Earlier this week, it was revealed that Brock Lesnar would be returning to WWE television on June 22, which is a lot earlier than expected. But, Lesnar’s early return is in response to the falling RAW ratings, as Monday’s RAW did its lowest rating since the mid-90’s.
The original plan was to have Lesnar return after WWE’s Battleground pay-per-view on July 19 and then begin to build towards a Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at SummerSlam . But now — according to the Wrestling Observer — Rollins and Lesnar could face off at the Battleground show, and instead of facing Lesnar at SummerSlam , Rollins will face Triple H.
Many people feel that it’s way too early to do Seth Rollins vs. Triple H, but due to WWE’s plans to have Triple H face The Rock at next year’s WrestleMania , they can’t do it there, and they want it to take place on a big show.
If Rollins vs. Triple H takes place at SummerSlam , that would mean that WWE would have to find another opponent for Brock Lesnar in a hurry because Lesnar has traditionally worked the show since his return to WWE. There has been some talk of Lesnar doing a one-off match with Randy Orton at some point, so that could be the match WWE goes to if they need a new opponent for Lesnar at SummerSlam .
There’s also the possibility of Lesnar and Rollins having their initial match at Battleground and having a rematch at SummerSlam .
Also according to the Observer , Lesnar will be all over WWE television this summer. It was also previously reported that Lesnar will be heading to Japan in July to work a house show match against — of all people — Kofi Kingston. The event is now sold out.
Traditionally, Lesnar has appeared on WWE television throughout the summer and during WrestleMania season from January to March/April. But, there’s a possibility that if the ratings continue to fall, WWE will be forced to pay Lesnar to work more dates than he’s contractually obligated to. In the past — due to his per-date demand being so high — WWE has wanted to avoid using Lesnar more than they’re obligated to, but 2015 could finally be the year where their hand is forced.
[Image via WWE ]