WWE Rumor Mill: WWE's surprising plans for Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley at Extreme Rules possibly revealed

What’s the story?

On an edition of the Wrestling Observer Live, a possible outcome of Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley at the upcoming Extreme Rules PPV was discussed.

Apparently, Lashley is likely to defeat Reigns at Extreme Rules—something that could be in direct contradiction to what most fans and industry experts initially believed. Besides, additional details on the same have also been expounded upon.

In case you didn’t know…

Over the past several months, Roman Reigns had been involved in a feud over the WWE Universal Championship against longtime titleholder Brock Lesnar.

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Regardless, Lesnar last defended his title at WWE’s Greatest Royal Rumble PPV which took place in April of this year—in a matchup that saw the officials award Lesnar the victory after both Lesnar and Reigns seemed to escape the Steel Cage simultaneously; with the pro-wrestling community divided in its opinion as to which Superstar’s feet touched the ground first.

The heart of the matter

One ought to note that Brock Lesnar did not defend his WWE Universal title at the ensuing Backlash or Money In The Bank PPVs, nor did the Beast put the RAW brand’s prestigious title on the line at any RAW episode ever since.

The WWE subsequently booked Roman Reigns in a feud against Bobby Lashley—with Reigns & Lashley competing against The Revival in a Tag Team Match on this week’s RAW, and the match ending in a vicious beat-down for Reigns at the hands of The Revival after Lashley walked away and left his partner to fend for himself in the ring.

Bryan Alvarez of The Observer noted that Reigns was the one who refused to tag Lashley in, owing to which the latter was probably justified in walking away from the match. Alvarez addressed Reigns’ upcoming match with Lashley at Extreme Rules, stating—

“Listen, I don’t think it’s out of the question at all, that Bob (Bobby Lashley) is gonna win at the (Extreme Rules) PPV. That’s a story they’re telling with Roman (Reigns).”

“Roman’s a loser; they’re never giving him his opportunities; he keeps failing—the idea is that you’re going to get behind the guy (Reigns). It sure didn’t work (on RAW), because he tries real hard…”

“(Reigns) wouldn’t tag his partner and he got beat as a result. (The Revival) gave him a Shatter Machine, and the fans chanted ‘one more time’.” (*H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription*)

Furthermore, Alvarez insinuated that the primary goal behind the current storyline which has Reigns getting beat up in most segments and matches is to garner him the WWE Universe’s sympathy and to endear him to the fans as an underdog character.

What’s next?

Roman Reigns is presently scheduled to compete in a singles match against Bobby Lashley at WWE’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view.

The WWE’s aforementioned Extreme Rules PPV event takes place at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 15th.

On the other hand, as of this time, WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar’s future with the WWE remains uncertain.

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