WrestleMania 35: What if Brock Lesnar retains the Universal Championship?

Brock Lesnar is a truly unique Superstar for WWE. Yes, he’s special for his UFC and NCAA wrestling credentials that pair nicely with his imposing size and obvious athleticism to make him tremendously credible. There’s also the matter of his part-time schedule and heavily protected booking that have made him one of the imposing and kayfabe dominant heels in wrestling history.

Lesnar’s success has had some backlash. The general consensus, particularly from hardcore fans, is a sense of boredom with Lesnar reigning, particularly as Universal Champion, for so long while showing up on WWE television so sparingly. There seems to be a general desire to see Lesnar unseated as champion, and his WrestleMania 35 challenger Seth Rollins is a prime candidate to get the job, given his own credibility in the WWE Universe and his tremendous talent as a performer.

When Rollins won the Royal Rumble, it seemed quite feasible he would be the man to take the title off Lesnar. However, if the past five years have demonstrated anything, it’s that there’s no such thing as a sure thing loss for the Beast Incarnate. Moreover, since Roman Reigns has returned to action, it begs question if WWE might hold off on going all the way with Rollins in favor of the original “chosen one” of this generation. This article considers the question: what if Brock Lesnar retains the Universal title?

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#5 Roman Reigns slays the Beast

If Seth Rollins doesn't unseat the Beast, it's a safe bet Roman Reigns will.

Brock Lesnar’s character has been nothing if not dominant, particularly when he has the Universal Championship in hand. He has beaten back speedy underdogs like Finn Balor, AJ Styles, and Daniel Bryan, as well as fellow monsters like Braun Strowman, Kane, and Samoa Joe. Roman Reigns has been booked as the closest thing to an equal to Brock Lesnar. While The Big Dog doesn’t have a totally clean, decisive win over him, Lesnar only really has one over him, from WrestleMania 34, across their rivalry.

When Reigns pinned Lesnar at SummerSlam 2018, it looked like a passing the torch moment. The fact that Lesnar regained the Universal title at Crown Jewel came across as less of a part of WWE’s long term plan, than hitting the reset button after Reigns had to step away from the ring. If WWE wants to follow a similar conservative logic, it would make some sense for Rollins not be crowned champion at WrestleMania. Rather, it would follow that Lesnar would drop the title over again to Reigns to continue the originally intended story and for Reigns to see through his feel-good comeback story to its highest point.

#4 The best WrestleMania match Lesnar has had

Brock Lesnar's WrestleMania match quality is uneven, to say the least.

Brock Lesnar has a checkered history with WrestleMania matches. Despite consistently being booked in a high profile position for the biggest show of the year, the resulting matches haven’t all been great. His ‘Mania debut against Kurt Angle was good, but marred by a blown Shooting Star Press spot at the conclusion. His win over The Undertaker at WrestleMania 30 was historically important but a pretty lackluster match (in part owing to The Dead Man suffering a concussion early on). Add on a widely panned effort against Dean Ambrose at WrestleMania 32, and an unpopular headlining match with Roman Reigns, and there are more disappointments—if not downright flops—than classics on Lesnar’s ‘Mania resume.

Just based on talent, Rollins is equipped to give Lesnar one of the best WrestleMania matches he’s had, and that’s particularly true given Lesnar’s tendency to do his best work opposite smaller, more athletic opponents. Especially if WWE knows it’s ultimately going to disappoint its fans with a Lesnar victory, we can expect them to make every effort to at least deliver an entertaining match along the way to make Rollins’s Royal Rumble push and subsequent story feel worthwhile.

#3 Seth Rollins stays toward the top

Seth Rollins won't see his stock plummet, even if he doesn't beat Brock Lesnar.

When a wrestler comes up short challenging for a world title at WrestleMania, there’s a very real risk of his career nosediving afterward. One need look no further than Shinsuke Nakamura’s trajectory last year, as he won the Rumble but lost to AJ Styles in New Orleans. Sure, he hung around challenging for the world title for the months to follow, but the bloom was off the rose for his push and it’s telling that one year later he’s a mid-carder with no guarantee of a WrestleMania match.

Seth Rollins represents a different case because he’s someone WWE has already invested a lot into—including his 2015 WWE Championship reign. While losing to Lesnar’s may single that he’s not going to be the top men’s star moving forward, we can nonetheless expect that his career won’t fall off a cliff. Rather, it’s fair to anticipate that on his own, or perhaps hanging close to Roman Reigns, he’ll remain among the top five or so top featured stars in the company.

#2 Brock Lesnar in Saudi Arabia

If Lesnar retains the title, it may signal he'll return to Saudi Arabia as the champion.

While WWE hasn’t announced anything official just yet, it’s widely rumored that the company is going back to work a major show in Saudi Arabia as soon as this May. Last year’s stadium shows from Saudi Arabia saw two matches from Brock Lesnar, two matches from The Undertaker, two matches from Triple H, and even Shawn Michaels coming out of retirement. We can expect that WWE will spare no expense at making good on the money coming in from these shows by booking its Universal Champion for them. Brock Lesnar still having the title after WrestleMania makes him more than a special attraction in and of himself, but an integral representative of the best WWE has to offer.

Would WWE book Lesnar to drop the Universal Championship in Saudi Arabia? It’s certainly possible that he would opposite Roman Reigns or conceivably even Seth Rollins himself. Alternatively, he might work more of a place holder match against someone like Braun Strowman who is a credible challenger, but whom WWE doesn’t seem interested in putting the title on at this point.

#1 WWE gets back on plan

Roman Reigns stepping away from WWE threw everyone for a loop. If Seth Rollins doesn't take the title off Brock Lesnar, it may signal we're getting back to the original plan.

When Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam 2018, all indications were that the company really did intend to write Lesnar off while he had another fight for UFC and otherwise freshened up to regenerate interest in him from WWE fans. Lesnar’s surprise return at Hell in a Cell looked designed to specifically book him for Crown Jewel. Then Reigns announced he had to relinquish the title to focus on battling leukemia and everything went topsy turvy

That Reigns is already back and appears to be at full strength invites WWE to resume its original course. All the more so, the fact that fans are wholly behind Reigns based on his real-life health issues makes this a keenly opportune time for WWE to go all in on him again.

There’s not exactly a groundswell of support for Lesnar to retain at WrestleMania, but if he does, WWE may well be counting on the silver lining of Reigns beating him for the title he never lost, and progressing as he originally might have in 2018.