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What's the story?
Brock Lesnar last defended his Championship at The Greatest Royal Rumble last month, and could now take a lengthy hiatus from WWE.
In case you didn't know...
It has been rumored in recent months that Lesnar could be set to return to UFC before he then returns to WWE, but since he's still the Universal Champion many fans thought that he would return at Money in the Bank instead.
Lesnar will break CM Punk's 434-day reign record if he holds the title until Money in the Bank since that would be the 441st day of his reign. This was said to have been one of the main reasons why the company decided to allow him to retain the Championship against Roman Reigns at both WrestleMania and The Greatest Royal Rumble.
The heart of the matter
Dave Meltzer talked about Lesnar on today's installment of The Wrestling Observer Radio where he stated that The Universal Champion would not be part of Money In The Bank. (transcript via Ringsidenews)
“Lesnar is not wrestling at the Money In The Bank pay-per-view for what it’s worth. I don’t know when he’s going to wrestle again. I thought it would make sense after the Greatest Royal Rumble because obviously, he’s going to wrestle again that [MITB] would be the show but in fact it’s not the show.”
Meltzer believes that Lesnar will be back in the coming months, but he could have his eyes on the biggest party of the summer instead.
“So he’s doing another show. He might have agreed to do a deal until SummerSlam. Or maybe the July show, but he’s not on this one.”
What's next?
Money In The Bank takes place in five weeks time, and the qualifying matches have already begun. It is currently unknown as to whether or not Lesnar will be part of the show.
Author's take
The Universal Championship wasn't defended at Backlash and now it appears that it won't be defended at Money in the Bank. This is one of the most prestigious Championships that the company has and it isn't being seen regularly on WWE TV. The company is creating more titles all the time but they need to focus on the ones that they already have because none of their Championships will mean a thing if they aren't defended regularly and the WWE Universe then loses interest.
