Roman Reigns finally won the Universal Championship from Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam after building the title change for almost 18 months.
Now as Reigns finally has the title and Brock is seemingly done with WWE for the time being, the eyes are on the Big Dog and people have been wondering what the company has in store for the new Universal Champion.
According to a report from Sports Illustrated, WWE “is looking to build a lengthy title reign” for the Shield member and he is expected to hold on to the Championship for a while.
This would mean that Reigns will overcome the challenge of the Monster Among Men and will defeat Braun Strowman in their upcoming match at Hell In A Cell.
Who Would Challenge Roman Reigns Next?
The site also says that the former NXT Champion Drew McIntyre would be the next challenger for the Universal title once the Big Dog is done with the former Wyatt Family Member.
There is, however, no word yet on when exactly will McIntyre challenge Roman Reigns. So it’s possible that they will wait for some time and let a few PPVs pass before pulling the trigger on him.
If Drew does end up being the next person to challenge for the World title then this will be his first major singles rivalry in the main roster since his return. How the Officials execute it will tell us a lot about his expected future spot in the company.
A new match has been announced for the upcoming WWE Hell in a Cell PPV. As seen on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in Toronto, Canada at the Scotiabank Arena on the USA Network, Braun Strowman announced that he would cash-in his Money in the Bank contract to get a match for the Universal Title against Roman Reigns at this show.
This has been the top storyline on the flagship show of the WWE, Monday Night RAW, that started at the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view event in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center once Strowman came out and stated that he would cash-in his Money in the Bank briefcase after Universal Title match between then-champion Brock Lesnar and Reigns. He was unable to get that chance as Lesnar took him out. This led to Reigns beating Lesnar to win the title. Moving along to the next night, Reigns successfully defend his title against Finn Balor in the main event. Once the match had concluded, Strowman attempted to cash-in but Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins prevented Strowman from cashing in his Money in the Bank title shot. This led to The Shield attacking the fan favorite superstar and power bombing him through the announce table.
The Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event takes place on Sunday, September 16, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas at the AT&T Center and will air on the WWE Network and some traditional pay-per-view outlets.
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe The Miz & Maryse vs. Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella – Mixed Tag Team Match What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.
Two more big matches have been revealed for WWE Hell in a Cell, which takes place on Sunday, September 16 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
The official website of the AT&T Center is now advertising Roman Reigns as defending the Universal Championship against Braun Strowman, as well as Ronda Rousey defending the Raw Women’s Championship against Alexa Bliss.
WWE has officially announced two matches for the show so far: AJ Styles defending the WWE Championship against Samoa Joe (announced on Friday), and Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella vs. The Miz and Maryse in a Mixed Tag Team Match (announced on Tuesday).
In addition to the aforementioned matches, the AT&T Center is also advertising these two bouts:
* Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton
* Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre
There’s a new top dog in WWE’s merchandise sales. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, roman Reigns recently surpassed John Cena as the company’s top merchandise mover. This gives WWE all the more reason to continue to promote Reigns as the centerpiece of their company, despite negative fan reactions.
Reigns recently downplayed the mixed reactions get gets from live audiences. “I think they’re like closet lovers to be honest,” Reigns said. “You can say whatever you want, but it’s how you say it that matters. The way they deliver it, they’re more connected to me than their so called ‘favorites.’ For me to be able to pull on whatever string I pull on, it just goes to show there’s a deep rooting there.”
Of course, John Cena is no stranger to getting a strong negative reaction from a large part of the WWE Universe. That never affected his merchandise sales and continued to outdraw everyone on the roster by a big margin. It appears Roman Reigns is now in a similar position.
SummerSlam
Over the weekend Cena missed his first SummerSlam pay-per-view (PPV) event in 15 years. He’s currently in China filming a movie with Jackie Chan. As for Reigns, he toppled Brock Lesnar in the main event of SummerSlam for the Universal Championship. Reigns’ victory sealed a rivalry between he and Lesnar that has been going on for three years.
On Monday Night RAW this week, Reigns also realigned himself with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose to reunite The Shield. Rollins and Ambrose came to Reigns’ aid to prevent Braun Strowman from cashing in his Money In The Bank (MITB) briefcase.
This year’s SummerSlam event marked new and brought back old chapters involving Roman Reigns.
Reigns beat Brock Lesnar to win the Universal Title at Sunday’s (August 19, 2018) WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view event in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center on the WWE Network. Braun Strowman came out before the match and stated that he would cash-in his Money in the Bank briefcase after this match. Obviously, that didn’t happen as Lesnar took out the fan favorite.
Reigns made history with the SummerSlam win as he became the first WWE Grand Slam Champion to hold the Universal Title.
This leads us to this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in Brooklyn, New York on the USA Network where Reigns beat Finn Balor to retain his title. After the contest, Strowman came out and attacked Reigns where he was about to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase in order to get a Universal Title match.
However, this is when Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose walked out in their old gear and Shield music to make the save and attack Strowman to reunite The Shield as a group.
Following the show, the company released three new t-shirts for The Shield after their reunion, which you can see here:
Although not confirmed, there is speculation that Reigns will defend his Universal Title against Strowman at the upcoming Hell In A Cell pay-per-view event that takes place on Sunday, September 16, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas at the AT&T Center and will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing matches for this card in the coming weeks.
The Shield’s return on RAW last night really took a lot of WWE fans by surprise.
Roman Reigns was defending his Universal Championship against Finn Balor in the night’s main event. In the middle of the match, Braun Strowman hit the ring with his Money In The Bank (MITB) briefcase. He intended to cash-in on the match’s winner.
Reigns was able to pick up the win on a distracted Balor, after hitting him with a Spear. Strowman then got into the ring and downed Reigns with a big boot to the chest. Just before the referee could ring the bell to begin the match, The Shield’s music hit.
Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, dressed in their old Shield gear, came out to Reigns’ aid. The trio attacked Strowman and hit him with a Triple Powerbomb through the announce table. For the time being, it looks like The Shield is back together.
Reigns took to Twitter shortly after the show to comment on The Shield’s reunion:
Another interesting note, The Shield’s old Twitter account has resurfaced again. It had been two years since their last Tweet – until today. The account retweeted and commented on WWE’s photo of the trio’s reunion last night:
Discussion: What do you think about The Shield’s return on RAW last night? What do you make of their Twitter account resurfacing? And how long do you see the reunion lasting? Sound off in the comments below!
WWE Superstar Finn Balor recently did an interview with Sky Sports. During the interview, Balor defended Roman Reigns against the recent criticism he has been under from the professional wrestling community.
Balor noted that Reigns is one of the hardest working athletes in the company. He also said Reigns is extremely polite and is willing to help out anybody:
“I don’t get it, He’s probably one of the hardest working people in WWE, he looks great, he’s professional, a great talker and behind everything, a great person.”
“He’s great behind the scenes, he will help you with anything you want and he’s always polite. He was great to me when I first came into WWE and he continues to help me today. I can’t speak of anything but greatness for Roman Reigns, he’s one of the all-time greats.
“I think it’s monkey do as monkey see and people are easily led. They might read what one person has written in a newsletter, decide that person’s right, and then jump on the bandwagon.
“That’s what’s happened with Roman. People are very fickle – I remember when The Shield were doing their thing and everyone was behind Roman; he was the coolest guy in The Shield. Opinions change in this business and they forget the past but Roman ain’t sweating it.”
Reigns vs. Balor
Last night Reigns and Balor actually main evented Monday Night RAW. Reigns won the Universal Championship at SummerSlam over the weekend. He defeated Brock Lesnar in the show’s main event.
The following night, Reigns opened the show and declared he wanted to give Finn Balor the Universal Title rematch he never received. Balor and Reigns put on a great match, but when it was all said and done, “The Big Dog” left Brooklyn with the title.
Discussion: What do you make of Balor defending Reigns? Let us know in the comments!
Last night at SummerSlam, Roman Reigns finally captured the WWE Universal Championship.
Reigns got his fourth crack at attempting to dethrone Brock Lesnar from World Champion status. Braun Strowman came to the ring before the match started, and declared he’d cash-in his Money In The Bank (MITB) briefcase on the winner.
After Lesnar attacked Strowman at ringside, Reigns hit “The Beast” with a Spear for the three count. Reigns is once again on top of the WWE mountain, and is happy to have the title back on RAW full-time.
Shortly after the PPV, Reigns’ uncle and WWE Hall Of Famer, Rikishi, congratulated his nephew. Rikishi took to Twitter and offered a congratulatory message to “The Big Dog”:
Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship in the main event. Prior to the match, Braun Strowman came out to the ring with a microphone. He said he would challenge the winner of the match after its conclusion with his Money In The Bank (MITB) briefcase.
At one point in the match, Lesnar sent Reigns crashing into Strowman outside. Lesnar proceeded to attack Strowman with an F5, the MITB briefcase and a steel chair. Once he got back into the ring, however, Reigns hit him with another Spear for the three count.
Reigns celebrated on the top rope as the show went off-air. After the show, Reigns continued to celebrate in front of fans at the Barclays Center. Strowman then stood up as Reigns left to the back.
He limped to the top of the entrance ramp and picked up his MITB briefcase, which Lesnar threw earlier. Strowman took one last look back at the crowd before heading back backstage.
It should be interesting to see how the storyline between Reigns, Lesnar and Strowman progresses on tonight’s episode of Monday Night RAW.
Discussion: What did you think of last night’s SummerSlam PPV? How do you feel about Reigns winning the Universal Title? Sound off in the comments below!
Last night’s main event of SummerSlam crowned a new Universal Champion. Roman Reigns finally defeated Brock Lesnar to win the World Title. During the match, however, fans began chanting something rather interesting.
A chant of “a**hole” broke out while Lesnar was taking Reigns to Suplex City. It turns out, a SummerSlam security guard confiscated a beach ball that was brought out by some fans. WWE has had several issues with beach balls in the past and have really been cracking down on them at shows.
Another notable chant that broke out during the show was “TNA” during the WWE Championship match between AJ Styles and Samoa Joe.
Discussion: What do you think about WWE’s issues with beach balls? Should they be banned? Let us know in the comments!
Lashley Congratulates Reigns
As mentioned, Roman Reigns won the Universal Title in the main event of SummerSlam last night. In his fourth World Title match-up against Brock Lesnar, Reigns finally got his hand raised.
Reigns’ former rival and Universal Title hopeful, Bobby Lashley, took to Twitter to congratulate Reigns. Lashley gave Reigns props for “slaying The Beast”:
The Big Dog has done it. After spending a year and a half in the buildup, WWE finally pulled the trigger on Roman Reigns’ Universal title win and he defeated Brock Lesnar at the SummerSlam PPV. After the show, the new Universal Champion was interviewed backstage and Roman discussed his monumental victory among other things.
Reigns recalled his promo from a recent Raw episode from Miami and said that if he hadn’t defeated the Beast Incarnate then he would have to find a new job because he is a man of his word.
Talking about the Monster Among Men Braun Strowman being at the ringside for their bout, Roman said that Braun’s presence added a whole new element to the game. Finally, the new Champion discussed his future and claimed that he will be ready for any test that pops up in front of him coming this Monday on Raw.
You can check out the full interview of Roman Reigns in the video below:
As we noted before, Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens is one of the matches which are being advertised for the upcoming Hell In A Cell PPV next month.
While not confirmed, after Roman’s victory it’s very much possible that Owens emerges as the first challenger for the new Champion in near future.
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon crowned Roman Reigns the WWE Universal Champion at SummerSlam. Reigns beat Brock Lesnar to win the Universal Title at Sunday’s (August 19, 2018) WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view event in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center on the WWE Network.
Prior to the match, Braun Strowman came out and stated that he would cash-in his Money in the Bank briefcase after this match. However, that would not take place as Lesnar took him out. Reigns closed the show by celebrating in the ring.
This marks the first time that Reigns has held the title. Up until this point, Lesnar held the strap for over 500 days after beating Goldberg for it at WrestleMania 33 in April of 2017 in Orlando, FL. Reigns is only the fifth champion in the history of the title, which was created back in 2016 with the inaugural champ Finn Balor.
This likely marked Lesnar’s last appearance in the WWE for the near future as he heads towards his return to the UFC inside of the Octagon. If you recall, back in the main event of the UFC 226 pay-per-view event in July, Daniel Cormier was able to score a KO win over Stipe Miocic to win the UFC heavyweight title and after the fight, 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.
UFC President Dana White has already gone on record by stating that plans call for DC to fight Lesnar with the heavyweight title on the line in January.
Two-time WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair had some high praise for Roman Reigns recently.
Reigns is preparing to challenge Brock Lesnar tonight for the WWE Universal Title. The action goes down from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York at SummerSlam. This will be Reigns’ fourth attempt at dethroning Lesnar from a World Title position.
Flair Praises Reigns
“The Nature Boy” was recently a guest on fellow Hall Of Famer Jim Ross’ podcast, The Ross Report. The pair touched on tonight’s SummerSlam pay-per-view (PPV). Flair praised Reigns for his lack of fear towards Lesnar, an ex-UFC heavyweight champion:
“One of the things that’s cool about Roman is that he’s not afraid of Brock. You know what I mean?
“A lot of guys are and they can tell you they’re not all day long; but, Roman coming from his mom and his dad and his family – he wouldn’t be allowed in the house if he was afraid of Brock.
“You and I know that and know what that means. Me, when I had to wrestle Brock I wanted to kill you [Jim Ross] for even listening to Vince [McMahon] and book it.”
As for what should main event SummerSlam, Flair said Lesnar vs. Reigns should get the nod if the women don’t main event:
“If it’s gonna be the guys, it’ll have to be them.”
Lesnar vs. Reigns isn’t the only World Title match on SummerSlam’s card. From SmackDown Live, WWE Champion AJ Styles will defend his strap against Samoa Joe as well. In regards to steam behind the respective matches, Flair says it isn’t even close:
“There’s just no comparison in the amount of steam. It’s not the individual talent. It’s just the steam on this one.
“The last two weeks with Brock not even being advertised and doing that and [Paul] Heyman did a great job in the setup.”
Discussion: What do you make of Flair’s comments? Should Lesnar vs. Reigns main event SummerSlam? Sound off in the comments below!
Roman Reigns is one of the most polarizing Superstars in WWE. A large portion of the WWE audience supports him, but a separate vocal contingent heckles him at every turn. Reigns spoke with Yahoo! Sports this week to promote SummerSlam and commented on this dynamic.
The 3-time World Heavyweight champion is convinced that his most vocal critics are actually “closeted lovers” of his on-screen persona. It has been said that any fan reaction is a good reaction. Reigns knows this better than anybody and is convinced certain fans are more passionate about deriding him than supporting the wrestlers they actually like.
“I think they’re like closet lovers to be honest,” Reigns said. “You can say whatever you want, but it’s how you say it that matters. The way they deliver it, they’re more connected to me than their so called ‘favorites.’ For me to be able to pull on whatever string I pull on, it just goes to show there’s a deep rooting there.”
Reigns added that it really does not matter to him whether fans cheer or boo him. “As long as they’re really loud, that’s all I really care about,” he said. To bolster his argument, Reigns referenced fans who have attempted to hijack live events with rowdy chants against him. In those instances, the fans are riled up and excited, a reaction he feels is better than indifference. Reiterating his point, Reigns proclaimed, “I really do think that if they love to hate you, they still love you.”
Roman Reigns challenges Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship this Sunday at SummerSlam. Roman Reigns has stated that Brock Lesnar being an absentee champion is “killing us.” He will get a chance to correct that situation in a matter of days.
SEScoops will have full coverage of SummerSlam weekend, so make sure to check back for our on-site coverage from Brooklyn, New York.
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.”
“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.”
Dana White’s Reaction To Roman Reigns RAW Comments
As seen on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in Greensboro, NC at the Greensboro Coliseum on the USA Network, Roman Reigns opened the third hour with a promo in the ring about his upcoming battle against Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title at the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view event that takes place this Sunday (August 19, 2018) in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center.
During this promo, Reigns stated that he would take back his Universal Title at SummerSlam and would send Lesnar so far back to the UFC that he would find his head stuck in UFC President Dana White’s a**. White took to his official Twitter account to briefly comment on the promo by writing the following:
WWE’s streaming service, WWE Network, is slated to premiere the second episode of WWE Chronicle that focuses on Samoa Joe at 3pm EST on Friday in the on-demand section. The documentary will also air on the live feed at 8pm EST that night. Here is the synopsis of that episode:
“Samoa Joe’s journey from the day after WrestleMania to the eve of his WWE Championship Match against AJ Styles at SummerSlam 2018.”
What are your thoughts on Reigns’ comments? Sound off in the comment section.
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 WWESummerSlam pay-per-view.
What are your thoughts on Reigns’ comments? Sound off in the comment section.
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.”
Roman Reigns returned to his college football roots yesterday. The former Yellow Jacket made a surprise appearance as his former school unveiled their new team jerseys.
Reigns was a starter for 3 seasons in Georgia Tech and named a Team Captain as a senior. He went undrafted but was later signed to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The team released him after a month.
Reigns would later sign with the Minnesota Vikings as well but failed to crack the roster. He had a short stint in the CFL with the Edmonton Eskimos. He played in five games with Edmonton before being released and retiring from football.
Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar – SummerSlam
While his Georgia Tech alma mater prepares for a new season, Reigns prepares to yet again challenge Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. It will be the 6th the two have faced each other but only the 3rd time they have met in single’s action.
Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns Stats
WrestleMania 31 – Seth Rollins defeated Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar (triple threat)
Fastlane 2016 – Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar and Dean Ambrose (triple threat)
SummerSlam 2017 – Brock Lesnar defeated Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns, and Samoa Joe
WrestleMania 34 – Brock Lesnar defeated Roman Reigns
The Greatest Royal Rumble – Brock Lesnar defeated Roman Reigns (steel cage)
We noted before how Brock Lesnar cut a short promo on Roman Reigns after his appearance during this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw and the Beast said that he’ll kick Reigns’ ‘a*#’.
Now Roman has also commented on his upcoming match with the Universal Champion, while also calling out the Brooklyn crowd in the process.
The Big Dog sent the following tweet from his twitter account where he talked about the negative crowd reaction and hoped that the Brooklyn crowd is ready to get loud:
Whenever I’m in the ring, I hear the noise. It doesn’t shake me. It doesn’t anger me. I don’t run from the noise. I thrive in it. I hope Brooklyn’s ready to get loud because I’m ready to give them a show. And take the #UniversalTitle. #SummerSlam
Roman Reigns is set to challenge Brock Lesnar for his Universal Championship once again at the upcoming SummerSlam PPV on August 19th.
Tommaso Ciampa Reignites Old Feud With NXT Grandma
It was 5 months ago when Tommaso Ciampa got into an argument with a grandma during an NXT episode. He was quick to turn the whole thing into an angle by calling out all the grandma’s in the world to fight him:
Interestingly, Ciampa found the same grandma during the August 1st episode of NXT and being the great heel he is, the NXT Champion was quick to reignite this old feud:
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.”
Last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW ended after Brock Lesnar attacked both Kurt Angle and Paul Heyman.
Baron Corbin was also involved in the segment but retreated from the ring. After RAW went off-air Corbin decided to call out Roman Reigns. Instead of Reigns, Finn Balor came out to confront RAW’s constable.
He attacked Corbin before Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre hit the ring. The pair jumped Balor until Seth Rollins came out to make the save. Rollins and Balor cleaned house to end the segment and send the crowd home happy.
Check out some fan footage from the dark segment here below:
Corbin and Balor have been feuding with one another for the past several weeks. Rollins has also had his issues with Ziggler and McIntyre over the Intercontinental Title in recent weeks as well.
It looks like their respective feuds will continue into next month’s SummerSlam pay-per-view (PPV) in Brooklyn.
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!
Kenny Omega and Roman Reigns connect with professional wrestling fans very differently.
Both “The Cleaner” and “The Big Dog” spoke with Mel Magazine to offer their philosophies on how they connect with their audiences. Reigns noted that he likes to project an image of self-confidence when he’s in the ring:
“That’s what makes me appealing— that I’m confident, I believe in myself and I think everybody can relate to that,” Reigns said.
“That’s something everybody should relate to. It’s called self-esteem for a reason. You can’t get it from anybody else.
“If I project that, if I portray that, it’s empowering to so many people who are a little insecure, who get nervous.”
The IWGP Heavyweight Champion heard Reigns’ comments and rebutted. Omega said Reigns’ style of projection isn’t true. He himself prefers to put himself in a position to feel pain with his audience:
“[Laughs] It also doesn’t seem true, either,” Omega said. “People go through [heartbreak] in all walks of life, regardless of age, sex, religion or whatever.
“There are times you break up with a loved one, a friend or whatever. You feel alone. It’s a very easy feeling to understand—the feeling of loss, heartache and pain.
“So I’ve put myself in a position to feel pain alongside with the fans.”
In the end, Omega doesn’t put Reigns at full fault. He understands that WWE has a philosophy of keeping things as simple as necessary – so “The Big Dog” can’t take all the blame:
“[WWE] keeps it simple, because they feel as simple as possible is best. It’s the easiest to book for television as well,” Omega said. “You can micromanage things to the second that way.
“If there’s real emotion you can’t. … Even if you can’t really understand what’s going on [as a child], you can feel, and as long as you can feel something, it’s better than coming out of it and feeling nothing.”