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Brock Lesnar shocked the world at WWE Crown Jewel on November 2, 2018 when he unexpectedly regained the WWE Universal Championship in a match with the vacant title at stake.
Braun Strowman had been most onlookers pick to win his first World title, with Lesnar apparently destined to fight UFC Heavyweight Champion, Daniel Cormier early in 2019.
However, if a Strowman win was ever on the cards, plans changed and Lesnar became a two-time Universal Champion to set up a rematch from last year's Survivor Series with AJ Styles.
That encounter, taking place on November 19, 2017, stole the show and is destined to do so once more on November 18, 2018, when the 32nd annual Survivor Series show takes place from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
In 2017, a Lesnar win was predictable. He had reigned as Champion since Wrestlemania 33 when he defeated Goldberg and was on a collision course with Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 34. His momentum was unlikely to be squandered in a non-title encounter.
For his part, Styles was a newly crowned WWE Champion, having defeated Jinder Mahal 12 days earlier on November 7, 2017 and at that point seemed like a stop-gap solution as Champion, when Mahal had flopped on top.
12 months on, however, and Styles is still Champion, successfully defending against all comers as his second reign surpasses one year. Styles is now Lesnar's equal and the big re-match is an even more enticing attraction than it had been in 2017.
A Styles victory over Lesnar is now a possibility. Lesnar with one foot out of the door in the UFC is not a guaranteed victor this time around.
Would victory mean more for Lesnar or Styles in 2018?
So, who will win? Who should win? In the following slideshow, SK ponders the possibilities in the battle for brand supremacy.
Who Should Win? AJ Styles
AJ Styles has defeated nearly everyone there is to beat on Smackdown during his 12-month reign as Champion.
One man or beast, he has never beaten, however, currently resides on Raw.
That monster's name is Brock Lesnar.
Lesnar has only lost once in the past 12 months and in truth has seldom lost during either stint of his WWE career, which began way back in March 2002.
However, Styles is the man whom WWE will continue to depend on full-time over the coming years. Lesnar's commitment to WWE appears to be waning with future UFC bouts on the cards. WWE should give it's full-time roster a public show of support with a victory for AJ Styles at Survivor Series.
The story of the match should be simple. Styles, having come so close to vanquishing the "Beast" at last year's Survivor Series has learned how to avoid his opponent's devastating power moves and inflict more damage on his foe to pick up the victory in the rematch.
A win for Styles is a win for the full-time roster and the fan-base. This is why it should happen.
Who Will Win? Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar. Every time it seems he is out, then the WWE somehow drag him back in.
Lesnar has the star power and the mainstream appeal that WWE loves, which is why the company continue to make him their Champion, even when that means one of their most prestigious Championships has to take continual sabbaticals.
Lesnar is the new Universal Champion and will compete for the second Survivor Series event in a row versus WWE Champion, AJ Styles.
Those people wishing for a different result, however, are likely to be sorely disappointed. Although a full 12 months as Champion is a vote of confidence from the office, AJ Styles is not viewed as the larger from life superstar that Lesnar is.
The rumors currently making the rounds are that Braun Strowman has alienated WWE bigwigs backstage which is why the World title continually eludes him and that Lesnar is expected to compete at Wrestlemania 35.
Should Lesnar wrestle at the biggest event of 2019, then he will likely enter that show as Champion and WWE are unlikely to dilute his momentum before then.
Paul Heyman's prediction of a Lesnar win is not a spoiler, it is an inevitability.
