Top 5 Potential Opponents For Lars Sullivan's First WWE Feud
WWE has had big plans for Lars Sullivan since he was in NXT. Lars Sullivan debuted in 2015 at WrestleMania Axxess under his real name, Dylan Miley. Miley impressed with his size, power, & mobility in his first match against Marcus Louis. Miley trained under Bobby Lashley and caught the eye of Brock Lesnar, who flew to the Performance Center to specifically train with Miley after seeing his performance at Axxess 2015. In 2017, Miley was repackaged into "The Freak" Lars Sullivan. Lars is billed at 6'3" and 330lbs hailing from the Rocky Mountains, much like another agile big man from the past: Big Van Vader.
NXT commentator, Mauro Ranallo, hyped Sullivan as "A Jack Kirby illustration come to life." Lars competed in tag-team matches early on. Sullivan beat up his various tag-team partners for being the reason he couldn't get a win. Sullivan ascended through NXT and even had a title match with Aleister Black at NXT Takeover: Chicago II. Although Sullivan never won gold in NXT, that wasn't a hindrance to Braun Strowman & Elias when they made the jump to RAW. WWE is hyping Sullivan as a free agent that RAW & Smackdown are vying for, here are the top 5 Superstars Lars Sullivan could face in his first feud.
1. Heath Slater
Heath Slater is back on television after Baron Corbin forced him to wrestle his tag-team partner, Rhyno, to keep his job on RAW. After Slater picked up the win, Corbin told him that he will no longer compete but now be employed on RAW as a referee. Heath Slater's first match as a referee should be Lars Sullivan's debut. After Lars picks up his first win, he could stare down Slater. Slater would then referee the first several weeks of Lars Sullivan squash matches. After Sullivan's stares escalate to a physical assault, Heath Slater will risk his job to fight back at Lars Sullivan. This feud could continue outside the ring with more visits to the Slater home with Lars terrorizing Heath's kids. Slater might even get an upset win before Sullivan crushes him in his PPV debut at Royal Rumble. The other two members of 3MB have had great success in WWE and it's time for Heath Slater to show the WWE Universe what he can do while getting Lars Sullivan over in the process.
2. R-Truth
R-Truth is an evergreen presence in WWE and has wrestled in every spot on the card. Who better to show Lars Sullivan the ropes on Smackdown than R-Truth? R-Truth's work with Carmella has been fantastic this year. It's time that he get to show his stuff in the ring in one last big physical feud. The fans are really behind R-Truth right now and debuting Sullivan against him could give him the momentum he needs to be a big star on Smackdown. Truth's high-energy wrestling style would blend well with Lars and Carmella could find a way to even the odds for R-Truth against "The Freak" by getting involved as well. There's always potential for segments outside the ring with a performer as versatile as R-Truth. Although Truth is much more comedic than he used to be, it would be great to see his mean streak one more time in a No DQ match against "The Freak".
3. No Way Jose
No Way Jose has been absent from RAW TV and would be a great matchup to introduce Lars Sullivan. Lars and No Way Jose are very familiar with each other after having a handful of matches in NXT. No Way Jose is a fun character, but even Santino had his moments where you felt like he could be champion. RAW is in desperate need of credible babyfaces and in need of a powerful force that isn't in the Universal Title picture. This feud could also be a great opportunity to add a new dimension to No Way Jose's character by featuring his Fastball Punch as having knockout potential. This added element of danger could give No Way Jose something to pop the crowd while Lars Sullivan could win the feud as he starts his run as a monster heel.
4. Dolph Ziggler
Recently separated from Drew McIntyre, Dolph is looking like he could be a babyface again. Dolph Ziggler has been on a tear since uniting with McIntyre and has the ability to elevate himself and Lars Sullivan in his first feud on RAW. Ziggler can fly around, showcasing Lars' power while still getting the crowd to cheer him on whether he wins or loses. Sullivan performed well in his NXT Championship feud with Aleister Black but Ziggler might be an even better matchup for Sullivan. They contrast in every way: rookie/veteran, power/speed, man of few words/stand-up comedian, and no hair but has beard/no beard but has hair.
With Ziggler's ability on the mic, the feud could get more quality TV time than Lars debuting against a less well-rounded Superstar. RAW needs some new life and a newly turned babyface Dolph flying around a new monster, Lars Sullivan.
5. Killian Dain
Killian Dain was called up to Smackdown with the rest of Sanity and debuted beating down the Usos before their match on June 19th 2018. Since then, he has had only seven matches on television. Smackdown could use a monster babyface and this feud could be a great way for two young Superstars to make a name for themselves beating the heck out of each other. Sheamus and Cesaro's best of seven feud in 2016 is a perfect framework for this physical feud. Dain & Sullivan's two singles matches together on NXT TV are a preview of what to expect when these two monsters clash. It's rare to have two rookies feud on the main roster, but familiarity between these two, their size, and the option of having the rest of Sanity popping up to escalate the feud make this long-shot very tantalizing.