The exciting new landscapes for Raw and SmackDown coming out of the eventful 2021 WWE Draft brings a wealth of fresh opponents for Universal champion Roman Reigns on Friday nights.

Reigns' title reign dating back to August 2020 has arguably been one of the greatest in company history. He has defended his Universal Championship against all comers, including multiple former world champions and even a WWE Hall of Famer in Edge.

The Tribal Chief has delivered under the bright lights time and time again. Several stars have come close to dethroning him, but there is still no end in sight to his historic run with the prestigious prize.

However, that could change with so many new faces now on SmackDown thanks to the 2021 WWE Draft. Not only are Jeff Hardy and Drew McIntyre major additions to the roster, there are also a few stars who stayed put who could also pose a threat to his title reign.

If the idea is for Reigns to rule SmackDown through at least WrestleMania season next spring, he has at least five potential opponents lined up between now and then, not including Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel later this month and those who would need some serious rebuilding (i.e. Ricochet) in order to be taken seriously opposite of The Head of the Table.

Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre may have his sights set on regaining the WWE Championship from Big E at Crown Jewel, but all roads will eventually lead him to Universal champion Roman Reigns.

The Scottish Warrior moving over to SmackDown was a must after accomplishing all he could on Raw. There's plenty of people for him to work with on the blue brand, but Reigns has to be considered the ultimate opponent for him.

The two have squared off on multiple occasions over the last two years, including at WrestleMania 35 and at Survivor Series 2020 in a champion vs. champion match. Both bouts were won by Reigns, and Jey Uso getting involved in the latter leaves McIntyre with some unfinished business.

Reigns vs. McIntyre is arguably one of the biggest bouts WWE could do on any brand right now and shouldn't be given away on a whim. It needs to be built up in advance and given maximum creative effort.

McIntyre could well be the one to eventually take the title from Reigns, as the Universal Championship is one of the few prizes that has alluded him so far in his career. Their strong in-ring chemistry coupled with their star power makes this a must-see, marquee matchup worthy of the WrestleMania billing.

Sheamus

Reigns and Sheamus are certainly no strangers to one another, having waged war over the WWE Championship in the final few months of 2015. The Tribal Chief emerged victorious more often than not, but the two almost always worked well together and could be counted on for a quality contest.

It's been years since they last feuded and both men have evolved tremendously since then. Not only has Reigns come into his own as a dominant heel, but Sheamus has also had the best year of his career from an in-ring standpoint and is killing it with everyone he goes up against.

Virtually all of Reigns' defenses of the Universal Championship have been instant classics, so having Sheamus challenge him at some point could be incredibly interesting and result in an outstanding affair.

Sheamus has been positioned as a heel since returning from injury in early 2020, but for a rivalry with Reigns, he'd easily get over in the tweener role. He's as tough and as legitimate as they come and would take the fight to Reigns in a way few others could.

It's been almost six years since Sheamus last held world title gold in WWE. The Celtic Warrior looking to reclaim that glory after so long is a compelling story in itself.

Shinsuke Nakamura

Reigns has had so many challengers to his Universal Championship in 2021 that fans may forget that Shinsuke Nakamura has not yet gotten the golden opportunity he was owed all the way back in January.

Nakamura had a strong run in a Gauntlet match, with the winner allowed to face Reigns for the title at the Royal Rumble. After pinning Daniel Bryan in clean fashion, he was on the verge of victory when he was attacked by Reigns and Jey Uso and was left laying.

Reigns allowed Adam Pearce to pin Nakamura, which later resulted in Kevin Owens getting the shot instead. That loose end with Nakamura was never tied up, and the two have yet to go one-on-one.

Nakamura vs. Reigns may not have been a main event-level attraction earlier in the year when he was still stuck in midcard purgatory, but he's more popular now than he's been in years thanks to his much-needed face turn. He's had a career resurgence alongside Rick Boogs and is enjoying success as the intercontinental champion.

Once he loses that title, he should shift his focus back toward Reigns and his coveted championship. That would be an exciting attraction for one of WWE's B-level pay-per-views, and the fans would surely rally behind Nakamura enough to want to see him hand Reigns his first singles loss in years.

Kofi Kingston

Although Kofi Kingston is still firmly entrenched in the tag team ranks, his successful stint as WWE champion back in 2019 should not be discredited or forgotten about.

It was almost exactly two years ago that Kingston was last at the top of the mountain in WWE before losing his coveted title in a matter of seconds to Brock Lesnar on SmackDown. WWE immediately demoted him back to the tag team division, but he's still over enough that he could make for a compelling challenger for Roman Reigns and his Universal Championship.

That was evident over the summer when Kingston re-entered the main event scene for a brief period and contended for Bobby Lashley's WWE Championship at Money in the Bank. Unfortunately, he fell short and was completely annihilated by The All Mighty, but he could easily be built back up for another opportunity at the gold now that he's back on the blue brand.

Reigns and Kingston have had their fair share of battles over the years, both in singles and tag team matches. However, Kingston and Reigns haven't gone one-on-one since The Tribal Chief turned heel last year, and they could play off their interaction in the recent Raw match between The Bloodline and The New Day.

Kingston and Xavier Woods have held the tag titles on countless occasions over the years, so WWE would be wise to start utilizing both of them in more of a singles capacity instead going forward while still being a unit. While Woods focuses on becoming the next King of the Ring, Kingston can chase Reigns in an attempt to dethrone him as Universal champion.

Jeff Hardy

Despite eating defeat more often than not, Jeff Hardy continues to be one of the most beloved stars on the entire WWE roster.

His long-awaited return to SmackDown last year unfortunately coincided with the pandemic, and thus it didn't get the raucous reaction it should have. Even after all these years, Hardy is still immensely over with the audience and wouldn't feel out of place in the world title picture.

The time was never right for it to happen on Raw, but SmackDown is always where he's had his most singles success. This latest run for him on the blue brand should be no different, especially if it culminates with him challenging Reigns for the Universal Championship.

Hardy is a three-time world champion in WWE, though his last world title win came in July of 2009. At this stage of his career and with how injury-prone he's become, it may be too late to give him another world title run, but nothing is stopping WWE from at least giving him a shot at the top title.

Reigns has proved to be the ultimate villain, and Hardy would be a fantastic foil for him. The matches have the potential to be a blast with the crowd hanging on every near-fall, and it would be the perfect program to carry Reigns into WrestleMania as well as give Hardy the spotlight he has long deserved.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.