WWE is not interested in hearing fans’ opinions on one of their top superstars. The company sent out a survey to fans recently asking them to select up to 10 superstars that they enjoy seeing on WWE programming. There was one notable omission.

WWE Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar, was not one of the selectable Superstars. His exclusion from the survey may lead to further speculation that Lesnar’s last match with the company will be at Summerslam.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmlbSRMAkSF/?utm_source=ig_embed

Brock Lesnar WWE

Lesnar’s absence from the survey is notable considering his accompanying notable absence from WWE programming. It is still not clear how much longer Lesnar will be with WWE.

Sunday will the 3rd time Lesnar has defended the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns. He defeated Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 34 and then again at the Greatest Royal Rumble. His match against Roman at the GRR, however, was a controversial finish after Lesnar and Roman crashed through the cage at the same time.

Check out SEScoops Staff Predictions for Takeover and Summerslam!

Brock Lesnar has one of the best contracts in the history of professional wrestling.

Lesnar is currently the WWE Universal Champion on Monday Night RAW. He is likely the highest-paid Superstar on the roster and is only required to show up a handful of times a year. One of those appearances will happen this weekend. Lesnar will defend his Universal Title against Roman Reigns at SummerSlam on Sunday.

It’s expected to be one of Lesnar’s final appearances on WWE TV for quite some time. “The Beast” will return to the UFC for a fight with Daniel Cormier early next year. Because of this, everyone expects Lesnar to lose the Universal Title in Brooklyn.

There have been plenty of those within the industry who express displeasure for Lesnar’s part-time status. Also, there are some who credit Lesnar for being able to obtain such a great deal.

Rollins On Lesnar’s WWE Deal

Intercontinental Title challenger Seth Rollins is part of the latter. “The Architect” spoke to Sports Illustrated to promote his title match with Dolph Ziggler this weekend at SummerSlam:

“I think it’s more of the latter. From my perspective, I’m not mad at Brock Lesnar for getting a great deal. The guy got a fantastic deal. In a way, it’s a challenge, it’s inspiring. Part of being inspiring is the frustration that, “I don’t have Brock Lesnar’s deal.

“I’m not the Universal Champion for 600-and-some-odd days with 12 defenses or whatever it is. You can call it jealously, you can call it envy, but at the end of the day, as long as you don’t get ugly with it, it’s just motivation to work harder.

“Lesnar’s gonna do what Lesnar’s gonna do, whether he stays or goes. I think the cool part of SummerSlam is that animosity toward him has reached a boiling point. So I think coming into SummerSlam, you don’t know what’s going to happen.

“That’s what’s interesting to me. That’s the fun part of wrestling. The worst part of wrestling is when it’s super predictable. The best part is when it’s “Honestly, I don’t know.””

WWE Star Undergoes Surgery

We reported yesterday that SmackDown Live star Sin Cara suffered an injury. PWInsider first reported the news. It was noted Cara said on his Instagram story he was on his way to visit Birmingham, Alabama to see a doctor.

Today on Twitter, Cara confirmed that he underwent surgery. The operation was performed by Dr. Jeffrey Dugas on Tuesday. Check out Sin Cara’s Twitter post here:

Hoy hicimos con el doctor Jeffrey Dugas unos pequeños ajustes en mi rodilla para volver con todo a mi terreno ????. El cuerpo es sabio y te indica cuando parar ??. Pero también tiene memoria y sabe cuando volver ?. pic.twitter.com/7yeYAWPHOs

— CintaDeOro (@CintaDeOro) August 15, 2018

Kurt Angle Takes Shot At Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar has a big weekend ahead of him. The WWE Universal Champion will defend his title against Roman Reigns at SummerSlam. All the action goes down live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on August 19th.

In the weeks leading up to the fight Lesnar has had issues with RAW General Manager Kurt Angle. Angle has continuously called Lesnar the worst WWE Champion of all time. “The Beast” hit Angle with an F5 on RAW several weeks ago.

Angle recently took to Twitter to issue out one final shot at Lesnar before SummerSlam. He said he hopes Roman Reigns “kicks Brock’s ass” in New York on Sunday. Here’s what the Olympic gold medalist had to say:

“Brock hardly ever shows up, nor does he defend the Universal Championship consistently. I Hope @WWERomanReigns kicks Brock’s ass this Sunday at SummerSlam. Then the Title will show up on Raw each week, the way it should.”

Brock hardly ever shows up, nor does he defend the Universal Championship consistently. I Hope @WWERomanReigns kicks Brock’s ass this Sunday at Summerslam. Then the Title will show up on Raw each week, the way it should. #itstrue https://t.co/jsFOrJBlNC

— Kurt Angle (@RealKurtAngle) August 14, 2018

Roman Reigns will once again face Brock Lesnar for a WWE World Title.

Reigns is set to challenge “The Beast” at the company’s SummerSlam pay-per-view (PPV) this weekend for the Universal Title. The action goes down from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on August 19th.

This will be the fourth one-on-one bout between Lesnar and Reigns for a WWE World Title. Lesnar and Reigns first collided at WrestleMania 31 for the WWE World Title. In the end, Seth Rollins cashed in his Money In The Bank (MITB) briefcase to spoil their moment.

Next, Reigns challenged Lesnar on “The Grandest Stage Of Them All” three years later at WrestleMania 34. Lesnar defeated Reigns clean after a bloody back-and-forth contest. And lastly, Reigns again failed to capture the Universal Title from Lesnar at The Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia.

Reigns Speared Lesnar outside of the cage; and although his feet hit the ground first, Lesnar’s back landed before. Lesnar was declared the winner. Now Reigns will get a fourth opportunity at defeating “The Beast.”

There has been some criticism amongst the professional wrestling community about these two being matched-up yet again. Reigns recently addressed these criticisms in an interview with Sporting News. Here’s what he had to say:

“I think it’s awesome. We have a lot of critics. A lot of opinions nowadays with social media and everybody being able to connect. People can say whatever they want but I think 20 years from now, if you look at it, the three years, the first one we had (WrestleMania 31), that was a banger. That was two titans going at it. We killed each other. Then we had a couple of multi-man matches mixed throughout then the next one at ‘Mania (33).

“Say what you want — by the end of it, if you go back and watch the physicality, you can say whatever you want. Oh, there’s a lot of suplexes. But it’s Brock Lesnar. He’s a big ol’ giant, cornfed wrestler that throws bodies around. With blood all over the canvas, I thought it was a pretty good story and a good, physical contest.

“Then the third one, singles-wise, was in Saudi Arabia and I speared the guy through the freaking cage. It was the craziest action sequence other than Titus (O’Neil) about sliding back to America. I thought that was a pretty good contest as well. I think in due time, on top of what he’s doing with bouncing between UFC, there’s nobody like him.

“We literally have another one that is the top name in Ronda Rousey and you don’t hear her floating with the idea of getting back in that Octagon but Brock Lesnar is ready to step in there tomorrow if you’d let him.

“I think he’s — not to sound like Paul (Heyman) — he’s a once-in-a-lifetime athlete and for me to have this awesome rivalry with him over the past three years, I think it’s a huge defining mark for my career and it definitely was a launching pad coming from 2015.”

Roman Reigns is gearing up for another battle with Brock Lesnar at a big WWE event.

Roman Reigns spoke with Brian Fritz of Sporting News to promote Sunday’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view. In this interview, he spoke about the importance of having the WWE Universal Championship on Monday Night RAW every week.

“It’s killing us,” Reigns said. “It’s killing us. It makes for better storytelling. It would be a better product. It would be a better show. When you have the diamond that everybody’s chasing, it gives everybody a GPS of where they are and where they’re trying to be.”

Reigns continued by stating the importance of having a champion who is on the road with the roster. The champion is supposed to be a locker room leader and younger talent are missing a role model when the champion isn’t around. Brock Lesnar does not show up for months at a time, so Reigns wants to be that workhorse. 

“I’m to the point where I’ve won a bunch of different championships and the only reason I want that championship is because I haven’t won it and I want it on this roster. I want it at our shows. I want it in every town because it’s going to make everybody better.”

Reigns, who is slated to challenge Lesnar for the Universal Title at SummerSlam, was asked if he would prefer to see Lesnar fight in UFC or stay in WWE after SummerSlam.

Roman Reigns Wants To Send Brock Lesnar Back To UFC

“To be honest, at this point I’d love to see him just go fight in UFC because that’s where it seems his passion and where his focus is right now,” Reigns said. “We have a protocol here. We have a certain schedule and there’s a certain rhythm that makes this whole business work and, right now, I think he’s throwing us out of whack a little bit.”

He noted that it’s great exposure to crossover and that they love to have big stars like Lesnar. However, WWE has to look out for itself and they have to continue their business and focus on their shows.

Reigns added, “I just feel like it would be a lot better served with that Universal Championship in someone’s hands like myself.”

Check out the complete interview at SportingNews.com. Also, remember to join us here at SEScoops.com this Sunday evening for live results coverage of this year’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view.

What are your thoughts on Reigns’ comments? Sound off in the comment section.

We have an update on Brock Lesnar’s status for tonight’s episode of Monday Night RAW.

“The Beast” will defend his Universal Championship at SummerSlam against Roman Reigns this weekend. It will be the fourth time the pair have matched up for a WWE World Championship.

“The Biggest Party Of The Summer” takes place Sunday, August 19th, from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Tonight’s episode of RAW will be the go-home show before the pay-per-view (PPV).

Lesnar is not advertised to make an appearance tonight. Despite this, Cageside Seats reports that “The Beast” is in fact scheduled to appear. It will be interesting to see if Lesnar interacts with Reigns before their meeting this weekend.

Also, it will be interesting to see the dynamic between Lesnar and Heyman heading into SummerSlam. Last time Lesnar was on WWE TV he attacked both RAW General Manager Kurt Angle and Heyman.

The storyline has led many to speculate that Heyman could turn on Lesnar this weekend, costing him the Universal Title in the process. The winner of Braun Strowman and Kevin Owens’ Money In The Bank (MITB) briefcase match is also speculated to have an impact on the match.

Join us here this weekend for our WWE SummerSlam live coverage.

Many fans are disappointed that Bobby Lashley will not be involved in the Universal title match at SummerSlam. Thus robbing them of an encounter of Bobby Lashley vs. Brock Lensar.

Tale Of The Tape

Lashley and Reigns faced each other for the number one contender spot for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam. Reigns would win the number one contender match to face Lesnar leaving Lashley back in a mid-card feud with Elias.

The Big Guy Speaks

Ryback gave his take on the situation involving Lashley and Reigns on Conversation With The Big Guy.

“They want Roman Reigns to be the guy to beat Brock Lesnar. You have to look at it that you are selling to the house market that a big win over Brock Lesnar does more for you worldwide than just that hardcore audience [if Lashley would have won] regardless of what they think.”

“Something like that they are going more global. You have to look at the big win Roman Reigns had over The Undertaker and other wins that he has been afforded over the years. That adds up and sells merchandise and that puts him in that sort of position.”

In preparations for his big title match against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam, Roman Reigns took the time to answer questions in a recent interview.

One question that was asked if Reigns would like to have Paul Heyman represent him.

“Nah I like talking for myself. That’s one thing I want too, just a little longer promos you know what I mean? Just me and the mic that would be nice. Do a lot of interactive promos in the ring and stuff like that. That’s how you grow and it’ll be cool to get those long, solo promos. Working with Paul, there’s nothing wrong with just sitting there like a boss and let your attorney do the talking. Let him talk the logistics, and I’m sure Paul won’t have a problem reading off my resume, it’ll take a while but he’s pretty good with stuff like that. But I would still want to talk for myself, 100 percent.”

Another question that was asked is if this match with Lesnar would have a different outcome than the others.

“That gets thrown around a lot. It’s funny because we haven’t wrestled that much. We’ve only had the three, two being regular matches and the other being in a cage. The others were in multi-man matches like the Fatal Four Way last year at SummerSlam and the Triple Threat with Ambrose at Fastlane a couple of years ago.

But being in there with an athlete like Brock regardless if it’s WWE or MMA, he is an unpredictable and powerful character and athlete. So you always have to be careful in there because he’s strong, and can throw you very far. When you haven’t been in the ring with him that often, and he’s not around as often, that can always be a concern.”

WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross is confused by WWE’s portrayal of Brock Lesnar as he approaches SummerSlam.

“The Beast” will defend his Universal Title against Roman Reigns from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on August 19th. Last week on RAW, Lesnar ran rampant on the program by attacking General Manager Kurt Angle. He even put his hands on his longtime advocate Paul Heyman.

WWE has been portraying Lesnar as someone who doesn’t care about the WWE fans, business or title. The fact that Lesnar is set to return to the UFC soon also feeds into that narrative.

WrestleZone Radio recently caught up with “Good Ole’ JR” and got his thoughts on Lesnar’s SummerSlam build. Ross said that he wouldn’t have taken the approach WWE has been using with Lesnar as we approach “The Biggest Party Of The Summer”:

“In hindsight it’s easier for us all to judge, myself included. Everybody likes to be a Monday morning quarterback and since we are recording this on Monday morning… It’s quarterback time.

“I would not have taken that approach, I do not believe in doing a negative sell, I just don’t think you get anything out of it, I think it’s the wrong kinds of emotions that you are attempting to create.

“I believe that, in my view, I would have taken a different route. That doesn’t mean that their route is wrong it just means that I don’t get it yet.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExE7e6bqRXg]

Upon departing WWE back in 2004, Brock Lesnar ventured off into a few other activities.

“The Beast” attempted to play in the National Football League (NFL) and also won the UFC heavyweight title as a mixed martial artist. In 2005 Lesnar returned to wrestling for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW).

He won the IWGP Heavyweight Title in October of that year. One of Lesnar’s title defenses came against current WWE Superstar Shinsuke Nakamura. Per Squared Circle Subreddit, some excerpts from Nakamura’s The King of Strong Style: 1980-2014 book reveal that he took issue with Lesnar’s NJPW run.

No Passion For The Business

Nakamura talked about getting to main event a NJPW show at the Tokyo Dome against Lesnar. The moment was spoiled, however, as he felt Lesnar didn’t have the same passion for the business as he did. It was the first time he cried in pro wrestling:

“Part of that was luck. But that match was seriously rough. First, Lesnar was saying all this stuff about how he respected New Japan, but it felt to me like that was just for show, that he didn’t really respect the promotion.

“Like, somewhere, he was looking down on Japanese people. I lost the match, and that was the first time I cried at pro wrestling after a match. It was the main event at Tokyo Dome. This was a pretty hallowed stage, and I knew I hadn’t fought the way I imagined I would.

“And there was, like, this temperature difference between me and Lesnar. I didn’t get the sense he had any love for pro wrestling. It felt like he was just doing his job.”

Nicking The IWGP Title

“The King Of Strong Style” also took issue with Lesnar not returning the IWGP Heavyweight Title:

“I felt like this was too much; he was seriously scoffing at us. Lesnar won the championship and took the belt home, I told Simon if the company didn’t get it’s shit in order, that belt was definitely going to get nicked.

“I didn’t honestly believe that when we fought. But it ended up just like I feared. He has the physical stuff, plus a straightforward strength and a certain amount of flexibility, so there was a bit of the monster to him.

“But I didn’t like his personality, you know? He might have made a real mark in UFC, but he didn’t even seem to notice the audience booing. I was like, ‘Oh, this guy’s a heel to the core.’”

While it’s debatable if the credits should be given to the massive returns or the approaching SummerSlam PPV, WWE was able to prove why Raw is their flagship show once again this week as the program saw a significant increase in viewership.

This week’s episode of Monday Night Raw drew an average of 2.901 million viewers which is up 4.4% from the 2.779 million viewers the show did last week.

The episode featuring the return of Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey did its best numbers since the Money In The Bank follow up episode on June 18th which was almost one and a half month ago.

Not only that but Raw was #1 for the night in viewership on cable and #1 in the 18-49 demographic as well. This apparently was the first time the Red Branded Show was #1 on cable since its August 29th episode last year.

Though it’s worth mentioning here that despite the fact that the company was building a main event segment featuring Brock Lesnar throughout the episode, the audience still dropped for the third hour of Raw.

The second hour of the show had drawn 3.012 million viewers, which was a significant increase from the 2.875 million viewers of the first hour.

However, the third hour of the show, featuring the Lesnar segment couldn’t continue the momentum and the audience for it dropped to 2.815 million viewers.

Roman Reigns will challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Title – again.

The pair met back at WrestleMania 31 for the WWE World Title. That bout ended with Seth Rollins cashing in his Money In The Bank (MITB) briefcase and winning the strap. Three years later they’d main event WrestleMania 34 for the Universal Title.

Lesnar picked up a clean victory over “The Big Dog” to retain his title. They rematched the same month at the Greatest Royal Rumble match in Saudi Arabia inside a Steel Cage. Reigns hit Lesnar with a Spear that sent both men flying outside the cage.

Although Reigns’ feet were the first to touch the ground, Lesnar’s back hit the floor first and he was declared the winner. Now Reigns has again earned the shot at the Universal Title and will fight Lesnar at SummerSlam next month.

WWE Hall Of Famer Bully Ray recently shared his thoughts on how WWE can make Lesnar and Reigns’ fourth match stand out at “The Biggest Party Of The Summer.” Here’s what he had to say:

“Even if you put the match on first, it’s still just a straight up match and if you still get a straight up finish, it’s really – I don’t know – I think that Money In The Bank briefcase might come into play. Early and late,” Ray said.

“This is completely in the opposite direction – what if Kevin Owens walks out of SummerSlam as your champion? If Owens walks out of SummerSlam as the champion, does Roman beat him the next night on RAW? I don’t think so. I think it makes Roman look weak. If Roman doesn’t beat Brock he looks weak.”

Ray then noted that Owens would get a pop if he won the title just for the sheer fact that neither Brock or Roman will be Universal Champion:

“He’s getting the pop because the belt is coming away from guys that they can’t stand. They can’t stand Brock because he’s a part-timer and they can’t stand Roman just for the sake that they can’t stand Roman. So the pop is not going to be for genuine emotion. They’re going to be popping for a title change and because the belt is away from these guys.”

"I think that #MITB briefcase is going to come in to play." @bullyray5150 & @davidlagreca1 discuss how the #WWE can make Lesnar vs. Reigns IV different this time around and it starts tonight on #RAW. pic.twitter.com/YepOZqx1Eh

— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) July 30, 2018

Brock Lesnar’s current run with the WWE is beginning to wind down.

Before he takes off to challenge Daniel Cormier for the UFC heavyweight title, Lesnar needs to fulfill some obligations as WWE Universal Champion. He will do so when he defends his strap against Roman Reigns at SummerSlam.

As for “The Beast’s” current WWE schedule, he is being advertised for one more Monday Night RAW before SummerSlam. That would be the go-home edition of RAW before the pay-per-view (PPV) in Greensboro, North Carolina in two weeks.

There are also rumors going around that Paul Heyman helped put together some of Lesnar’s segments on last night’s RAW. Lesnar refused to come out of his locker room until the end of the show. Upon doing so, he attacked both RAW General Manager Kurt Angle and his own advocate Paul Heyman.

After the show Lesnar also attacked WWE interviewer Mike Rome. With Lesnar now back in the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) drug testing pool, fans also noticed Lesnar is looking a tad smaller.

SummerSlam goes down live on PPV from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on August 19, 2018.

Fans noticed that Brock Lesnar was looking a bit – different on last night’s RAW.

“The Beast” has agreed to return to the UFC soon. Lesnar will receive a heavyweight title shot against Daniel Cormier next year. This means that the former UFC champ will need to undergo several months of United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) drug testing.

Lesnar officially re-entered the USADA drug testing pool earlier this month. Since his return to the drug testing pool, fans took to Twitter and noticed a difference in Lesnar’s physique. Several comments suggested Lesnar looked smaller, but acknowledged he was still lean:

Something is different about Brock Lesnar. Can’t quite put my finger on it *cough USADA cough* #WWE #RAW

— Daniel Yanofsky (@DanYanofsky) July 31, 2018

https://twitter.com/SharkAttack316/status/1024128780279926784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1024128780279926784&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2F411mania.com%2Fwrestling%2Ffans-notice-brock-lesnars-new-usada-tested-physique%2F

USADA tested Lesnar is an edgy and still aggressive Lesnar #RAWMiami #RAW #WWE

— David Lowther (@lowroda) July 31, 2018

Was watching #WWERAW I have full faith in Brock Lesnar passing USADA, he looks a lot smaller.

— will tuesca (@willtuesca) July 31, 2018

Brock Lesnar looked lean on RAW. USADA compliant lean.

— Ryan Pike (@RyanNPike) July 31, 2018

Lesnar’s UFC Return

At UFC 226 earlier this month Daniel Cormier knocked out Stipe Miocic to win the UFC heavyweight title. Lesnar then entered the cage after the bout to face off with “DC.” Lesnar walked right up to Cormier and gave him a hard shove. The heavyweight champ shoved Lesnar right back and they were separated by security officials.

UFC President Dana White announced that Lesnar is the next challenger for Cormier’s heavyweight title. Pending Lesnar is able to deliver clean drug tests in the next few months, he is eligible to return in January.

Brock Lesnar Sends Message To Roman Reigns

After staying away from programming for months, Universal Champion Brock Lesnar finally made his return to the WWE Television this week on Monday Night Raw.

The Beast was shown backstage a number of times before he came out in the final segment of the show and delivered an F5 to Raw General Manager Kurt Angle while also shoving Paul Heyman.

After the show went off air and Lesnar went backstage, Mike Rome tried to interview the Universal Champion and Brock said that he will kick Roman Reigns’ a*# at SummerSlam:

Nia Jax Reacts To Ronda Rousey Announcement?

Nia Jax has had a strange year with WWE where the former NXT Star has been featured on the programming on an irregular basis and it’s not clear if the company has any long-term plans for her.

Jax was last seen during the Extreme Rules PPV on July 15. She lost the Raw Women’s Championship to Alexa Bliss on the night and there is no word yet on why she has been kept off TV since then.

Though while Nia was not on Raw, she was tweeting during the show. She posted the following eye rolling gif after WWE made the Ronda Rousey vs. Alicia Fox match official and it’s believed to be her reaction to the announcement:

pic.twitter.com/OsSkA68UDa

— Lina Fanene (@NiaJaxWWE) July 31, 2018

The biggest event of the summer takes place August 19th. Last Monday saw Roman Reigns take the win over Bobby Lashley to become number one contender for Brock Lesnar’s Universal Title. This being their fourth confrontation for the title has many concerned as they’re already tired of this matchup.

With SummerSlam being weeks away, the Universal title match could still change, even for the better.

The Story Heading Into SummerSlam

It’s no secret that Lesnar plans to fight for the UFC in the nearby future (if he passes all his USADA drug test first though). With his new contract having him being paid for appearances instead of having set dates throughout the year has made Lesnar’s presence with the title meaningless.

It doesn’t help either that the WWE is trying to make Reigns the underdog against Lesnar in their series of matches in order for Reigns to get over.

Their last title confrontation was at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabi where the match ended in controversy as Reigns was the first to touch the floor with his feet, not Lesnar.

As of recent weeks, Reigns has been in the battle for number one against Bobby Lashley and the match that determined the number one contender took place last week with Lashley losing in the end. At this point, both Reigns and Lashley hold a win over each over, possibly indicating WWE is not done with their rivalry.

Lesnar vs. Lashley

The dream match many wanted to see for the longest time was Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley. Both men have a background in amateur wrestling and MMA and is the most requested matchup since Undertaker vs. Sting. While Undertaker vs. Sting may never happen, the WWE has to take the opportunity of Lesnar vs. Lashley while it is still possible.

At this point, it has been rumored that Lesnar will drop the belt to whoever he faces at SummerSlam so he can commit to his MMA training. While Roman Reigns is the desired golden boy for WWE, that doesn’t mean Lashley in some way cannot be in that title picture as well.

A Triple-Threat Solution

Triple threats have been a mainstay to shake up a matchup. From Shawn Michaels vs. Triple-H vs. Chris Benoit to Randy Orton vs. Batista vs. Daniel Bryan, a third factor has proven to shake up a tired rivalry and usually pays off. While Benoit and Bryan have won their respected matches, Lashley doesn’t necessarily have to win the title but a title win at this point seems overdue.

Bobby Lashley faced John Cena at the Great American Bash back in 2007 for the WWE Championship and lost to the leader of the Cenation as the company already picked their golden boy. Lashley right now is an amazing competitor and is way over with the fans (especially against Roman Reigns) and if he were to be inserted to the title match at SummerSlam would be desired to keep that match fresh.

If I was to book this, I would have Lashley as the third man for the title match at SummerSlam and would have him win the title by pinning Lesnar.

From there I would turn Bobby heel and have him feud with Reigns. Have them battle for the Universal title at the next PPV in where the stipulation has Reigns lose the spear if he lost against Lashley. Forcing him to find to a new finisher and beat Lashley at the next PPV after that, therefore getting him over.

Would You Like To See A Triple Threat Match For The Universal Title At SummerSlam? Sound Off In The Comments Below!

WWE Hall Of Famer and Monday Night RAW General Manager Kurt Angle recently did another Q&A on his Facebook page. He took various questions from the WWE Universe, one of them asking for his thoughts on Brock Lesnar’s upcoming UFC fight.

“The Beast” returned to the mixed martial arts (MMA) world at UFC 226 when he got into the Octagon and confronted newly-crowned UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. The pair got into a shoving match and UFC President Dana White later announced Cormier vs. Lesnar would be the next fight for the heavyweight strap.

Angle said that he expects a great fight between the pair “if it happens,” but admitted he prefers seeing Lesnar full-time in WWE:

“Could be a great fight if it happens. I’d prefer Brock full time in WWE though.”

You can check out Angle’s full Q&A on Facebook by clicking this link here.

WWE has spent the better part of two decades building SummerSlam, their mid-year pa-per-view event, into a show that they deem as big (or almost as big) as WrestleMania. The same kind of glitz, glamour and excitement and big-time matches worthy of The Showcase of The Immortals.

As we move towards this year’s iteration of SummerSlam I can’t help but feel like a lot of that is being undone by the fact that we (almost) know exactly what’s scheduled for the main event: Brock Lesnar losing the Universal Title.

With Brock’s short-term WWE contract and already-announced move back to the UFC, it’s an almost inevitable but then again that is what the fans predicted at both WrestleMania AND the Greatest Royal Rumble when he faced Roman Reigns, so could we once again be ‘swerved’ at the last minute?

Whoever faces Brock at SummerSlam (if we discount any shenanigans with a Money In The Bank cash-in) is likely walking out with the Universal Title. This pretty much means the only thing of interest in this match is the who, and how of it all.

This past week on RAW, Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley won separate triple-threat matches to win the right to face off this Monday to see who will face Brock for the Universal Title at SummerSlam. This presents three possible scenarios:

Lesnar Vs Lashley – WWE is sometimes like a little kid. They fixate on a certain toy or show and that’s all they want. Right now for 3-year old WWE, it’s MMA. With Brock’s appearance in a UFC Octagon, and Lashley’s MMA background, it wouldn’t surprise me if they were to try to put them in the ring and say “As long as Brock loses, just go for it!” Of course, that’s unlikely because there’s more to putting on an MMA-style shoot fight than just doing it. Plus, in the PG era I doubt it’d fly. Another possibility: Heyman turns on Brock and becomes Lashley’s advocate. Lashley really needs to do that “not talking” thing, and we could all use more Paul Heyman in our lives.

Lesnar Vs Reigns – Roman Reigns is a good wrestler. There, I said it. You know it, I know it, and maybe this is the time for him to shake off the bad booking he’s suffered through and make a full (badass) heel turn. Remember his promo the night after facing the Undertaker at Wrestlemania? It was spectacular. If finally beating Lesnar gets us that Roman full-time, it’ll all be worth it. It could really change his career trajectory, and also elevate the title, because who wouldn’t want to beat the crap out of that guy?

Lesnar Vs Lashley Vs Reigns – This is practically Wrestling 101. It would be easy for WWE to have the match between Lashley & Reigns go to a no contest through some kind of shenanigans, causing them to repeat the match the next week, which would more than likely end in similar circumstances, and they’d just declare it a Triple Threat at SummerSlam. This match would be great for Brock because he could lose the title without being pinned. It’d be terrible for the audience in that it’d be nothing but a glorified Reigns/Lashley match, which we’ve just sat through, like, a lot. This is the most likely of the scenarios, to be honest. It could give us the outcome of a 1-on-1 Reigns/Lesnar match, while protecting Brock and making Lashley…still be there? I guess?

My choice? It’s actually a fourth scenario: With the excitement around the Intercontinental Title right now, Ronda Rousey Vs Alexa Bliss and the rumoured Samoa Joe Vs AJ Styles WWE Title match potentially on the card, honestly, we don’t really need a Universal Title match. The best thing WWE could do is start the show with the Universal Title in a display case in the ring, announce that Brock has been stripped and the Title will be retired to a closet in HHH’s office. In it’s place will be a re-instated Heavyweight Championship (Hey, it’s my fantasy booking, let me have this), which Lashley and Roman will battle for in the Main Event.

The Universal Title debuted at SummerSlam, so ending it there would be fitting.

Sound off in the comments! What scenario would you like to see play out at SummerSlam with the Universal Title? 

Lesnar has made his desire to return back to the Octagon known to the world as he confronted Daniel Cormier after his win at UFC 226. While the current WWE Universal Champion still retains the gold for the top promotion in professional wrestling, his planned title bout with Cormier is in the works for 2019.

SummerSlam

Lesnar is scheduled to face either Bobby Lashley or Roman Reigns at SummerSlam for the Universal title. It has been rumored that Lesnar will drop the strap to whoever he faces so that he can prepare for his upcoming UFC title bout with Cormier.

Six Month Remaining Suspension

Due to testing positive for growth hormone in his last UFC fight, Lesnar has been forbidden to fight until he served his suspension and re-enlist in the USADA pool.

It has been reported that Lesnar has re-entered the testing pool on July 3rd and his remaining suspension is for six months.

First Test Results

Lesnar has taken his first drug test since re-entering the pool and the results are not out yet. In order for Lesnar to be eligible to fight in the UFC, he must pass all USADA tests before being permitted to fight.

Cormier has made a recent statement on the matter on Lesnar being clean for their upcoming bout.

Brock’s got to be clean, I’m not going to fight him if he’s not clean. We’ll do USADA testing, and we’ll do another testing. We’ll do testing above USADA to make sure this man’s clean because I’m not going to fight him if he’s cheating. I’ve done that on a number of occasions already (with others). I don’t want to fight him if he’s dirty, man. Do it the right way.

Brock Lesnar’s return to Monday Night RAW is on the horizon.

“The Beast” has been featured in headlines across the combat sports world for the past several weeks after making his reemergence into the mixed martial arts (MMA) community. Lesnar was cage-side at UFC 226 and confronted Daniel Cormier after his UFC heavyweight title win over Stipe Miocic.

UFC president Dana White confirmed Lesnar will challenge Cormier for the UFC heavyweight throne next. His United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspension is set to lift in January, making him eligible to return to fighting action after then.

While Lesnar has picked up a ton of hype surrounding his MMA return, he still has some obligations to fulfill in his professional wrestling career with WWE. He is currently the promotion’s Universal Champion. There has been some unrest amongst the WWE Universe due to Lesnar’s part-time status and reluctance to defend the strap on a regular basis.

It’s expected that “The Beast” will finally be dethroned at SummerSlam next month, with likely Roman Reigns taking the helm. In regards to when we may see Lesnar back on Monday Night RAW, the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida is now advertising that he is scheduled to appear on the July 30th episode of the program.

That’s one week after next week’s scheduled Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley match to determine who Lesnar’s opponent at “The Biggest Party Of The Summer” will be. Lesnar will likely confront the winner to begin the build-up to the match. “The Beast’s” match at SummerSlam is reportedly the last on his current WWE contract, but he’s also being advertised for the post-SummerSlam RAW the following night at the Barclays Center.

2-division UFC Champion Daniel Cormier will most likely be stepping into the Octagon against WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar some time in early 2019. The fight was set up earlier this month at UFC 226.

After Cormier Cormier knocked out Stipe Miocic to capture the UFC Heavyweight Championship, he called out Brock Lesnar, who was cageside and ready to confront the winner of the UFC 226 main event. Lesnar shoved the former Olympic wrestler and the confrontation sent shockwaves throughout both the MMA and pro wrestling worlds.

Cormier was interviewed by Denise Salcedo of Instinct Culture at Tuesday night’s ESPN Sports Humanitarian Awards and asked Cormier about the confrontation with Lesnar. Salcedo jokingly asked Lesnar if he shoved Cormier because he knows DC is friends with another WWE Superstar, Seth Rollins.

“Maybe that’s why he’s mad at me, because I’m friends with Seth Rollins,” Cormier said. “I got a text message from Seth right after the fight. He goes, ‘congratulations now go kick Brock’s ass.'”

A confident Cormier added, “That’s what I’m gonna do.”

Check out the Daniel Cormier interview with Instinct Culture below.

WWE Monday Night RAW color commentator Jonathan Coachman claims to have some inside information on the famous shove that Brock Lesnar gave to Daniel Cormier.

As seen in the main event of the UFC 226 pay-per-view event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Cormier was able to score a KO win over Stipe Miocic to win the UFC heavyweight title. Then, things got out of hand. Cormier invited Lesnar inside the Octagon with Lesnar accepting the invitation and shoving Cormier in the process. Lesnar then cut a promo on the heavyweight division and Cormier.

According to Coachman, once Lesnar got into the Octagon, the WWE Universal Champion was upset because Cormier made it so WWE and that it wasn’t talked about between Lesnar and Cormier before the fight. The only thing that Cormier and Miocic knew before the fight was that the winner was supposed to call out Lesnar for a future fight. The shove was real as Lesnar didn’t want it to go down like that.

“He was like, ‘[Lesnar] was so pissed because Cormier made it so WWE.’ Brock was so mad that he did it that way. That shove was real, it wasn’t planned, it wasn’t talked about. Him [Lesnar] coming in [the cage] was, but the shove that everyone says was so WWE — Brock didn’t want it that way. Brock wanted it just on that fine line.’

Typically, after a UFC main event fight, both the winner and loser are interviewed. However, at this event, Miocic was not interviewed about the fight or the chance to reply to Lesnar’s insults after his loss. Coachman made it clear that it was planned out that way that whoever won would call Lesnar into the Octagon.

“It was planned out that way that whoever won would call Brock in. Normally on a normal fight of that magnitude, you interview the winner and then the loser will stay and get interviewed. So I was hoping that Joe Rogan would say, ‘oh Brock you just said that about Stipe.’ It wasn’t planned that way, so Stipe was long gone.”

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcribed quotes.

WWE has confirmed that Brock Lesnar will make his next title defense at SummerSlam.

As seen on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in Buffalo, NY at the KeyBank Center on the USA Network, RAW General Manager Kurt Angle announced in the opening segment that there would be two triple threat matches taking place on the show with the winners facing off in a match on next week’s show.

The first match saw Roman Reigns beat Finn Balor and Drew McIntyre while the second match saw Bobby Lashley beat Seth Rollins and Elias.

As a result, Lashley and Reigns will square off in a #1 contender’s match on next Monday’s show with the winner challenging Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title at the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view event on Sunday, August 19, 2018 in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center that will air on the WWE Network.

WWE holds next week’s show in Cincinnati, OH at the US Bank Arena. As of this writing, only one other match has been announced for next week’s show, which is Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel defending the Raw Tag Team Titles against Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy.

What are your thoughts on WWE’s handling of who will challenge Lesnar for the Universal Title at their next pay-per-view event? Also, who do you see winning next week’s #1 contender’s match? Sound off in the comment section.

WWE is now advertising Universal Champion Brock Lesnar for an upcoming episode of their flagship show, Monday Night RAW.

The Barclays Center’s official Twitter account has announced that Lesnar is set to appear on August 20th episode of RAW, which is the night after the SummerSlam pay-per-view event in the same venue in Brooklyn, New York. This could end up being an interesting date as it might just be his last appearance on WWE television for awhile.

JUST ANNOUNCED: @WWE Universal Champion @BrockLesnar will appear LIVE in Brooklyn for Monday Night RAW on 8/20! pic.twitter.com/ySJN29RFan

— Barclays Center (@barclayscenter) July 16, 2018

Lesnar is still under contract with the WWE until the end of August and it’s been reported that he’ll be working the SummerSlam pay-per-view event on Sunday, August 19, 2018 that will air on the WWE Network. As of this writing, WWE has yet to announce his opponent at this event.

Lesnar is headed back to the UFC and has started the process to get back in the USADA drug-testing pool. With Lesnar back in the pool, he will still have to serve a little more than six months left of his previous suspension. Thus, he is not able to fight inside of the Octagon until early January, which is around the time that this fight is rumored to take place.

Once he is eligible to fight again, he’s slated to challenge Daniel Cormier for the UFC Heavyweight Title.

What are your thoughts on the appearance of Lesnar on this show and his future with the WWE?

Brock Lesnar just made a splash in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) – again.

“The Beast” was cage-side for UFC 226 on pay-per-view (PPV) to witness Daniel Cormier make history against Stipe Miocic. “DC” became the second man in UFC history to hold two championships simultaneously in the promotion, now being the UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion.

After the fight Lesnar came into the Octagon after being called out by Cormier. The pair engaged in a very WWE-esk shoving match and UFC President Dana White confirmed Cormier vs. Lesnar is the next heavyweight title fight on the docket. There’s just one slight issue in regards to Lesnar’s WWE career. He still holds the Universal Championship.

There’s been a ton of speculation as to if Lesnar will keep the Universal Title while he fights in the UFC, or if someone will dethrone “The Beast” before he steps away again. Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Ryback recently took to his podcast, Conversation With The Big Guy, to offer his thoughts on the matter:

“I think Brock’s in such a cool position,” said Ryback. “There’s nobody like him right now where he is literally a part-time UFCer and a part-time WWEer and he’s making probably more than anyone else who does the sport outside of maybe Conor [McGregor]. You can’t hate on anyone for that. He is living the ultimate life and he’s been proven.

“He’s a draw and he’s an attraction, and I don’t know, I think it all depends on what happens in this fight, but Brock is a lot bigger than DC, Daniel Cormier. Brock’s almost like a bully a little bit when he’s in there with [certain] guys.

“He’s one of those guys like when he’s really confident, he’s really, really hard to stop and I believe there’s been moments in his career where he was just beyond confident and he maybe wasn’t as talented as the other guys fighting but he’s so godd**n strong and such a freak athlete that if he’s able to survive the beginning, he can kind of impose his will on guys.

“When he hasn’t been able to do that is a different story. Will he be able to do that to DC? I don’t know. DC is an olympic-level wrestler. So, I don’t know. DC is… it’s an interesting matchup, but Brock is a big heavyweight. What I mean when I say that is, he probably walks around at 280, 290 and cuts down to 265, where there’s a guy like DC who’s fighting Light Heavyweight, then comes up [to 246].”

As for whether or not WWE could allow Lesnar to hold on to the Universal Title while he fights in the UFC, Ryback believes WWE would be all for it:

“I think WWE would be all for that,” said Ryback. “You’d think they would as far a publicity-wise, the WWE [Universal] Champion and the UFC Heavyweight Champion, never before been done. And he’s one of those guys they can do cross-promotion with.”

You can listen to Conversation With The Big Guy by clicking this link here.

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions