What’s the story?
It was previously reported that Brock Lesnar would be making an appearance for the July 3rd episode of RAW. However, more dates have been confirmed leading up to the event and after.
In case you didn’t know...
Brock Lesnar won the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 33 from Goldberg. Since then, he’s only made one appearance, on the RAW after WrestleMania. There, the seeds were planted for him and Roman Reigns to potentially face off at WrestleMania next year. However, it was Braun Strowman who interfered that night, setting up a rivalry that we may see in a few months.
It was rumoured that Strowman would be Lesnar’s opponent for the upcoming July PPV Great Balls Of Fire. However, Strowman is expected to be out for a couple of months, effectively missing the PPV. It’s now been rumoured that Strowman vs Lesnar is still highly possible for Summerslam.
There has been criticism of Brock Lesnar as champion since his first title defence will have been 3 full months after WrestleMania 33. Fans often voice their dislike of part-time performers such as Lesnar holding world championships and constantly occupying top spots.
The heart of the matter
Brock Lesnar is set to appear on RAW on the following dates:
June 12th in Lafayette
June 26th in Los Angeles
July 3rd in Phoenix
July 10th in Houston
From the look of things, Brock Lesnar will make two appearances heading into Great Balls Of Fire. That’s not too surprising as WWE wouldn’t want to waste Lesnar’s dates going ahead. If he is to be the champion for a full year, then it would make sense that WWE have Lesnar on lesser dates.
However, more dates for Lesnar in August can surely be expected, as he will surely perform at WWE’s second biggest show of the year.
What’s next?
Brock Lesnar will be on the sidelines until his time to come in June so he can begin feuding with his Great Balls Of Fire opponent.
Author’s Take
Having a part-time world champion is never a great thing. For this case on RAW, it leaves the entire top card without a top championship to fight for, leaving it in a standstill for another 10-11 months. It is bizarre that WWE would want to put their flagship show on a standstill for an entire year just to give Roman Reigns another coronation, knowing well that fans are just going to boo him after he defeats Lesnar anyway.
Ultimately, it is what it is, so we just have to accept that Lesnar is going to be the champion for another 11 months. A better idea would be for Roman Reigns to be the Universal Champion walking into WrestleMania 34 and successfully defending it. Reigns as a champion would still be better, as fans would see the championship being defended far more often. That being said, there is no denying that when Lesnar does defend the title, it will be a lot more meaningful.
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