5 Dark Horse Candidates Who Could Become The New Face Of WWE

WWE has a number of stars who could potentially be the face of the company, ranging from Roman Reigns to Seth Rollins to Braun Strowman.
While backstage reports state that Vince McMahon still sees Reigns as "the guy," a.k.a. the star the company should be building its programming around, there are indications that there are other options already on the main roster who may be leapfrogging "The Big Dog." Strowman, for example, recently won the 50-man Greatest Royal Rumble match and the Money in the Bank briefcase, while Rollins has been pushed incredibly well and is generating arguably the best crowd reactions in the company.

Of course, Daniel Bryan continues to be an incredibly popular superstar, and AJ Styles, who may be WWE's No. 2 merchandise mover, recently earned the honor of becoming the cover star of WWE 2K19, suggesting "The Phenomenal One" may indeed be the one. But even though stars like Bryan, Styles and Rollins all would be great choices to be solidified as the new face of WWE, there are reasons to believe they may not be. From Styles' age to Bryan's injury history (and his uncertain future with the company) to Rollins always being stuck behind Reigns, WWE may look to some new options to become the face of the company as a babyface Reigns continues to struggle to win over the masses.

And it may have to consider some unlikely candidates for the job, too. Here are five darkhorse candidates to become "the guy" in WWE.

Elias

There are striking similarities between Elias and Rollins beyond just their nearly indistinguishable looks.

When Rollins first emerged as a top singles competitor on Raw in 2014, he spent two years as a top heel before his consistently incredible performances essentially forced WWE to turn him babyface in 2016, at which point he started his rise to becoming one of the company's most popular stars. Now, there is speculation that Elias could follow a similar path and be in line for a babyface turn as he continues to win over fans due to his improvements in the ring, his undeniable charisma and amazing abilities as a talker.

There is already reason to believe that Elias could be someone the company wants to build around going forward. Earlier this year, Elias had the top two selling t-shirts in all of WWE, proving his potential merchandise-moving prowess, and WWE officials reportedly view him as a main eventer in the making. Although Elias has only been on the main roster for a little over a year, he already knows how to get the crowd reaction he wants, whether boos or cheers, at the drop of a dime, and he's quickly developed a cult following despite technically being a heel. Elias also recently demonstrated his marketability when popular guitar brand Fender announced a "working relationship" with the rising star.

Because Elias is steadily improving on the ring (his MITB match against Rollins was fantastic), is already one of WWE's best mic workers, consistently generates better crowd reactions than any other heel on Raw and is still only 30 years old, he's a prime candidate to be the future of WWE.

And perhaps "the guy" when it's all said and done.

Johnny Gargano
The rise of stars like Bryan, Styles and even CM Punk proved that WWE fans gravitate toward superstars who are smaller in stature but elite in the ring, and if any rising star currently under contract with WWE can follow in their footsteps, it's Johnny Gargano.

The incredibly talented NXT superstar is the perfect example of a lovable underdog, and he's been on an absolute roll both as a character and in-ring worker in 2018. Gargano has delivered arguably three consecutive five-star caliber matches at NXT TakeOver events, all while easily becoming the brand's most lovable character because of the heart and passion he brings to everything he does, whether it's a promo, backstage segment or in-ring performance.

One could certainly argue that Gargano is far and away the best pure babyface in all of pro wrestling at the moment, and at just 30 years, old, he has time on his side and is already scary good in the ring. Bryan, of course, probably came closer to officially replacing John Cena as the face of WWE than any superstar has this decade, establishing himself as a top two merchandise seller and blowing everyone else out of the water when it came to crowd reactions at the peak of his babyface ascension in 2014.

While there is concern that WWE may pigeonhole Gargano as a Cruiserweight and stick him on the sinking ship that is 205 Live, Gargano has so much potential to be "the next Daniel Bryan" so to speak that this would be nothing short of a massive mistake. Instead, WWE needs to seriously consider moving Gargano to the main roster, going the Bryan route with his push and seeing if all of his success in NXT can make him the top babyface on Raw or SmackDown.

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EC3
Although EC3 isn't a spring chicken (he's 35 years old), he has one advantage over every other superstar on this list: A proven history of being "the guy" for a major pro wrestling company.

EC3 spent five years in TNA/Impact Wrestling and was often the focal point of the company, receiving a massive push as the storyline nephew of Dixie Carter and winning the TNA World Heavyweight Championship twice. TNA showed plenty of faith in pushing EC3 as a main eventer there, and he displayed a world of potential both as a heel and a babyface, which is what made him such a tremendous hire when he returned to NXT earlier this year.

WWE has demonstrated in recent years that it has no problem pushing former TNA headliners, as has been the case with the likes of Samoa Joe and AJ Styles, who have firmly established themselves as top stars on SmackDown. As one of the most charismatic wrestlers currently working for WWE, EC3 is someone who could be a cornerstone of a major wrestling company as he demonstrated in Impact. In fact, EC3's final appearance on Impact Wrestling back in March (which many fans knew about well in advance) averaged 362,000 viewers in comparison to a 2018 low of just 254,000 viewers for the June 28th episode, perhaps showing his drawing ability in the process.

Given that John Cena has teased a potential feud with EC3, who has the look and presence of a main event caliber talent, there are certainly signs that EC3 has a bright future in WWE and could be pushed as the face of whichever main roster brands he ultimately ends up on.

Drew McIntyre
Vince McMahon once labeled Drew McIntyre "The Chosen One," and now, the WWE boss is back on the McIntyre bandwagon.

According to PWInsider.com (h/t Ringside News), it was McMahon's idea to elevate McIntyre to the main roster, while the Wrestling Observer (h/t Ringside News) recently noted that WWE is attempting to gradually transform McIntyre into a main event superstar. A number of pro wrestling legends have taken notice of McIntyre as well, including Diamond Dallas Page, Mick Foley and Jim Ross, who have labeled him as a future world champion and WWE's "next big thing."

Certainly, McIntyre is aesthetically exactly what WWE would seemingly want out of its world champion. McIntyre is 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds of solid muscle, making him the ideal size and stature of a main eventer and larger-than-life superstar, but perhaps more importantly, he possesses a tremendous blend of in-ring skills, promo abilities and charisma that would make him a fantastic representative as the face of the company.

With McIntyre apparently having the backing of both McMahon and Triple H and still being young enough to have plenty of room for advancement (he just turned 33), a slow and natural progression to the top of the card could cement him as "the guy" in WWE. After all, McIntyre proved both in Impact Wrestling and NXT, where he held both the NXT and TNA World Heavyweight Championships, that he is more than capable of shouldering the load as a brand's No. 1 headliner.

If he can do that in NXT and Impact, two of the biggest wrestling brands not called Raw or SmackDown, that should give WWE faith in McIntyre's ability to do the same on the main roster for the world's top pro wrestling company.

Velveteen Dream
It's almost as if Velveteen Dream jumped into a pool of charisma and came out dripping in it.

He's part Prince and part Goldust, but he's all the rage these days after delivering another unforgettable performance at NXT TakeOver at Chicago last month, this time against Ricochet. At only 22 years old, the former Tough Enough contestant seems to be light years ahead of his time as both an in-ring performer and character, and everyone is taking notice. In fact, John Cena, the current face of WWE, recently had the following to saw about Velveteen Dream at a MegaCon convention (h/t Pro Wrestling Sheet):

You know how in the Star Wars movies the old Jedis can look at the rookie Jedis and be like, ‘I think that’s the one.’ I kinda have a weird, odd midichlorian feeling about Velveteen Dream. I think there’s something special there.

"The One" calling Velveteen Dream "The One?" Talk about high praise if you've ever heard it. But Cena isn't the only one.

Everyone from Edge to Kevin Owens to Finn Balor has heaped praise upon Velveteen Dream, who has more going for him in regards to his chances of being "the guy" than any other WWE star, whether in NXT or the main roster. He is already so advanced at such a young age, and yet, he probably won't even hit his prime for another five to 10 years, which makes it difficult to comprehend just how good he can become if he's already performing this well at an age in which most talents don't even sniff the main roster.

The only rational fear about Velveteen Dream is that his gimmick is a niche one that is tailor made for NXT and may be ruined on the main roster, but with the type of careful booking that has made him a standout in NXT, Dream's jaw-dropping talents and character work should allow him to overcome that. Although expectations are higher for Dream than anyone else in WWE (he's like the LeBron James or Bryce Harper of pro wrestling), he's hit a home run every single time he's been on the big stage.

With the right push by the creative team and the continued progress that has solidified him as one of NXT's greatest accomplishments at the ripe age of 22, Velveteen Dream is the past and future of WWE. And who knows? He just may be the guy one day. Those who would know certainly think he will be.

Blake Oestriecher is an elementary school teacher by day and a sports writer by night. He’s a contributor to the Forbes @SportsMoneyBlog, where he primarily covers WWE. You can follow him on Twitter @BOestriecher.