Brock Lesnar put the cap on his latest WWE run by cracking the screen on the entrance ramp and dropping the WWE Universal championship to Roman Reigns at SummerSlam. The former champion didn’t show up on Monday Night Raw one night after the big event, and apparently fans may not see much of him within the confines of the WWE in the coming months.
PWInsider is reporting the crossover athlete is expected to focus on his MMA career until his next fight is expected to take place in early 2019.
Lesnar set the stage for a tilt with double champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 226, bringing WWE shenanigans to the Octagon in a very scripted shoving match. After it was announced Lesnar would be eligible to return to the UFC in early 2019 and he apparently submitted his first USADA test, and it became a clear talking point as WWE set the stage for his departure.
It’s not a huge surprise that Lesnar would want to focus on his UFC training — and avoid any potential injury setbacks that could come from a WWE match — and this news isn’t a huge surprise on the WWE side given that Lesnar wasn’t at Raw on Monday and wasn’t even really mentioned by Reigns.
According to the report, “the door is open” for Lesnar to return once he finishes up his next UFC run and WWE would be happy to have him back. While fans haven’t been thrilled with Lesnar holding the Universal title captive (blowing past CM Punk’s record 434 days with the main title), he’s an attraction unlike many others in the game today.
Simply put, if he’s not wrestling (he defended the title just seven times on pay-per-view since he won it at WrestleMania 33 nearly a year and a half ago), it makes the title chase a pretty miserable entertainment experience with the exception of Braun Strowman wrecking stuff and Samoa Joe making Lesnar turn purple. For now, it appears WWE will try to make up for the last title run by pushing Roman Reigns as a “fighting champion.” After Monday’s showdown with Finn Bálor, they’re off to a promising start.
