Brock Lesnar
Main Event Announced for WWE SummerSlam
Kurt Angle announced in the opening segment of tonight’s RAW that Brock Lesnar would be defending his WWE Universal Championship title in a Fatal 4-Way at SummerSlam against Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman. Here is the updated card:
WWE Universal Championship
Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman vs. Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns
SmackDown Women’s Championship
Naomi vs. Natalya
WWE SummerSlam will take place on August 20, 2017, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. As always, we will have live coverage of the event.
Why Brock Lesnar Must Become A Free Agent
Rumours have been circulating this week that Brock Lesnar will return to UFC. There is also an accompanying rumour that Lesnar will not resign his contract after Wrestlemania 34. Even if these are simply rumours WWE and Vince McMahon must be scared. Lesnar is sports entertainment’s biggest draw bar none. He is a mega star and a huge asset to the company. However, his career is winding down and there is still infinite value in Lesnar over the next year or two. His value will be used best though if he becomes a free agent and here’s why.
More Dream Matches
Samoa Joe vs Brock Lesnar was a legitimate dream match. WWE capitalised on this feud and booked it perfectly from Extreme Rules all the way to Great Balls of Fire. This feud proved Joe to be a superstar and also that Brock Lesnar dream feuds are a necessity. Dream matches with Brock Lesnar create superstars. They give wrestlers a career defining match as well fans exactly what they are desperate for.
That said, there are not that many dream feuds left for Lesnar on RAW. The only real one is Finn Balor which is as dream worthy as Samoa Joe was. Behind Balor is – at a stretch of the word dream – Bray Wyatt and even Braun Strowman. These feuds must happen in Lesnar’s time left in WWE without a doubt, particularly with Balor. On Smackdown Live however there are more. Three legitimate dream matches face Lesnar on Smackdown Live. Kevin Owens, AJ Styles and of course there is also Shinsuke Nakamura. On a smaller level there is also stars like Corbin and Zayn who would likely be excellent opponents for Lesnar.
Heyman can simply announce the Beast Incarnate will do what he wants and go where he wants. This opens the door for so many feuds and matches that WWE must capitalise on. Especially now that Lesnar is likely in the very end of his WWE career. With Lesnar fighting only a limited number of times a year, now is the time to do this. If not for the wrestlers opposite Lesnar, then for us the fans.
Major Update on Brock Lesnar’s WWE & UFC Status
It was reported via Pro Wrestling Sheet yesterday that Brock Lesnar has made it clear to WWE officials that he won’t be re-singing with WWE after his contract expires shortly after WrestleMania next year. This doesn’t appear to be the case, according to the Wrestling Observer.
Dave Meltzer indicated on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio that reports of Lesnar leaving WWE once his contract expires to pursuit a career in the UFC are premature and he wouldn’t take these reports serious. Meltzer has a hard time believing that Brock would turn down “easy money” working for WWE at his current age of 40. The belief is that WWE is the better long-term option for Lesnar at his age.
In regards to UFC’s Jeff Novitsky shooting down reports that Brock Lesnar has not entered into the USADA drug testing pool, Meltzer said that he could enter the pool today and be ready to return for a fight early next year. Meltzer doesn’t believe that Lesnar will fighting for the UFC at the end of this year and also hinted that a fight early next year wouldn’t pan out well because of the Royal Rumble and the risk of him possibly getting hurt.
As far as possible opponents for Brock if he does make a UFC return, Meltzer named Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones as potential fights.
Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap – Commenting on Paige/Del Rio Situation, Mahal’s Championship Run, Fatal 4-Way at SummerSlam? More!
Russo opens today’s show by commentating on the recent drama in the relationship between Paige and Alberto Del Rio. He says that he met Paige and her family before, and they’re all very nice people. He has also met Del Rio in the past and he was very nice as well. In other words, he likes both of these individuals and he really just wants both of them to be okay.
He says that he doesn’t put any weight into the headlines written by wrestling ‘journalists’, but the tweets that were sent out by Paige’s brother really caught his attention. Some people forget that Paige is still just a kid, and her family are obviously very concerned about her. He believes that there is love in that relationship and he thinks they’re both good people, so he hopes they can figure this out.
Lane mentions that there has been some criticism from dirt sheet writers, Bryan Alvarez in particular, over the fact that Billy Gunn worked the recent NJPW show from the United States. Russo says he’s glad that Gunn wrestled on that show, and he’s glad that he’ll continue to wrestle for the foreseeable future because he’s able to make money doing that. This is a business, and each time Gunn wrestles he gets paid, so what’s the problem here?
Russo says that Gunn is still a machine at his age. He adds that in a shoot fight, Gunn would give Brock Lesnar a tougher bout than Samoa Joe or most other performers on WWE’s roster.
Speculation on the Main Event for SummerSlam
Coming out of Monday’s RAW, there is speculation that the main event for next month’s SummerSlam will see Brock Lesnar defending his WWE Universal Title against Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman in a Fatal 4-Way match.
Dave Meltzer discussed the possibility of the match being a 3-way for the championship on Monday’s installment of Wrestling Observer Radio, however those those plans may change. The belief is that Braun will make an appearance on next week’s RAW during the #1 contendership for the Universal Title match between Joe and Roman. This will play into storyline and setup the 4-Way at SummerSlam.
One of the reasons WWE would want setup a multi-persons match is because it would allow them to have an “out” for either Lesnar or Roman. Basically, Lesnar wouldn’t have to pin Roman and Roman wouldn’t have to pin Lesnar with other competitors in the match.
Segment Announced for Tonight’s RAW
With just an hour away until RAW goes live, WWE announced that Kurt Angle will give an update on the condition of Braun Strowman on tonight’s show.
It was also announced that Angle will be congratulating Brock Lesnar for his victory over Samoa Joe at Sunday’s WWE Great Balls of Fire event.
Check back here at 8PM ET for our live play-by-play coverage of the show.
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Big Match Announced for Next Week’s RAW
Kurt Angle announced on tonight’s episode of RAW that Samoa Joe will face Roman Reigns on next week’s episode of RAW. The winner of that match will face Brock Lesnar at the upcoming WWE SummerSlam event for the Universal Championship.
As of this writing, no other matches or segments have been announced. We will keep you updated if they announce anything.
Last Minute Shift In Betting Odds for Tonight’s WWE Great Balls of Fire
Heading into tonight’s WWE Great Balls of Fire event, Bray Wyatt is now the favorite in the betting odds to win his match against Seth Rollins. Here is the updated odds, courtesy of PaddyPower.com:
Brock Lesnar 1/25 (favorite)
Samoa Joe 17/2
Braun Strowman 1/10 (favorite)
Roman Reigns 5/1
Bray Wyatt 1/10 (favorite)
Seth Rollins 15/2
Big Cass 1/14 (favorite)
Enzo Amore 11/2
Alexa Bliss 1/25 (favorite)
Sasha Banks 9/1
Cesaro & Sheamus 1/25 (favorite)
Matt & Jeff Hardy 15/2
The Miz 1/14 (favorite)
Dean Ambrose 11/2
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Bad Sign for WWE Great Balls of Fire
Sunday’s WWE Great Balls of Fire event has not sold out yet and this isn’t a good sign especially with the likes of Brock Lesnar appearing on the card.
According to TicketIQ there are hundreds of seats are still available on Ticketmaster with prices ranging from $25-$700. On the secondary market, tickets have an average price of $148 with cheapest ticket available costing $42.
It will be interesting to see if the event will sellout within the next six days.
What to Expect on the July 3rd Episode of RAW
WWE heads to the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, AZ for tonight’s episode of RAW. Here are the focus point’s for the show:
How will Enzo Amore rebound?
Can The Boss knock “The Goddess” off her pedestal?
Will Roman Reigns get payback against Braun Strowman?
Samoa Joe scorches Brock Lesnar before WWE Great Balls of Fire
Check back here at 8PM ET for our live play-by-play coverage of the show.