You can’t exactly blame WWE fans for being frustrated at Brock Lesnar, as The Beast Incarnate hasn’t defended the Universal Championship since dethroning Goldberg for it at WrestleMania 33 on April 2.
Since then, he’s made one appearance on Monday Night RAW the following night where Braun Strowman put him on notice, and his first defence has finally been announced where he’ll put his gold on the line at Great Balls of Fire in July.
UNIVERSAL CHAMPION
That’s a three-month wait, which is odd considering WWE emphasises a 30-day rule where the champion must defend the gold or vacate it – as we’ve seen with the likes of Naomi and Daniel Bryan.
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However, it’s been well-documented that WWE intends on having a big coronation for Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans next year, which means he could be defeating Lesnar in a rematch from their WrestleMania 31 contest.
Obviously, fans not only dislike the fact that this is the probable plan WWE is moving forward with, but it also means Lesnar will perhaps defeat every opponent on his way to the event and hold the title until 2018; meaning he may be the champion for an entire year.
Although, a new report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter may have poured cold water over that scenario, as he’s claiming that a new Universal Champion could still be crowned.
Don’t get too excited just yet, though, as he also claimed that should Lesnar drop the gold soon, he’s still expected to pick it up against to defend it at WrestleMania 34, so WWE isn’t backing away from the original plan completely.
It does make you question who could dethrone him, and five men are already in the running and they will compete at Extreme Rules.
CHANGE OF PLANS?
You can take Reigns out of the equation right away, as it’s clear the company will be keeping them as far apart as possible until next year.
That leaves Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe, four men who could put on fantastic matches against The Beast, but it wouldn’t make sense for him to lose so soon to one of them at Great Balls of Fire.
Instead, it could fall to The Monster Among Men, who was the original opponent for Lesnar in July.
He’s expected to return in time for SummerSlam and challenge Lesnar for the title and if Meltzer’s claims are to be believed, then perhaps Strowman is the most logical option to go with as he’d have beaten the only two men that have defeated The Undertaker at WrestleMania.
Not a bad way to make a statement.
Who should dethrone Brock Lesnar as WWE Universal Champion? 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
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