At Crown Jewel on Nov. 4, Logan Paul grabbed his first piece of silverware in WWE, capturing the United States Championship by defeating legend Rey Mysterio. Paul may have received an assist from Santos Escobar to get the win, but, regardless, his first title victory is a huge deal – and over Mysterio, no less.
There are plenty of detractors of Paul because of his issues outside the ring and attitude, and WWE have done a great job of positioning him as a heel, using his natural personality and the (valid) reasons many wrestling fans do not like him. But for all that can be said about Paul, it is true that he is taking professional wrestling extremely seriously and has been an effective heel, which is more than can be said about some other wrestlers WWE have been trying to push with similar characters (*cough* Austin Theory *cough*).
Paul’s United States Title win comes a year after his feud with Roman Reigns, which put him on the map. Since then, Paul has only increased his stock within WWE, which is why the company is essentially giving him a chance to audition for something even bigger as a US Champion. The mid-card titles are all workhorse titles, even if the US Title doesn’t have the same lineage or reputation as the Intercontinental Championship.
But with a heel as detestable as Paul winning the gold, most of the immediate thoughts are actually about him losing the title. So let’s take a look at five wrestlers who could take the United States Championship off of Logan Paul, whether that is in the near future or later in the current booking cycle.
AJ Styles
There are rumblings that AJ Styles is expected to return to WWE television soon. The Phenomenal One is one of the most respected professional wrestlers in recent memory and will have his name spoken about among the GOATs inside the squared circle when he decides to retire, having cemented his status with his 2016-2018 run in WWE.
Styles is still going strong at the age of 46, and while the retirement questions are being asked a little more, he hasn’t shown too many signs of slowing down. He has noticeably been taking it easier and saving himself for more brutal matches, and a match with Logan Paul could be on the more highflying and hectic side, based on what we’ve seen from him so far.
Paul has a point to prove to wrestling fans that he is serious and is willing to take the difficult bumps. In some cases, such as at Money in the Bank, wrestling fans may wish he slows things down and knows his limits.
Styles is as safe as they come. He can put on a hard-hitting match with highspots without putting anyone at risk. There’s also a lot of great storytelling here with Styles, a former US Champion, being the definition of a serious and seasoned pro wrestler. Maybe he’s the right guy to teach Paul a lesson.
Kevin Owens
Or maybe the right person is Kevin Owens. Formerly one half of the tag team champions with best friend Sami Zayn, Owens is a part of the SmackDown brand and can easily clash heads with Logan Paul. He would have plenty of reasons to dislike an arrogant, entitled heel like Paul, especially seeing him walking around with the title he once held himself.
Owens has been less visible in the main title picture since ending his feud with Roman Reigns, but there are few wrestlers with as much credibility as the former Universal Champion. KO defied a lot of the traditionalist bullies in WWE and larger pro wrestling circles by excelling as an “Everyman”.
Although he’s not as much of a high-flyer as AJ Styles, Owens is still capable of athletic moves off the top rope, which truly impresses fans because of his size. A layered storyteller inside the ring and one of the most impassioned promos outside of it, Owens can sell an epic program with Paul and be the right guy to humble the YouTube star.
LA Knight
LA Knight didn’t have a successful night at Crown Jewel against Roman Reigns, but, well, nobody really expected him to be the one to dethrone the Tribal Chief. However, his previous loss at Money in the Bank was more disappointing, since the entire London crowd was vociferously backing the “over like rover” Knight.
Formerly Eli Drake in Impact Wrestling, Knight has long been one of the sharpest talkers on the mic, and his ability to sell a major feud was highlighted perfectly in his program with Reigns. He could get even more freedom and have more material to blast Logan Paul, who likes to take the gloves off and has the license to do so from Triple H. But in return, wrestlers feuding with Paul are allowed to do the same, as Ricochet took advantage of during their program months ago.
Clearly, Knight is ready to hold some gold in WWE. He could be a credible world champion and has massive crowd support to be the next top guy in WWE. The Miz (in character) may have his reservations about Knight being a flash-in-the-pain, but Knight has remained highly popular over a period of several months.
A United States Championship run could be a perfect way for Knight to prove to the WWE brass that, no, he is not too old and, no, he is not a fad ripping off Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. It’s only a matter of time before Knight wins a title in WWE, and, usually, the company has wrestlers hold a mid-card title first if they aren’t a slam-dunk option.
Butch
Butch hasn’t been utilized effectively enough in WWE despite being one of the hottest ascending young talents in pro wrestling before joining the company and then in NXT UK and NXT. The Bruiserweight has a unique move-set, style, and look which has gone subtle changes over the years but remains true to its core, even with the silly “Butch” gimmick that was mostly designed to pop Vince McMahon backstage.
As part of the Brawling Brutes, Butch has still shown his serious skills inside the ring, working alongside Ridge Holland and the legendary Sheamus. Butch is just itching for a title run of his own and a breakout moment on the main roster, as he’s been patiently waiting under the wings and doing whatever weird schtick WWE ask of him.
Logan Paul could bring the fire out of Butch, making fun of what he’s become compared to where he was at in NXT and his previous expectations. That could help Butch respond with his best work on the microphone. It’s been too long since Butch has held gold in WWE or been in a title picture, and that needs to change under Triple H, who has always seemed to appropriately value him highly.
Santos Escobar
Did Santos Escobar leave the brass knuckles out for Paul to use against Rey Mysterio on purpose? It certainly seems so. Because for as much as Escobar has talked about mutual respect when fighting with and against Mysterio in the United States Title scene, there clearly seems to be something else bubbling under the surface.
Escobar is a fine babyface, but he gets to do so much more as a character and on the mic as a heel. He just has this presence about him as a villain, wearing his suit and directing his henchmen, that makes wrestling fans more interested in seeing him turn on the main roster. And turning against a legend like Rey would be perfect.
In that case, Escobar would be less of a viable option to take the title off a heel like Paul, though that isn’t impossible. However, it would be intriguing to watch Escobar deny that he did it on purpose, smooth things over with Rey, beat Paul for the title himself, and then tell Rey that he used him all along.
It’s doubtful WWE would go in that direction, and they probably have bigger things planned for Paul than being a mere stopgap champion for an Escobar/Mysterio feud. But it’s not impossible, nor is it a bad idea. A slow-burn title storyline between Escobar and Mysterio could be a great WrestleMania feud.
Kevin was an editor at Daily DDT, covering professional wrestling, and is now doing the same here at Let Them Wrestle.