5 recent news & rumors about Brock Lesnar: Update on WrestleMania 38 plans, Major WWE record broken (January 21st, 2022)

Welcome to our weekly roundup of WWE news stories and rumors regarding Brock Lesnar. While he hasn't been on RAW or SmackDown in the past week, The Beast Incarnate is still being talked about.

The WWE Champion has two feuds going on. While he will take on Bobby Lashley at the Royal Rumble, the saga with Roman Reigns isn't going away. Lesnar has been in the news alongside The Tribal Chief several times recently.

Whether it is through a record being broken, Paul Heyman speaking about them, or rumblings of what lies ahead for WrestleMania, the two of them can barely be separated on multiple levels.

So, without further ado, let's dive right into this week's most important stories regarding Brock Lesnar.

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#5 Roman Reigns has broken Brock Lesnar's all-time WWE record

Roman Reigns is now the longest reigning Universal Champion in WWE history, surpassing Brock Lesnar's total of 503 days. This is an incredible feat, especially since The Tribal Chief has been on SmackDown nearly every week since he won the title.

In contrast, The Beast Incarnate was absent for large parts of his previously record-holding Universal Title reign. Lesnar only defended the belt seven times since he won it from Goldberg at WrestleMania 33, until Reigns defeated him at SummerSlam 2018.

It remains to be seen how much further he will pull away from the current WWE Champion, with a title defense against Seth Rollins coming up at the Royal Rumble.

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#4 Paul Heyman on an alliance with Reigns and Lesnar

Paul Heyman has been instrumental in the feud between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns. Even if he is now The Beast Incarnate's advocate again, his complete loyalties are still unknown. Heyman and Reigns showed glimpses of care towards each other a couple of weeks ago on SmackDown.

The on-screen advocate remained down the middle during an interview with Hot 101.9, where he was asked to fantasy book a modern version of The Dangerous Alliance — his faction from the late 1980s and early 1990s. Paul Heyman included both Lesnar and Reigns in the hypothetical group, along with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon:

“Paul Heyman, Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns. And just so I could have a percentage of his stock earnings… Vince McMahon,” said Heyman.

If he can get the two megastars to be on the same page, even for one match only, it would be a spectacle of the highest order.

#3 Bobby Lashley is gaining weight for his upcoming WWE Championship shot

Brock Lesnar will defend his WWE Championship against Bobby Lashley at the Royal Rumble. Fans are excited about this match, and so is The All Mighty. He said on Corey Graves' After The Bell podcast that he intends to prepare for the upcoming match by putting on some additional weight:

“I’m gonna prepare, putting a little bit of weight on, because over the last few months I was kind of cardioing up a bit more. We’ve already talked about putting a little bit of weight on and just kind of get our striking down,” stated Lashley.

Currently billed at 273 pounds, it will be interesting to see how much weight Lashley gains. We should get an update on RAW, as he and Lesnar will have a weigh-in on next Monday's episode.

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#2 Paul Heyman on Brock Lesnar cutting his own promos

Ever since Brock Lesnar returned to WWE at SummerSlam, he has been cutting promos on his own. The Beast Incarnate has displayed his personality to never-before-seen levels. This hasn't changed even after Paul Heyman is back by his side.

During an appearance on Casio's Cut, Heyman mentioned how relieved he was that Lesnar does much more of the talking now. He joked about getting a sore throat from constantly hyping up The Beast Incarnate:

“Thank god. My throat was getting sore espousing the virtues of ‘The Beast’, ‘The Conqueror’, the reigning, defending undisputed WWE Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. So thank god he decided to pick up a microphone and do some talking. I’m tired of talking about him,” said Heyman.

It remains to be seen whether Heyman will remain Lesnar's advocate or if there is another twist in the tale. He could very easily return to Roman Reigns' side at WrestleMania.

#1 WWE's plans for Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 38

While Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns are likely to face each other at WrestleMania 38, WWE is not planning a champion vs. champion match between them. Dave Meltzer reported this on Wrestling Observer Radio, even though the idea was teased during Reigns and Lesnar's confrontation on SmackDown.

“I was told no. That they just did it because those two guys had the belt at the time. So it made sense to do it at the time. But, at the time, that was not the direction that they were planning on…Lesnar and Reigns are going to have a match. I think we’ll have a lot better idea of what’s gonna happen after the Royal Rumble. But, if Seth wins and then Lesnar’s wrestling Roman, I would presume Roman beats him to win a belt back. Because Lesnar’s not going to be around long-term and Roman will be around every week," said Dave Meltzer.

We could see either man lose their world title at the Royal Rumble, be it Brock Lesnar losing his WWE Championship to Bobby Lashley or Seth Rollins ending Roman Reigns' historic run as Universal Champion. The road will be much clearer after next week's Premium Live Event.