5 possible directions for Brock Lesnar after WrestleMania 34

Apparently, project Roman Reigns was just a year-long elaborate ruse to draw all of us internet fans in into believing that the Samoan would be closing out WrestleMania 34 with the WWE Universal Title in hand.

Wow.

Who'd have thought that he'd actually be closing the show after having his head split open and still eating a loss for his efforts?

Meanwhile, Brock Lesnar continues to maintain his vice grip over the WWE Universal Championship prompting us to ask the question. If not Roman, then who?

Who can actually prise the title from Lesnar's hands? Where does he go from here, what with speculation rife that he is going back to the UFC for another stint?

Read on to have a look:

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#5 Bobby Lashley returns to Raw and wins the Universal title

The dream match everyone's waiting to see

Long shot, but Lashley is a free agent now and there has been a lot of speculation about him signing on with the promotion in the near future.

And generally, there isn't this much smoke without fire.

The WWE is running out of legitimate contenders for Lesnar's title with him having defeated practically every noteworthy Superstar in the company.

Plus, as someone who's competed in MMA himself, Lashley could step right up to the plate and challenge The Beast without too many eyebrows being raised.

And what's to say he doesn't win the Universal Title on the Raw following WrestleMania 34, in an absolute cracker of a WWE return?

#4 Paul Heyman turns on him

Heyman is, after, as conniving as they come

This would also be a left-field move but one that makes sense, if you think about it.

It's pretty well known that Lesnar's departure to the UFC is imminent but instead of losing the WWE gig when he's gone, Heyman secures his immediate future in the company by siding with another Superstar - presumably Roman Reigns - and costs him the Universal Title.

It would freshen up both the Lesnar character and the Reigns character, which seems to have run its course as a babyface following the defeat at WrestleMania 34.

And with Heyman in Reigns' corner, another match between Reigns and Lesnar is always a possibility when the beast returns to the WWE after taking care of his business with the UFC.

#3 Lesnar leaves the WWE, taking the Universal Title with him

Hello UFC!

This obviously is a risky move as it would mean that Raw doesn't have an A-level Title on the show at all, but it's still something that could pay dividends in the long run.

In Lesnar's absence, it's pretty likely that the WWE Universe will only grow desperate to see the rise of another contender who can finally prise the title away from him, lending tremendous momentum in getting someone like Roman Reigns over.

It would also earn Lesnar a lot of heat, which isn't a bad thing at all.

#2 Loses the title to Roman Reigns fair and square

Roman gets it done at the second (third) time of asking!

Feeling the blood on his face spurred Roman Reigns into another gear at WrestleMania 34, but it was too little, too late.

However, if he could fight Lesnar with the same sense of purpose, vigor and intensity on Raw, who's to say that he can't win the Universal Title fair and square, before sending Lesnar packing to the UFC empty-handed.

Losing at Mania has softened the WWE Universe's hardcore stance against Reigns to some extent and this would be the perfect way to capitalize on that.

#1 Samoa Joe makes his return and challenges Lesnar

Samoa Joe could return to resume his rivalry with Lesnar

It is a feud we've already seen, I know, but the two matches they wrestled left us clearly wanting for more.

Plus, anytime a Superstar returns after a long layoff, he generally has momentum and the support of the audience on his side, something that could fuel another title contention angle for Samoa Joe.

Plus, what one Samoan couldn't get done, perhaps another could.