him feud against a face Cesaro or Sheamus? Both of those individuals would put on excellent matches with Joe in more ways than one. There’s a number of ways that having Joe as the US Champion could go, and it’s hard to see any of them being anything but exceptional.

Source: WWE.Com

Eric Young

In professional sports, the term “role player” is often used to describe a teammate that may not be a superstar, but is an individual the team needs to reach championship caliber. Eric Young is the professional wrestling industry’s version of a role player. The 20-year veteran developed from a comedic role in TNA to becoming one of the most important wrestlers to ever be a part of that roster. With 11 championship reigns while he was a part of that promotion, it’s hard to find another athlete that played such a key role for the company.

Now, he’s a part of the intriguing WWE faction known as SAnitY. He, Alexander Wolfe, and Killian Dain are starting to tear things up on SmackDown and have already put on exceptional matches within NXT. This tandem has the potential to be major players within SmackDown’s mid card, but it’s hard to see them exceeding beyond that at this point in time.

But Young has proved everyone wrong before. He’s shown that he can be a company’s champion and the person that the brand is built around. If he’s brought that magic with him to WWE a good way to test that out would be to have him feud with and defeat Hardy for the US title. Young may not be one that does all of the spectacular spots that fans love in today’s wrestling, but he has the ability to tell a story that cannot be ignored. He and Hardy could work magic in the ring and tell a story that presents Young as a strong heel for the SmackDown brand.

Photo by WWE’s Twitter

Andrade Almas

Since coming up to the main roster, questions have swirled as to why Andrade Almas has been continually bumped from live television. He and Sin Cara were having great matches at house shows, but WWE Creative was reluctant to put him in the ring when the lights were shining the brightest. That changed at this week’s edition of SmackDown where he and Sin Cara had an impressive match with some innovative moments that excited the crowd. Getting him on television is the first step to righting the wrong with his development post-NXT.

But we all know that Almas can “go.” Look back to his matches with Drew Galloway, Johnny Gargano and Aleister Black as clear examples to his ability to go with any type of style presented to him. He could easily hang with Hardy in a competitive match, nullifying his high risk attack with techniques of his own. Almas still has a lot of tricks in the bag and putting him in a central feud against Hardy would help bring them out.

Then there’s the Zelina Vega factor. She’s a star in the making, too, and it’s just a matter of time before the WWE leverages her as a single star. She’s been a big part of what made Almas an attraction in NXT and could exceed expectations with a main roster title around his waist or over her shoulder. Almas and Vega are stars waiting for their opportunity to shine and taking the title off of Hardy is the first step in that process.

Credit: WWE.com

Kofi Kingston/Xavier Woods

The New Day have reached a point in which they do not need titles to be over with the fans. Every time their music hits, they are out to a big pop from the crowd. They continue to reinvent themselves in ways that help them remain relevant because it’s impossible to predict what they will do. Even though Big E is expected to head toward the main event, Kofi and Xavier could remain relevant in a different way, wrapped up in the United States belt.

Shinsuke Nakamura

There’s something to say about the work and improvement that Nakamura has shown in recent months. Before he came over to the WWE, it was clear that he was a main event quality star and his matches in NJPW were amongst the best to occur at that time. Things started out well in NXT, but since jumping to the main roster, things have not been the same for the Japanese star.

That was, until his recent heel turn. Nakamura’s personality as he plays to the dark side has created some of the better segments of WWE content in recent months. With that in mind, he’s the perfect candidate to take the belt from Hardy for a lengthy run as the United States champion. For whatever reason WWE Creative was hesitant to put the WWE Championship on his waist after months of feuding with AJ Styles, putting him in a sort of flux at the time.

Next: Booking Shayna Baszler vs. Ronda Rousey

The best way to correct this matter is putting the US Title on Nakamura at Extreme Rules. Keeping the strap on Hardy doesn’t do anything to elevate the title as Jeff Hardy doesn’t have the same status as years past. Nakamura is an attraction in today’s WWE and the promotion needs to reward him at Extreme Rules with his first title on the main roster.

Raphael Garcia

Ten years in the sports industry has taught me a lot about the past time that I love. After spending time writing for small newspapers, large television industries and freelancing for the last six years, I'm comfortable saying that I'm well-versed in sports and talking about nearly any aspect of the industry.