Daniel Bryan turned heel just before Survivor Series last year. Bryan kicked Styles low, won the WWE Championship, and went on to face Brock Lesnar at the PPV. Now, Bryan says he wants to be the most hated man in WWE and that means being more hated than Brock Lesnar.
Daniel Bryan On Wanting To Be The Most Hated Guy In WWE
“I want to be more hated than Brock Lesnar,” Bryan recently told Newsweek. “Some people want to cheer for the bad guy. I don’t want them to cheer, I want to be hated. So far I’ve had two jumpers at live events [laughs] and that’s an old school kind of mentality. You don’t want those guys to jump but you want them to hate you. You want them to pay to see you get beat. Or pay to see you get beat up or at the very least enjoy seeing you get beat up. That’s my thing.”
Bryan also told the news outlet he wanted to wrestle Lesnar for some time and was glad he finally had the chance at Survivor Series.
“What an incredible performer that guy is,” Bryan said of Lesnar. “I’ve been wanting to do the Brock Lesnar match for a long time and I was very satisfied.”
Bryan also spoke about his heel turn and facing AJ Styles in a baseball stadium on Sunday.
“I really like being the WWE Champion [laughs] and I really like being able to change my attitude and persona,” Bryan said. “I’ve had a lot of fun doing that. I’ve also got to wrestle some incredible wrestlers. Like Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series and now AJ Styles, who when I was out I kept watching and said ‘man, this guy might be the best guy in the world.’”
“And now I get to face him at the Royal Rumble in Chase Stadium,” Bryan continued. “Which is a baseball stadium, in front of 40,000-plus people there. Wrestling AJ Styles on that kind of stage it gets me really pumped.
This weekend (Sun. January 27, 2019) the WWE will host its Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV) from the Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. In the main event, Universal Champion Brock Lesnar will defend his title against Finn Balor. Initially, Lesnar was scheduled to defend his title against Braun Strowman. There has been a lot of injury concerns surrounding Strowman and his status.
However, those didn’t seem to be too much of a factor in the main event change. Instead, Vince McMahon decided to make the change to protect Strowman. Balor earned the opportunity to compete for the Universal Championship against Lesnar by winning two matches on Monday Night RAW recently. There will certainly be a massive size discrepancy between the pair, but that didn’t stop AJ Styles from giving Lesnar a great fight at Survivor Series in 2017.
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross discussed the bout in the latest episode of his podcast, “The Ross Report.” While he admits Balor is likely to do the job this weekend, Ross also discussed a scenario, albeit an unlikely one, in which Balor could emerge victorious:
“I’m happy that [Bálor] is getting this opportunity and win or lose, that’s where we are,” Ross said. “I guess what you have to consider about this match is could Bálor upset Lesnar and be the Universal Champion heading into WrestleMania? He certainly could. He certainly could. It wouldn’t shock me a bit.
“But you’ve got to think, who does WWE want in that title match at WrestleMania? I keep hearing they want Lesnar and Rollins. Okay, if you know that’s what they want, then, Bálor will do the honors at the Royal Rumble, but he’ll go down in a blaze of glory with an amazing story being told.
“So looking at it ahead, but maybe Bálor is their guy and they’re going to have him match up with say, Seth Rollins at WrestleMania. Well, you know the match is going to be badass.”
Do you think WWE will have Balor upset Lesnar at the Royal Rumble?
Finn Balor spoke to ESPN about his Universal Championship match against Brock Lesnar this Sunday at the Royal Rumble. Lesnar will be the toughest fight of Balor’s WWE career. When Balor is up against his biggest challenges, he summons the demon inside. The Irish Superstar told ESPN he will not be tapping into his painted alter ego at the Rumble.
“I feel like maybe I leaned on the demon too much there in the past as a crutch, and I can assure you that the man who faces Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble will be Finn Balor, the man,” he told Tim Fiorvanti of ESPN.com.
“I think a lot of people were surprised when I came out at WrestleMania not in demon paint but I feel like I had a bigger message to spread that day — one of equality and acceptance. Honestly, this match just kind of came about so fast that I haven’t had much time to think about it.”
Balor added that he not have new ring gear or a surprise look in store for the title match, but we’re still several days away and he’ll probably come up with something.
Brock Lesnar may be preparing for a showdown against Finn Balor at WWE Royal Rumble in January but lately he’s been back at his old stomping grounds at the University of Minnesota wrestling room.
The 2000 NCAA champion wrestler went back to his roots this week with a session at the Gophers training facility where he faced one of the best young heavyweight wrestlers in recent history.
Gable Steveson — a freshman at the University of Minnesota — just recently took over the No. 1 ranking in the country as he moved to 20-0 on the season earlier this week.
As the NCAA wrestling season continues, Steveson got some mat time in with Lesnar, who was a ferocious monster during his college days while racking up an incredible 106-5 overall record including his championship season as well as being a two-time All-American at Minnesota.
Lesnar has made scarce appearances on Monday Night Raw since winning back the WWE Universal championship but obviously he’s staying in shape while he’s been away.
There are still plenty of questions about Lesnar’s future in WWE after WrestleMania because he was originally expected to return to the UFC for a heavyweight fight against current champion Daniel Cormier.
That plan has been put on hold for now as Cormier deals with some injuries and Lesnar remains focused on his professional wrestling career.
It’s unknown if that will continue after WrestleMania but Lesnar is obviously staying ready for the ring or the Octagon by working with the best heavyweight in college wrestling today.
After Braun Strowman ripped the door off of Vince McMahon’s limo during Raw, The Chairman stripped “The Monster Among Men” of his Universal Championship Match against Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble and made an impromptu Fatal 4-Way Match for later in the night to determine his new challenger. Balor then beat John Cena, Drew McIntyre, and Baron Corbin to earn the Universal Championship Match against Lesnar at the Royal Rumble.
Superstar Billy Graham, a WWE Hall of Famer and one-time WWE Champion, took to Facebook on Tuesday night to criticize WWE for switching Strowman with Balor as Lesnar’s opponent at the Royal Rumble. Graham feels that WWE fans won’t buy Balor as a worthy opponent for Lesnar, pointing out that Balor is considerably smaller.
Graham wrote, “Well fans, just my professional opinion once more, and certainly nothing personal about any of the talent. But as you folks who watched RAW last night ( I didn’t ) know that ” The Monster Among Men ” Braun Strowman has been pulled from the main event against Lesnar. Despite Strowman’s superhuman strength and his ability to over turn paramedic trucks, 18 wheeler 10,000 pound cab trucks, and then overturn Vince’s limo, he can’t quite seem to beat a mere mortal in Brock Lesnar. So, now he has been replaced with less than 2 weeks before this mega PPV by Finn Balor.
“Does anyone in their right mind really believe Finn will have a chance in Hell of beating Lesnar ? I would want my money back immediately. Word is Finn Balor will spend 3 hours getting his spray paint demon gimmick on, to help him beat Lesnar, who it looks like to me out weighs Finn by a good 100 pounds.”
Graham also responded to Dave Meltzer stating on Wrestling Observer Radio that Vince McMahon planned Balor vs. Lesnar all along. With WWE continuing to promote Lesnar vs. Strowman to sell tickets, Graham feels that WWE is double-crossing fans “by putting in a man who will not sell one ticket to see this match.”
Graham continued, “Ah, but the following news by Meltzer is very telling. Meltzer is reporting that this was the plan all along to sell tickets. Knowing that fans would not buy Finn Balor against Lesnar. So that is where the WWE is with their talent. They have to work a gimmick that is a new one for me by advertising a wrestler the fans think had a chance to beat Lesnar to sell tickets, then pull the rug right out from underneath the fans, double crossing them by putting in a man who will not sell one ticket to see this match. Also waiting as long as they could.”
Graham closed his post by writing, “Damn, the WWE sucks when it comes to talent. I bet that Cody Rhodes and his crew will out draw WWE head to head every time. Truly, a colossal scam by the WWE, man do they ever suck. S.B.G.”
We recently reported on WWE’s reasoning behind removing Braun Strowman from his scheduled match against Brock Lesnar. The match was meant to happen at WWE’s Royal Rumble event at the end of the month. With the company not wanting Strowman to lose to Lesnar once again, however, plans were changed. Finn Balor won a Fatal 4-Way this past Monday. This earned him a shot against Lesnar for the Universal Championship.
But if WWE’s intentions were always to change the plans to protect Braun’s character, why continue promoting the matchup against Lesnar for so long?
According to Dave Meltzer via Wrestling Observer Radio, the decision behind the continued advertising was done to continue selling tickets.
Considering that this year’s Royal Rumble is emanating from Chase Field, a baseball stadium, the company wanted to ensure they could sell approximately 40,000 tickets to the WWE Universe. As far as WWE was concerned, Brock vs Braun was the way to do it.
Brock Lesnar has had a recent string of matches against smaller opponents. He reportedly enjoys working with these kinds of Superstars. This could be another reason why Balor is now going to be facing off against Lesnar.
Finn has spoken before about facing off against Brock Lesnar and finally gets his opportunity to reclaim a championship he never lost at Royal Rumble.
Last night during Monday Night Raw, Vince McMahon would fine Braun Strowman $100,000. He then officially removed him from the Universal Championship match at Royal Rumble. Finn Balor would eventually win a Fatal 4-Way matchup later that night, earning the right to compete against Brock Lesnar.
If you thought WWE’s reasoning behind removing Braun was down to his injury, you’d be half right. According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider, there is more to the story than just Braun’s recovery.
“[…] why isn’t Braun Strowman in this match? Well, the obvious reason is that he’s just not physically cleared by WWE’s medical staff to do a big heavy duty match with Brock Lesnar.”
“However, they also didn’t want Braun to get beaten by Brock, and they were not planning on putting the belt on Braun Strowman at the Royal Rumble,” Johnson revealed. “So they kind of painted themselves into a corner and then they painted themselves out of that corner somehow.”
Lesnar may well keep the Universal championship through to WrestleMania 35, where it is speculated he will face Seth Rollins. Despite Lesnar/Strowman no longer happening, there is still a chance WWE could deliver the match in the future.
Finn Balor has been the recipient of a major push in recent weeks. He recently gained a notable victory against Drew McIntyre at TLC, and made a surprise appearance at the recent NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool event. This push makes sense in order to rebuild Balor up to main event status prior to his matchup at Royal Rumble.
RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey is currently set to defend her title against Sasha Banks. The pair will meet at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV) later this month (Sun. January 27, 2019). “The Legit Boss” took to Twitter and commented on working live events recently. She then proceeded to take shots at Rousey and Universal Champion Brock Lesnar.
Banks promised fans that soon enough they’ll have a champion who will come to a town near them:
Ring Of Honor (ROH) recently announced that they’ve re-signed WOH World Champion Kelly Klein. The announcement was made official on ROH’s Twitter account. Klein recently captured the WOH World Title in a Fatal Four-Way match against Sumie Sakai, Madison Rayne, and Karen Q at “Final Battle.”
She had this to say about re-signing with ROH:
“Time and again I have earned respect. You don’t have to like me. But you’re lying if you say you don’t respect me” – @Women_of_Honor World Champion @RealKellyKlein on signing with #ROH and her upcoming defense THIS SUNDAY at #ROHHRS! Read Now: https://buff.ly/2QwPo9X”
“Time and again I have earned respect. You don’t have to like me. But you’re lying if you say you don’t respect me" – @Women_of_Honor World Champion @RealKellyKlein on signing with #ROH and her upcoming defense THIS SUNDAY at #ROHHRS!
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) January 8, 2019
Klein will defend her title against Jenny Rose this weekend (Sun. January 13, 2019) at the Honor Reigns Supreme live event in Concord, North Carolina. Check out the card for the show here:
ROH World Championship: (C) Jay Lethal vs. Dalton Castle
ROH WOH World Championship: (C) Kelly Klein vs. Jenny Rose
Villain Enterprises (Marty Scurll, PCO, Brody King) vs. Silas Young and The Briscoes
The Kingdom (Matt Taven, TK O’Ryan, and Vinny Marseglia) vs. Delirious, Luchasaurus, and Shane “Hurricane” Helms
Bandido vs. PJ Black
Flip Gordon vs. Tracy Williams
Best Friends vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay
Mark Haskins vs. Beer City Bruiser
Proving Grounds Instant Reward Match: Jeff Cobb vs. Shane Taylor vs. Rhett Titus vs. Jonathan Gresham
Bobby Lashley has his sights set on facing WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar at the biggest event of the year for the company, WrestleMania 35. This has been a match that he has wanted for years as he’s been talking about it in various interviews due to their backgrounds as pro wrestlers and MMA fighters.
Lashley is preparing to compete in the men’s Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on Sunday, January 27, 2019, in Phoenix, Arizona at Chase Field. He took to his official Twitter account where he made it clear that he plans to win this match in order to face Lesnar at WrestleMania 35 with the title being on the line.
Lashley wrote the following: “You’re damn right I’m entering! 20 days til I win the #RoyalRumble 90 days til I defeat @BrockLesnar and become #UniversalChampion at #WrestleMania. What do you say, champ? @HeymanHustle”
It should be noted that not only does Lashley have to win this match but Lesnar also has to get past his next challenge in order for this match to take place. Braun Strowman is slated to challenge Lesnar for the Universal Title at the Royal Rumble. Time will tell whether this match between Lashley and Lesnar ever happens.
Braun Strowman is hyped for Monday’s episode of WWE RAW in Orlando, FL at the Amway Center where he’s slated to confront Paul Heyman and WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar.
Strowman, who is set to challenge Lesnar for the Universal Title at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on Sunday, January 27, 2019, in Phoenix, Arizona at Chase Field that will air on the WWE Network, tweeted out the following message:
“The Monsters back for the first episode of #Raw for 2019!!!! Heard @BrockLesnar is gonna be there. I’ve got a bone to pick with him and his Ratvocate @HeymanHustle.”
Former WWE RAW Women’s Champion Sasha Banks has sent out a vague message on her official Instagram account that has fans talking. In the post, she brought up how she wants magic and to feel like herself again.
Banks, who is slated to compete in the women’s Royal Rumble match later this month alongside Carmella, Natalya, Bayley, Ember Moon, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, and Liv Morgan, wrote the following:
“There is something about the way life happens today that makes it hard to look ahead. There are things that make it difficult to laugh; difficult to live the way you want. There are things that make it almost impossible to trust where you are, or to believe in where you want to be. You look around and life is happening way too fast. Sometimes it feels like the moments are gone. Everything happens all at once and right away. We’re marching towards a destiny we cannot understand, towards the kingdom of convenient. Then one day you look up and you can’t find the meaning. Your crisis of purpose and passion is acting up, but they tell you that that’s suppose to be normal. Well… I don’t want normal, I want magic; cause that’s the place that feels like home to me. That’s the place where I remember what dreams look like, where meaning is effortless, and purpose is simple. That’s the place where love still matters. I want that feeling of coming home again. I want to feel like myself….. I want that magic”
Dana White commented on Brock Lesnar’s ability to negotiate between WWE and UFC recently. The UFC President made the comments during the post-fight press conference from UFC 232.
White was asked if Brock Lesnar is still in the title picture in UFC’s heavyweight division.
“So, we were talking about it (Lesnar coming back) and then he ended up signing a new deal with WWE,” White said.
Then Dana White commented on what he believes has been taking place between Brock Lesnar and WWE during recent contract negotiations.
“What I think happens is, he’s in a very unique position because he can play this thing between UFC and WWE,” White continued. “They get right down to the wire and I think Vince (McMahon) throws so much money at him that he says ‘Alright, I’ll do it again’ because (the UFC) is here for him no matter what. When he’s ready, he can come in here and fight and he’s going to make a s**t load of money here too. So, it makes sense, I’m assuming that’s what’s going on.”
White continued to say he won’t be waiting for Lesnar in terms of his match-making moving forward specifically concerning Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier. Lesnar confronted Cormier inside the octagon after the UFC heavyweight champion won his last fight. Similarly, Jones called out Lesnar after his UFC 214 victory but instead called out Cormier after his win over Alexander Gustafsson on Saturday.
With the McMahon family and Triple H having recently declared that change would be coming, WWE is clearly hoping to start 2019 off with a bang — shaking off the negative ratings from 2018 in the process.
At the end of Friday night’s New Year’s Eve Raw tapings, it was announced that John Cena, Braun Strowman, and Brock Lesnar would be returning to the red brand sooner than people might have thought. The three will appear on the very first Raw of 2019 on January 7th.
Despite this attempt to utilize some of their pre-established star power, WWE has not divulged what kind of role Cena will have on the show. Considering he is set to begin shooting a new movie soon, his contribution may most likely be minimal. This shoot is also the reason John Cena is not scheduled to appear at the 2019 Royal Rumble.
Plans for Strowman and Lesnar, however, are a bit clearer. The two will feature in order to promote their upcoming clash for the WWE Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble event.
If things go to plan as the McMahon/Triple H collective hope, then this first episode of Raw should herald in a new age as they actively attempt to deliver on their promise of improving their shows.
Only time and inevitable ratings will tell if it pays off.
Brock Lesnar is set to make his return to WWE RAW in advance of his next title defense as Universal Champion.
It was revealed this week that “The Beast” would appear on the January 21st episode in Oklahoma City, OK at the Chesapeake Arena. This will be an important episode of Monday Night RAW as it will serve as the go-home edition of the red brand for the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event.
The official Twitter account of the arena made the news public when they sent out the following tweet, “OKC – we’re getting an early Christmas present! @BrockLesnar returns to Monday Night RAW in Oklahoma City on January 21!”
Lesnar is scheduled to defend his title Braun Strowman at WWE’s next big event, Royal Rumble, on Sunday, January 27, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona at Chase Field that will air on the WWE Network. This will mark his first title defense since winning the strap when he beat Strowman for the vacant title at the Crown Jewel event.
He was last seen in action once he defeated WWE Champion Daniel Bryan in a non-title match last month at the Survivor Series pay-per-view. His last appearance on RAW came back on the go-home show for Survivor Series.
WWE has also confirmed that Paul Heyman is set to appear on this Monday’s episode of Raw to hype Lesnar’s next title defense. This episode will serve as the Christmas Eve edition of the show.
A lot of eyebrows were raised when Brock Lesnar’s UFC drug testing numbers were tampered with recently. The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) website updated their testing numbers in mid-October, showing Lesnar had now been tested six times. However, recently, that number was dropped back down to five. Many fans immediately raised red flags and begun throwing out conspiracy theories.
Now, USADA has issued an official statement on the matter. It turns out, a “technical glitch” was to blame for the confusion. The number currently reflected on the site (five) is deemed to be accurate (via ESPN):
“USADA updates the Athlete Test History page of the UFC/USADA website on a weekly basis. During an update on the week of October 15th, we experienced a technical issue that resulted in the information on the page being displayed incorrectly.
“The correct test history for the athlete is one test [that week], not two. The issue has been fixed and the testing numbers on the website are all accurate. We are still investigating the specific technical issue that led to the error.”
In response, UFC Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance, Jeff Novitzky, also issued a statement on behalf of the promotion. Novitzky noted that he and the promotion don’t seem to be overly concerned with the issue:
“I have access to a more specific database than the public, which displays the date a sample is collected, what type of sample it is and what the results are as soon as they are available,” Novitzky said.
“The public website, as I understand it, indicated there had been two tests during this last quarter, and it recently dropped to one. I have always seen one test in this quarter for Lesnar. It was a urine test and it came back negative.”
One reason fans have taken issue with the recent “glitch” is because Lesnar has a history of failed drug tests. Back in 2016 after his fight with Mark Hunt at UFC 200, Lesnar delivered a failed drug test. The 41-year-old returned to the MMA scene over the summer when he confronted Daniel Cormier after his heavyweight title win. UFC President Dana White has said he plans to book Cormier vs. Lesnar for the heavyweight title in the first quarter of 2019.
Before that can happen, Lesnar must fulfill his suspension stemming from his 2016 failed test. He will be eligible to return on or after the Jan. 8, 2019 date.
For more MMA news please visit our sister site over at MMANews.com
What do you think of the “technical glitch” behind Lesnar’s latest drug test results?
At WWE Starrcade over the weekend, Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins emerged victorious in his Cage match against Dean Ambrose. After the match, “The Architect” took to Twitter to celebrate, by dubbing himself “The Man, The Champ” of WWE. Of course, Rollins did this knowing it’d upset SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Becky Lynch. The pair have bickered back and forth before about who is really “The Man” of WWE.
In his Tweet, Rollins took a jab at Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey, and Daniel Bryan for not being a part of the show. He then declared himself “The Man, The Champ” of WWE:
“Away game? Hostile environment? No Brock? No Bryan? No Ronda? No Becky? ….no problem. THE Man, THE Champ. The hardest working MFer in this business just wrecked Cincinnati.”
Away game? Hostile environment? No Brock? No Bryan? No Ronda? No Becky? ….no problem. THE Man, THE Champ. The hardest working MFer in this business just wrecked Cincinnati. #ALLHEART#Starrcade
Lynch, who has been on top of her Twitter game as of late, of course, had to respond. She also took a shot at Lesnar, Rousey, and Bryan for not being on the show. “The Irish Lass Kicker” reminded everyone she wasn’t competing due to her broken nose and concussion, before asking what everyone else’s excuse was:
“I have a concussion and a broken face, what’s everyone else’s excuse?”
As we hurtle towards ‘The Road To Wrestlemania,’ we have an update on who the WWE Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar, could be facing come April 7th. Early reports highlighted that Lesnar might clash with Braun Strowman. However, according to Dave Meltzer, this may not actually be the case.
Reported in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the current plan for Brock Lesnar now sees him taking on, Seth Rollins. Unless the WWE want to commit to a champion-versus-champion matchup, the implication is that Seth will drop the Intercontinental title. This could possibly take place against Dean Ambrose at TLC.
It’s reported that the Rollins vs Lesnar feud will use Roman Reigns’ unfortunate diagnosis as a narrative starting point but there are no specifics at this time.
Tabbles, Ladders and Chairs
‘The Beast Incarnate’ vs ‘The Monster Among Men’ seemed secure as Raw’s main event scene for the foreseeable future. However, with Strowman scheduled to receive elbow surgery in order to remove bone spurs, it leaves the WWE’s initial plans in limbo.
Although still slated to face off against Baron Corbin at TLC, it is unclear about the surgery’s rehabilitation time. However, the WWE appears confident in a January return.
The major stipulation for their clash would have seen Strowman receive a WWE Universal Title shot if victorious. Conversely, if Corbin were to succeed, he would gain full General Managership of Monday Night Raw.
Supposedly, the original outcome would have seen Braun win in order to challenge Lesnar going forward.
Contractual Obligations
With only a handful of matches left on his renewed contract, the WWE will want to pair up their Universal Champion against top contenders as we head towards April.
Post-WrestleMania, it is expected that Lesnar will wrap up all WWE commitments and return to the UFC, where it is speculated he will compete against the champ-champ, Daniel Cormier.
What do you think of this matchup? Would you prefer Beast vs Monster or Beast vs Architect?
WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar proved that he was the most dominant top champion in the WWE. As seen at Sunday’s (November 18, 2018) Survivor Series pay-per-view event in Los Angeles, California at the Staples Center on the WWE Network, Lesnar was able to beat WWE Champion Daniel Bryan in a champion vs. champion match.
Lesnar won the WWE Universal Championship by defeating Braun Strowman at the WWE Crown Jewel pay-per-view event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Fahd International Stadium. The pair of men were competing for the vacant strap that was forfeited by Roman Reigns. It’s been reported that Lesnar has two more matches on his current WWE deal. The first being a match with Styles at Survivor Series, and the second being another match with Braun Strowman. Lesnar agreed secretly to the new deal with the WWE that sees him working multiple shows, but its length of time has been kept secretive. It was added that Lesnar is scheduled as late as April of next year for WrestleMania. It will be interesting to see when Lesnar works his next match under the WWE banner. What are your thoughts on Lesnar winning this match? Sound off in the comment section.
Daniel Bryan beat A.J. Styles for the WWE Championship this week. On Talk Is Jericho, Chris Jericho gave his insight on what he believes Vince McMahon’s thought process was like when making the decision to end Styles’ title reign of more than a year.
“I think that Vince wanted a buzz going into Survivor Series, because he lost his main event, which was Ronda vs. Becky,” Jericho said.
“He needed a buzz. ‘I need buzz-worthy. I will change the title.’ Because to him, A.J. and Bryan are the same. They’re both great workers. They’re both the same size.
Jericho’s explanation didn’t end there, as he also managed to work in a couple of thinly-veiled jabs at Brock Lesnar.
“They’re both going to get eaten alive by Brock depending on what kind of mood he’s in, if he even wants to have a match or whatever,” Jericho said.
“Because sometimes Brock will just show up and say ‘Yeah, we’ll just talk about it in the ring.’ That’s what happened with Ambrose at WrestleMania. They didn’t even go over anything.”
Jericho did not elaborate further. But from the context of the comments, and by invoking the Ambrose match, you can connect the dots on how Jericho feels about Lesnar’s professionalism.
Judge for yourself by listening to the full episode of Talk Is Jericho below.
There have been a lot of stories going around in regards to talent being upset about unsafe working. Of course, this is fronted by Nia Jax injuring Becky Lynch on Monday Night RAW earlier this week. Jax punched Lynch in the face during the invasion angle on RAW, breaking the SmackDown Live Women’s Champion’s nose. As a result, she has been pulled from her match with Ronda Rousey Sunday at Survivor Series.
It’s being reported that Jax has some heat backstage for the incident. However, Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that more talents are seemingly upset by WWE’s preferential treatment of Brock Lesnar. The Universal Champion was also a part of RAW this week. He came out and attacked Jinder Mahal and The Singh Brothers. During the angle, Lesnar hit some devastating german suplexes on Sunil Singh.
Singh landed awkwardly on his neck, but thankfully it seems like he wasn’t injured. Meltzer reports that more talents seem to be upset that Lesnar is basically “bulletproof” against WWE brass. While Jax’s injuring of Lynch was the most reckless act of the night, Lesnar’s could’ve been just as – if not more – harmful.
What do you think about WWE’s preferential treatment of Lesnar?
Events that transpired over the past week have altered WWE’s plans for the next several months. Becky Lynch’s injury and Vince McMahon’s decision to put the WWE Championship on Daniel Bryan resulted in a dramatic shakeup to Survivor Series. This Sunday, Ronda Rousey now faces Charlotte Flair and Brock Lesnar squares off against Daniel Bryan.
Rousey vs. Flair had been seen as the likely WrestleMania main event. However, the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter states that Rousey vs. Becky Lynch now the frontrunner to headline that show. With Lesnar booked against Daniel Bryan on short notice, let’s consider possible WrestleMania scenarios for the Beast Incarnate.
Dave Meltzer has stated multiple times that he’s been told Lesnar’s WrestleMania opponent will not be Braun Strowman. That could have been a marquee match for WWE’s biggest show of the year, but they’ve already played that card multiple times. Beyond Strowman, there are not many viable options for what could be Brock Lesnar’s final WWE match.
Drew McIntyre, AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan were named as potential opponents in the Observer report. Bryan seems least likely since they’re fighting this weekend. “They can always take somebody out of nowhere but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of options for that spot so AJ does seem pretty viable for it,” Meltzer wrote.
Brock Lesnar’s WrestleMania Opponent
Lesnar recently signed a new deal with WWE that only calls for a few more appearances. For years, Brock Lesnar was portrayed to be in a class aof his own while Roman Reigns was groomed to be the new face of the company. Reigns finally got his big win over Brock Lesnar this past August at SummerSlam, but is now sidelined indefinitely as he battles Leukemia.
After Brock Lesnar fights Daniel Bryan this Sunday, he probably only has one or two matches left with WWE. Even though we saw Lesnar vs. AJ Styles last year at Survivor Series, that’s still a high profile match suitable for WrestleMania.
Drew McIntyre is on the rise and WWE could use Lesnar’s final match at WrestleMania as a chance to pass the torch the Scotsman. McIntyre’s star is rising and WWE could solidify his main events status with a decisive win over Lesnar. Seth Rollins is also in play, but he is now embroiled in a heated feud with Dean Ambrose. There is big money in Rollins vs. Lesnar, but that would require WWE winding down the Shield feud before WrestleMania season gets underway.
For the latest on Brock Lesnar possibly returning to UFC, check out the Brock Lesnar news page over at our partner site, MMANews.com.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7zwYf3G2p8
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Brock Lesnar re-gained the Universal Championship at Crown Jewel. He defeated Braun Strowman in a match which was originally to involve Roman Reigns. Lesnar had help from Baron Corbin, however. The Raw authority figure hit Strowman in the back of the head with the title belt before the match. This allowed Lesnar to pick up the win after delivering multiple F-5s to his injured opponent.
According to a recent report from Wrestling Observer Radio, Lesnar vs Strowman III (Brock beat Strowman at No Mercy 2017 as well) will not happen at WrestleMania, however.
“I was told directly that Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman is not going to happen at WrestleMania,” Dave Meltzer said. There are only so many dates Lesnar’s schedule is open for the match to take place, however. If WrestleMania is not the date, it begs the question of when is.
When Will Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman II Take Place?
Unless something changes, the match won’t take place at the TLC PPV either.
“Right now Lesnar’s not booked in San Jose (TLC) which is the December PPV,” Meltzer continued.
With WrestleMania and TLC ruled out for Strowman vs Lesnar III, it leads the Royal Rumble as a likely date for the match. Another possibility is WWE would hold off on the match until after WrestleMania but that would likely mean another round of contract negotiations with Lesnar. A still further possibility is Lesnar vs Strowman happens sometime in between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania.
Last night, Stephanie McMahon told Braun Strowman that if he captains the Raw Survivor Series team to victory he will get another title shot. Lesnar will face AJ Styles on Sunday.
WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar has his next booking on RAW lined up. He is slated to appear on next week’s episode of the flagship show of the company in Kansas City, MO at the Sprint Center. This will be the go-home show to the 2018 Survivor Series pay-per-view event.
Also, RAW Commissioner Stephanie McMahon is also slated to appear in order to address her brother and SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon winning the World Cup Tournament at the Crown Jewel event last week.
Lesnar was last seen at the Crown Jewel pay-per-view event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the King Fahd International Stadium where he beat Braun Strowman to win the vacant Universal Title.
He’ll be appearing alongside Paul Heyman on RAW in order to promote his next match under the WWE banner. He’s slated to compete in a champion vs. champion match against WWE Champion AJ Styles at WWE’s next big PPV event, which is Survivor Series.
This traditional event will take place on Sunday, November 18, 2018 in Los Angeles, California at the Staples Center and will air on the WWE Network. WWE has yet to announce the main event of this show, but it could end up being Lesnar vs. Styles serving as the headliner.
We recently reported that “The Beast” Brock Lesnar has two further matches scheduled in the future, with one of them pitting him against SmackDown’s WWE champion, AJ Styles. This is due to Lesnar’s victory over Braun Strowman at WWE’s recent Crown Jewel event, where he became the first ever two time WWE Universal Champion.
Turns out, this wasn’t the plan that the WWE had heading into Crown Jewel, at all.
Apparently, the plans for the event would have seen then Universal Champion, Roman Reigns, retain the belt in the originally scheduled triple threat against both Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman.
This matchup would have coincided with Brock Lesnar’s last contractual match, leaving him free to train for his rumored UFC return against Daniel Cormier for the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
However, Reigns would reveal on RAW a few weeks earlier that he was sadly once again battling leukaemia. This revelation led him to relinquish the title, turning the triple threat into a one-on-one contest.
It also forced the WWE into a major rewrite that saw Brock reassert his place as the Universal Champion.
“Reigns Was Going To Win That Match”
According to Dave Meltzer, “The deal was, when Roman went down, Vince backed up the Brinks truck and felt with Roman gone they needed Brock. Brock’s last date was gonna be Crown Jewel. Roman Reigns was gonna win that match.”
Brock, if nothing else, is a consummate businessman, as evidenced by his ability to further leverage his personal stock between both the WWE and the UFC.
We now live in a world where the UFC’s ‘Champ-Champ’ Daniel Cormier is telling Lesnar to “bring that belt [to the UFC]” because he feels like “being a WWE Champion, too” in the build-up to their supposed confrontation in the Octagon.
Crazy thing is, depending on how Vince McMahon wants to play it, seeing the WWE Universal Championship appear on a future UFC PPV could become an actual reality.
What do you think? Would you want to see the Universal Championship at UFC? Think it’s possible?
For those wondering about the current contractual status of the newly crowned WWE Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar, it turns out that “The Beast” has at least two more WWE appearances slated for the future. One of which is a highly-anticipated rematch against SmackDown Live’s current WWE Champion, AJ Styles.
First reported by Dave Meltzer, Lesnar is apparently “signed for at least two more appearances.” He extrapolated his point, saying, “You always knew there’s a chance because how many times are you going to surprise people with Lesnar winning without people going, ‘Well there’s always a chance.’ So Lesnar is signed for at least two more appearances.”
When speculating on Brock’s potential opponents, Meltzer stated that “he’s going to face AJ at Survivor Series which is non-title and the plan is for Strowman, whether that’s at Rumble or Mania — I don’t know.”
“I can see Strowman winning the Rumble and facing Lesnar at Mania,” Meltzer predicated. “I could definitely see that.”
The Beast vs The Monster Among Men
Brock Lesnar recently won the WWE Universal Title for a second time (the only superstar to have done so) at WWE’s Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia. The match left a lot of fans confused, to say the least, given the pre-bell interference by Baron Corbin and subsequent squash against Braun Strowman.
A Strowman victory at the Royal Rumble would set up nicely for a rematch at Wrestlemania 35, this coming April.
But, here’s the crux of the issue: is that the match fans want to see?
What do you think? Is this a match you’d want at Wrestlemania? Is this theoretical plan the best storyline WWE have for these two? Who would you prefer they face, if not each other?
Not content with solidifying his position at the top of the UFC’s Heavyweight division, defending his Heavyweight title, and climbing up to 15-0 (as a Heavyweight fighter), Daniel Cormier took to the mic after his successful victory at UFC 230 to address a potential future contender — one that he has had an in-Octagon confrontation with in the past: Brock Lesnar.
“You Have To Be One Of The Best In The World To Even Compete”
“I think a lot of people have to understand that I’ve been doing this for 9 years, and I’ve fought at the championship level for 8 of them,” Cormier explained. “So, there’s no surprises with me.”
Cormier continued, “I come in here [into the Octagon] and try to do my thing. If you have a puncher’s chance, like I’ve said, that’s not enough. You have to be one of the best in the world to even compete.”
Joe Rogan took this as an opportunity to ask a question that has been a hot topic debate between pro wrestling and fight fans since UFC 226.
“Which brings me to the next challenge, which is most likely going to be Brock Lesnar,” Joe said. “What are your thoughts on that?”
Taking a deep breath, a smile on his face, D.C. responded with gusto, throwing out an invitation and a warning to the current WWE Universal Champion:
“Brock Lesnar, when you come, bring that brand new WWE [Universal] title, too — I feel like being a WWE champion, too. Let’s go! Let’s go, Brock! Bring that belt with you if you come to my house.”
From “The Black Beast” to “The Beast Incarnate,” Daniel Cormier is on track to trying to top Stipe Miocic’s reign as the most fighting Heavyweight champion in the UFC.
What do you think? If you’re a fight fan, is this a clash you want to see, or would you prefer another Daniel Cormier vs Jon Jones bout?