From the WWE Rumor Mill: Braun Strowman to be replaced as Brock Lesnar’s next opponent
What’s the story?
Cageside Seats reports that Braun Strowman’s injury may cause him to miss out on a big match at Great Balls of Fire. Brock Lesnar was rumoured to be facing Strowman at Great Balls of Fire, but that match may soon change.
In case you didn’t know...
Lesnar won the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 33 when he defeated Goldberg after hitting him with 10 German Suplexes and an F-5. Lesnar’s last appearance on WWE programming occurred the following night on Raw when Lesnar and Paul Heyman were confronted by Strowman.
Pro Wrestling Sheet broke the news that Strowman will likely be out of action following this past Monday Night Raw due to an elbow injury that will require surgery. On the latest episode of Raw, Strowman appeared with his arm in a sling, but made his intentions regarding Reigns and Lesnar known.
The heart of the matter
Strowman’s arm was brutally attacked by Reigns on Raw which could’ve been done to officially write him off TV for the next couple of weeks until he recovers from his injury.
With Strowman’s recovery time estimated to be between 4 to 8 weeks, he will likely be unavailable for Extreme Rules. However, should Strowman’s recovery extend to 8 weeks, his rumoured match with Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire may also be in jeopardy.
What’s next?
Extreme Rules is scheduled for Sunday, June 4, 2017, and is within the four-week range needed for Strowman to recover from his surgery. This rules Strowman out of competing at Extreme Rules and will likely halt his feud with Reigns.
However, Strowman’s chances of wrestling at Great Balls of Fire is a lot more likely and is reported to still be a possibility.
Author’s Take
This situation with Strowman is truly unfortunate as the Mountain Among Men was starting to pick up some major momentum following his defeat of Reigns at Payback. Hopefully, he makes a quick recovery so he can resume decimating the roster and making himself a star.
With that being said, should Strowman be unable to wrestle at Great Balls of Fire, his replacement will probably be one of the wrestlers currently floating at the top of the card such as Roman Reigns, Finn Bálor, Seth Rollins, or Samoa Joe.
An ideal scenario would be Reigns taking on Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire, Strowman interfering and attacking both men, and a triple threat match for the Universal Championship being booked for SummerSlam. This would keep all three men in the loop and add to the unpredictability in wrestling that fans crave.
However, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter claimed that next year’s WrestleMania main event will be Reigns vs. Lesnar for the Universal Championship. If that report is true, then the company will probably hold off on Reigns andLesnarncompeting against each other until next year.
Hopefully, the WWE comes up with a good replacement should the situation call for.