From the WWE Rumor Mill: Opponents originally planned for Brock Lesnar after WrestleMania 33 revealed

What’s the story?

Brock Lesnar’s reign as Universal Champion has seen him pin Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns, and Braun Strowman, but only one of these opponents were originally planned to lose to Lesnar.

A report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has revealed that Lesnar’s originally planned opponents were to be a former Universal Champion and a member of The Shield.

In case you didn’t know...

Lesnar won the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 33 when he defeated Goldberg in a hard-hitting bout. Three months later, he had his first title at Great Balls of Fire where he defeated Joe after one F-5.

Lesnar then went on to defend his title against Reigns, Joe, and Strowman in a Fatal 4-Way match at SummerSlam and pinned Reigns to retain the title after one F-5.

The Beast's latest match was his match against Braun Strowman which ended after Lesnar delivered one F-5 to Strowman to retain the title at No Mercy.

The heart of the matter

According to the Wrestling Observer, Lesnar was going to face Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins, and Finn Bálor this year, but injuries and various storylines changed those plans.

Strowman was scheduled to face Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire, but an elbow injury and the timetable of his recovery made WWE consider a new opponent for Lesnar at the show.

Bálor and Rollins were the two men rumoured to potentially fight Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire, but the WWE went with Joe instead.

Rollins returned to the tag team division following Great Balls of Fire and reunited with his former Shield member Dean Ambrose to compete for the Raw Tag Team Championships.

What’s next?

Bálor mentioned fighting for the Universal Championship on the latest episode of Monday Night Raw, but there’s no specified date for this potential match.

PWInsider have reported that Lesnar was advertised to appear on the Raw before Survivor Series, but that doesn't guarantee his appearance on the pay-per-view.

Author’s take

Hearing that Strowman was supposed to be defeated by Lesnar regardless of his momentum is truly disappointing.

Many people believe Strowman’s loss was booked to build upon the inevitable match between Lesnar and Reigns and the fans will resent the WWE if this turns out to be true.