WWE Rumor Roundup - Plans for Brock Lesnar changed, Major superstar to follow Daniel Bryan and CM Punk into AEW, Is Bianca Belair getting buried? (22nd August 2021)
Welcome back to a special edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's WWE Rumor Roundup.
It's been an eventful weekend as AEW unveiled CM Punk while WWE offered another newsworthy SummerSlam event featuring the returns of Brock Lesnar and Becky Lynch.
We have all the top backstage notes from The Biggest Party of the Summer, which explains the reasoning behind the planned swerves for the pay-per-view.
We begin the roundup with details of the company changing its creative plans for Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns. WWE also had a significant objective behind booking Lesnar's return at SummerSlam.
Fresh reports suggest that AEW has lined up a third major acquisition after CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, and there is one massive former world champion whose name has cropped up amid all the speculation.
How did people backstage in WWE react to Punk's return to professional wrestling? Why did Vince McMahon book Bianca Belair in a 27-second squash? Here are all the answers and more from today's Rumor Roundup:
#5. WWE changed its plans for Brock Lesnar, real reason why The Beast Incarnate returned
SummerSlam 2021 ended with Brock Lesnar's long-awaited WWE return as he confronted Roman Reigns and was also involved in a brutal post-show segment with John Cena.
Andrew Zarian of The Mat Men Pro Wrestling podcast revealed that getting Lesnar back was WWE's response to CM Punk's debut on AEW Rampage.
Dave Meltzer released several additional details regarding the original plans for Roman Reigns' feud with Lesnar.
In the Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer noted that the company had initially lined up Reigns vs. Lesnar for WrestleMania 39, scheduled to happen at Inglewood, California, in 2023.
As per the planned flow of events, Roman Reigns was on course for a WrestleMania 38 match with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson in 2022. The Tribal Chief was then supposed to face Brock Lesnar at the following year's WrestleMania.
The updated plan is for Reigns and Lesnar to feud for the remainder of the year. While we don't have confirmed dates, the long-time rivals could have their match either at Survivor Series or Crown Jewel.
Brock Lesnar has introduced a new ponytail look and looks ready to make the unlikely transition to being a babyface during the program with Reigns.
The Beast Incarnate also provided an excellent preview of his babyface traits after SummerSlam as he was spotted smiling and interacting with fans.