WWE News: Brock Lesnar To Defend Against Lashley Or Reigns At ‘SummerSlam,’ Ronda Rousey Named No. 1 Contender
WWE Raw received higher praise than usual this past Monday, and that’s largely due to news regarding Ronda Rousey and universal champion Brock Lesnar. At Extreme Rules, Kurt Angle announced that Brock Lesnar would have to show up on Raw or agree to defend the WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam, or he would be stripped of the title. Raw wasted no time in revealing what Lesnar decided to do.
At the opening of Raw, Kurt Angle was in the ring and announced that he was going to strip Lesnar off the title because he had not heard back from the champion or his representatives. Brock’s advocate, Paul Heyman, then came down to the ring to talk with the Raw general manager. He said that “The Beast Incarnate” was not at Raw, but that he really does enjoy wrestling in the WWE. Heyman remarked that when Brock Lesnar challenges Daniel Cormier for the UFC Heavyweight Championship, he wants to walk into that MMA match as the reigning WWE universal champion. As the Inquisitr reported, Brock Lesnar will indeed fight in the UFC for the heavyweight title.
Bobby Lashley then entered the picture to announce his interest in fighting Brock for the title at SummerSlam, like he has previously expressed before. Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Finn Balor, Elias, and Roman Reigns followed suit, and all six superstars were in the ring telling Kurt Angle why they deserve the WWE title shot at SummerSlam, though Reigns said he didn’t care about Brock and just wanted a fight. The Raw general manager then announced that two triple threat matches would take place that night on Raw, and the winners would face each other next Monday to decide who would become the No. 1 contender.
The first triple threat match featured Finn Balor, Roman Reigns, and Drew McIntyre squaring off. Reigns won that contest and received a cut above his eye in the process. The second triple threat bout main-evented WWE Raw, and Bobby Lashley, Seth Rollins, and Elias battled it out. For the finish, Elias pulled Rollins out of the ring, and then Lashley speared Elias for the three-count. That means next week on Raw, we’ll see a rematch from Extreme Rules when Bobby once again faces Roman, and this time that match will reveal who will challenge WWE universal champion Brock Lesnar.
It won’t be surprising if next week’s No. 1 contender match leads to a triple threat contest between Reigns, Lashley, and Lesnar at SummerSlam. Braun Strowman also possesses the Money in the Bank briefcase, and many WWE fans are expecting “The Monster in the Bank” to cash in at SummerSlam. While that is an intriguing notion, if Lesnar were to face Cormier as the reigning WWE universal champion, that would be a history-making moment. As fans know, the WWE loves to make history.
In other WWE news, Ronda Rousey will face Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam for the Raw Women’s Championship, but only if she doesn’t have any other outbursts of anger like she did at Extreme Rules and Monday’s Raw. Monday night, Raw women’s champion Alexa Bliss was cutting a promo in the ring with Mickie James by her side. Rousey, who is storyline-suspended, made her way through the crowd to confront James and Bliss. She got her hands on both competitors and got in trouble for doing so. The WWE website describes the situation.
“Given that Rousey had violated her suspension, Angle had no choice but to extend her sentence by another week. (‘Constable’ Baron Corbin pushed for more, and when he threatened to protest to Stephanie McMahon, Angle stole The Lone Wolf’s phone to lead him on a wild goose chase). But Angle offered a carrot in addition to the stick: A match against Bliss at SummerSlam for the Raw Women’s Championship. All Rousey has to do is toe the line. Whether that’s too much to ask of her, of course, remains to be seen.”
“Rowdy” Ronda is being built as this generation’s “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, so towing the line may be something that her character isn’t up to doing, but only time will tell. For now, with both Ronda Rousey and Brock Lesnar being involved in WWE title matches at SummerSlam, the pay-per-view is certainly heating up.
