Brock Lesnar's first Universal Championship defense since he won the title from Goldberg at WrestleMania 33 will come at the Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view on July 9.

His opponent is yet to be determined, but it will be confirmed next weekend at Extreme Rules on June 4 when a Fatal Five-Way takes place between Roman Reigns, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Seth Rollins, and Bray Wyatt. The winner will go on to face The Beast Incarnate.

However, the original opponent for Lesnar wasn't supposed to be one of these five. According to speculation, it was supposed to be Braun Strowman.

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The Monster Among Men was supposed to face The Beast, starting off at Great Balls of Fire and continuing in a program that would end at the end of the summer at SummerSlam. But when Strowman injured his elbow which required surgery, those plans had to be put on hold.

There are talks of the former Wyatt Family member returning to in-ring action in mid-July, just after the Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view. This would put him back on track for a feud with Lesnar, and it's something which Jim Ross would like to see as well.

Speaking The A.V. Club on a number of wrestling topics, which can be seen in the video below, the WWE Hall of Famer said he would love to see the current Universal champion go one-on-one in a dream match with The Monster Among Men.

He said, according to Wrestling Inc: “I’m a different cat though, man. I’d like to see Braun Strowman – in a big build-up – against [Brock] Lesnar. I think that’d be a nice car crash.”

That big build-up could very well be coming later this year at SummerSlam if WWE sticks with their original plan of having Lesnar defend his Universal title against Strowman. An opportunity which he has certainly earned over the past year.

Since the brand split and leaving The Wyatt Family to go down the singles route, Strowman has gone from strength to strength, not only inside the ring but on the microphone as well. He has established himself as a main event superstar, especially during his feud with Roman Reigns over recent months.

If he is able to replicate that with Lesnar, alongside Paul Heyman, then it could turn out to be one of the best feuds of the summer months for the WWE.

Would you like to see Braun Strowman challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal title? Have YOUR say in the comments section below and the third episode of GiveMeSport’s WWE podcast is here! Check it out via this link. https://soundcloud.com/user-818579649/gms-wwe-podcast-all-the-fallout-from-wwe-payback