Backstage News on Brock Lesnar Possibly Losing the WWE Universal Title In the SummerSlam Main Event

[iamthedoctor]

The current plan for the August WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view is for Brock Lesnar to defend his WWE Universal Title against Roman Reigns, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. This was the plan as of a few days ago and while not 100% confirmed, this is the working idea. It looks like Reigns may finally have his big moment with the WWE Universal Title at SummerSlam. We noted earlier today, via Sports Illustrated, that multiple sources within WWE believe that Lesnar will be dropping his title to end his WWE run soon, by SummerSlam at the latest.

 

This would be Reigns’ third title shot during Lesnar’s current run. Lesnar retained over Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe and Reigns in a Fatal 4 Way at SummerSlam 2017 while Lesnar defeated Reigns in singles action at WrestleMania 34 back in April and then retained over Reigns in a Steel Cage match at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in April. WWE has teased and planned for the major coronation with Reigns as champion for a while now and there’s no secret that this has been Vince McMahon’s goal. Reigns also lost two big title matches to Kevin Owens back when he was champion – at “Roadblock: End of The Line” in December 2016 and then in a No DQ match at the 2017 Royal Rumble.

 

SummerSlam takes place on August 19th from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It’s believed that Lesnar will be away until it’s time to build to his SummerSlam match. The Beast will soon break CM Punk’s record for longest modern-day title reign of 434 days as he just broke the 430 day mark.

 

So basically they just wanted him to break Punk's record and that is why it didn't change.

[Victator]

And keep in mind Punk did not have a record and Brock holds a separate title.

[Mad Dog]

And they will chicken out last minute and have him job again.

[Loss]

Dave reported this so cautiously that I think he expects it to be changed.

[Mad Dog]

There's two PPV chances for crowds to shit all over Roman to get this altered.

[SteveJRogers]

And keep in mind Punk did not have a record and Brock holds a separate title.

Not that it matters to WWE official canon.

 

When Randy Orton defeated Benoit for the WORLD Heavyweight title, they still declared him youngest ever as he bested Brocks age when he defeated The Rock to be the youngest to hold the WWE Heavyweight proper. Never mind of course that the World belt wasnt yet two years old when Orton won it!

[SteveJRogers]

Also technically the belts The New Day held when they broke Demolitions tag reign mark is a seperate title lineage than the one Demolition held.

[fakeplastictrees]

WWE is silly at times, but they can't be THIS silly!? The crowd took a big dump on Roman/Brock at WRESTLEMANIA. What does WWE think is going to happen in ultra-smarky Brooklyn at SummerSlam? Hopefully this is all 'fake news' put out by WWE to set expectations low so no one will be disappointed when the mainevent is The Miz vs. a returning Bob Holly. And now that I type it out, I realize that I am not opposed to one last Hardcore Holly run in WWE.

[Matt D]

WWE is silly at times, but they can't be THIS silly!? The crowd took a big dump on Roman/Brock at WRESTLEMANIA. What does WWE think is going to happen in ultra-smarky Brooklyn at SummerSlam? Hopefully this is all 'fake news' put out by WWE to set expectations low so no one will be disappointed when the mainevent is The Miz vs. a returning Bob Holly. And now that I type it out, I realize that I am not opposed to one last Hardcore Holly run in WWE.

 

They have infinite moneys. What do they care?

[Zoo Enthusiast]

And keep in mind Punk did not have a record and Brock holds a separate title.

 

And also that this likely just a coincidence.

[Loss]

I'd be stunned if we get a Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar match at Summerslam where Reigns wins the title decisively. That may be the plan, but if we make it all the way to that point and it actually happens, I'll be shocked.

[Ricky Jackson]

If they are going to book it, just have Reigns murder Brock in a couple minutes, flip off the fans, and leave through the snark-filled crowd with the belt held high

[Mad Dog]

I told my wife who isn't a hardcore fan or anything. She just watches some PPVs with me. Her exact words "What? Why?" with a horrified look on her face.

[Stiva]

If they're booking Reigns vs Lesnar and Bryan vs Miz on the same card, they can't possibly expect the former to be the main event. If the former goes on last then they, once more, deserve everything they get.

[DMJ]

Mark me down for "I'll believe when I see it."

 

I don't think they release the figures, but I'd be super curious to see what the Network viewership for the Greatest Royal Rumble was. I'm going to wager that it under-performed - that while it was a hugely profitable live event, the actual number of Network views was considerably lesser than one would expect considering this was a supercard featuring a Reigns/Lesnar cage match, an Undertaker match, Cena vs. Triple H, and a Royal Rumble too.

 

Its proximity to WrestleMania kept me from watching it (I was just too burned out to care about another 4+ hour show) and I don't think I was alone in that. Then again, if Lesnar/Reigns had been a fantastic match (and I thought the first 5-7 minutes were fantastic) with a better finish, I don't think I would've felt as indifferent.

 

If they do go ahead with Lesnar/Reigns, I wouldn't discount Money In The Bank shenanigans to rear their head again. I'm also going to just throw this out there - with Rollins gaining steam and Ambrose potentially being ready for a return, I wouldn't be surprised they ran some sort of Lesnar vs. The Shield match (essentially a 4-way for the title) that would ultimately lead to The Shield feuding among themselves over the gold (with Ambrose probably playing the heel ultimately).

[gordi]

Its proximity to WrestleMania kept me from watching it (I was just too burned out to care about another 4+ hour show) and I don't think I was alone in that.

 

You made the right decision. That show was a chore to sit through.