When Roman Reigns finally defeated Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, it was the culmination of a long journey for the Big Dog.

After years of coming up short against the Beast Incarnate in main events, Reigns finally claimed the Universal title and seemingly sent Lesnar packing to the UFC.

Fans were completely ready for it. They had grown tired of never seeing the champion either appear or compete on Raw and Reigns was a chance for the belt to be in play for real.

At WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia, Brock Lesnar regained the Universal title to the chagrin of just about every WWE fan, but it wasn't originally meant to go down like that.

Of course, just a couple weeks prior to the event, Reigns revealed that he had been struck down with leukaemia and would have to relinquish the Universal title.

He was scheduled to defend Raw's top belt in a triple-threat match against Braun Strowman and Lesnar, but Reigns was due to walk out with the title and it was due to be Lesnar's final WWE match, possibly ever.

According to Dave Meltzer, Lesnar's overall plans have changed significantly since Reigns' unfortunate news.

Once Reigns revealed that he was sick, Lesnar was signed to a new deal which was believed to have been around October 18th. All that is known about the contract is that it's another short-term deal and it lasts through to Wrestlemania. Lesnar will also reportedly be able to continue pursuing another UFC fight, likely to be against Daniel Cormier in early 2019.

There is apparently a Lesnar storyline in the works that involves talents other than Braun Strowman. Lesnar is expected to have a match at Wrestlemania but a Royal Rumble appearance is up in the air due to his UFC training.

After his bout with AJ Styles at Survivor Series, don't expect to see Lesnar actually compete until WrestleMania. If he were to put over Strowman or even Drew McIntyre, it would be a very worthwhile run.

One has to wonder why Vince McMahon decided to throw a lot of money at Lesnar as opposed to elevating a talent he already has, but the perception that Lesnar is still a huge draw remains.

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