What if Brock Lesnar loses the Universal Championship at SummerSlam?

Extreme Rules saw WWE make the debatable choice to put the Universal Championship back on Brock Lesnar. The Beast Incarnate cashed in his Money in the Bank opportunity on Seth Rollins, becoming the first man to successfully cash in on someone who had previously cashed in on him, thus bringing the briefcase and the title full circle in a sense.

Lesnar has spent more time as Universal Champion than anyone else, in reigns that have included good to great matches opposite Finn Balor, AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, and more. However, his part-time status and less inspired outings opposite challengers like Braun Strowman, Kane, and Roman Reigns have left a lot of fans counting the days until he drops his title again.

The idea of a star the caliber of Lesnar dropping a title the very next PPV after he won it seems a little out there. This article nonetheless takes a look at what that outcome might entail and what it might mean moving forward.

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#5 Lesnar out of the title picture

Seth Rollins could kick Brock Lesnar out of the title picture.

For as much as a large segment of hardcore fans resent Brock Lesnar’s part-time reigns as a world champion, there is an argument in favor of them. After all, Lesnar’s MMA and amateur wrestling credentials make him instantly credible to a casual audience. Moreover, his part-time status itself protects his special aura and makes it feel like a big deal when he does work a PPV match.

However, given that Lesnar has spent the overwhelming majority of the last two years as Universal Champion, the scenario does feel played out. When Lesnar dropped the title at WrestleMania 35, it was under extenuating circumstances as Seth Rollins used a low blow to his advantage. If Rollins were to beat Lesnar in a more straight-up wrestling match, it could more firmly plant The Beast Slayer as the man and usher Lesnar into a new stage of his career as a special attraction, removed from the title picture.

#4 A face turn

Brock Lesnar has his fans for his unique abilities. Losing at SummerSlam could signal a new direction for his character.

Since returning to WWE from his time working exclusively in mixed martial arts, Brock Lesnar has played a heel. Sure, he toyed with face status in 2015 when he was on the warpath chasing Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship and feuding with The Undertaker, but by the time his issue with The Dead Man was resolved and moving forward, he was more squarely back to playing the bad guy.

It makes sense for Lesnar to play the heel. He has natural heel charisma, not to mention that it’s hard to generate believable sympathy for someone as big, strong, and athletic as he is. He has the potential to work as a face, though, as demonstrated in his original WWE run, during which time his physical gifts helped get him over as a superhero style character for a time.

It could be fun to see Lesnar, after being humbled by Rollins, take a left turn and spend a period of months, if not years as an equalizer for the full-time faces. Lesnar could also still stand alone, but as a butt-kicking machine aimed at villains.

#3 A long reign for Seth Rollins

Seth Rollins could be on the cusp of a long title reign.

Seth Rollins picked up arguably the biggest win of his career when he pinned Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 35. It’s hard to call that victory clean given the use of a low blow, but it was reasonably offset by the pre-bell beating Lesnar administered to him before the match officially started.

If Rollins were to beat Lesnar again, it would feel as though he has more clearly asserted his dominance over The Beast at this point in WWE storytelling. On one hand, it’s hard to tell where Rollins goes from there, given Lesnar is so established as the ultimately monster heel on the current WWE landscape. However, it could become just the first chapter in a historic run for The Architect as the top guy on Raw for the foreseeable future, perhaps carrying the Universal Championship all the way to WrestleMania 36 and beyond.

#2 The main event

There may be no bigger, happier ending to SummerSlam at WWE's disposal than Seth Rollins beating Brock Lesnar.

If Seth Rollins does defeat Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam, we can make an educated guess the match will get the man event. At WrestleMania 35, their duel might have headlined, were it not for WWE establishing early that it would capitalize on Ronda Rousey’s star power and Becky Lynch’s momentum to deliver the first-ever women’s match to close ‘Mania. At SummerSlam, there’s no program with a more obvious buzz, and no clear prospects for sending the fans home happy than Rollins winning.

This match will likely be longer than its predecessors—the WrestleMania match and the Extreme Rules cash-in. That’s not saying much, because all this bout would need to do is exceed three minutes to become the longest of the offbeat trilogy. Still, with a fully-realized bout between these two, presumably without significant outside interference, and with a happy ending, it’s hard to imagine a better way to close out the biggest show of the summer.

#1 A schism from Paul Heyman

Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman could finally part ways.

Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman have largely operated as a package deal since 2002. While Heyman had other clients for a time, Lesnar has been the constant and the performer Heyman remains most synonymous with.

For as well as the duo has worked, even Heyman supporters have come to criticize that his hype promos have grown redundant over a period of years. With Heyman also recently having stepped up into an executive director role, with significant influence over the Raw brand, it raises the question if he might step away from his on-screen role, or at least change it.

WWE has teased tension between Lesnar and Heyman over the last two years. That includes teasing that Lesnar was fed up with his advocate going into WrestleMania 34 and Heyman inadvertently kayfabe sabotaging Lesnar’s cash-in attempt at Super ShowDown when he tripped on the ring ropes. A loss to Rollins, whether it’s really Heyman’s fault or not, might finally separate this duo.