WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar has been on the missing list since he claimed the championship at WrestleMania 33 . As previously reported by the Inquisitr , Lesnar failed to defend his title within the WWE’s supposedly mandatory 30-day rule . Wrestling fans will remember that the WWE stripped Naomi of her WWE women’s title just weeks before WrestleMania. They cited the 30-day rule as the reason. Lesnar, it seems, is not subject to the same rules.
It has been widely rumored that the WWE have already penciled in a headline match between Lesnar and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34 . It would seem obvious that Lesnar will be expected to compete in the squared-circle well before next April, so there has been a huge amount of speculation about who Lesnar will take on in his first title defense.
Last Sunday, Samoa Joe came through a “fatal five-way” match with Roman Reigns, Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, and Bray Wyatt to establish himself as the No. 1 contender for Lesnar’s title. According to the official WWE website , that match will happen at the WWE Great Balls of Fire PPV on Sunday, July 9. It had been expected that Lesnar’s first defense of the Universal Championship belt would be against Braun Strowman. The Monster Among Men had been at the center of a huge push, but his injury and subsequent surgery have forced Strowman into a lengthy layoff that may stretch all the way to the SummerSlam .
With Strowman out for as much as six months, it is perhaps not surprising to see Samoa Joe elevated to championship contender. The WWE is currently pushing its newcomers hard. Jinder Mahal claimed Randy Orton’s WWE Championship at WWE Backlash 2017, and Extreme Rules also saw The Miz beat Dean Ambrose to take the Intercontinental Championship. A match between Lesnar and Strowman may happen; it is still being touted for SummerSlam, and One India claims that Lesnar will lose his championship and regain it long before WrestleMania 34 .
It seems that neither Strowman nor Samoa Joe is Brock Lesnar’s biggest challenge. If recent reports are true, Lesnar’s biggest challenge will be in a court of law.
UFC Star Mark Hunt Wins The Right To Sue Brock Lesnar And UFC Over Doping
UFC fans will recall that Lesnar is currently banned from competing in MMA. As was reported in MMA Fighting , Lesnar was suspended for 12 months and handed a $250,000 fine after failing both in and out of competition drug tests. Lesnar’s opponent when he failed the in-competition test was UFC star Mark Hunt.
Hunt has taken litigation against Lesnar, Dana White, and the UFC. According to The Sun , Hunt is accusing Lesnar, White, and the UFC of “racketeering, fraud, battery and civil conspiracy,” and his lawsuit has just survived a “motion to dismiss.” Hunt claims that the UFC already knew that Lesnar had failed an out of competition test, and states that they engaged in a criminal conspiracy that damaged him both physically and financially.
In his complaint, Hunt alleges that Lesnar and White conspired against him to knowingly pit him, a clean fighter, against Lesnar, a doping fighter. This he claims acted to his detriment and to the benefit of the defendants. Hunt also claims that he made Dana White aware of his concerns about Lesnar’s use of performance-enhancing drugs and that he has text messages of conversations about the issue.
Hunt says that he is seeking “punitive damages sufficient to deter illegal doping in the sport of mixed martial arts.”
IT’S OFFICIAL! #TheBeast and #UniversalChampion @BrockLesnar will return to Monday Night #RAW NEXT WEEK! pic.twitter.com/KmJW4UvVAZ
— WWE (@WWE) June 6, 2017
Meanwhile, the WWE have announced that Brock Lesnar will return to Monday Night Raw next Monday, June 12. At present, we don’t know if Lesnar will be competing. It is more likely that Lesnar will return in a feud building segment in preparation for a match against Samoa Joe at the Great Balls Of Fire PPV next month.
[Featured Image by WWE]