Ranking Brock Lesnar's matches as Universal Champion 

Brock Lesnar's year-long reign as Universal Champion is most probably going to come to an end at WrestleMania 34. For better or for worse, Roman Reigns is going to overthrow Brock Lesnar and win his fourth straight WrestleMania main event.

The last twelve months have been the most divisive of Brock Lesnar's WWE career. While many who champion him would argue that keeping the champion off TV is a great way of bringing prestige to the belt, his detractors would argue that Brock's run has damaged the Raw main event scene and held back the upper mid-card.

Lesnar's title defences have been sporadic, to say the least. The conqueror of 'the streak' has defended his title four times on television, competed in one non-title match against AJ Styles at Survivor Series, and has had three matches on house shows, bringing his total number of matches to eight.

When the dust has settled on Brock's reign, fans will discuss its merits and pitfalls for years to come. So, as we prepare to crown a new champion next month, let's take a look back at Brock Lesnar's matches as Universal Champion, and rank them, from worst to best.

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#6 Kane- Raw Live Show, Chicago

The Big Red Machine is still considered a worthy challenger in 2018

While I have not to included Brock's two other non-televised defences against Samoa Joe over the summer, I feel I had to include this match-up, due to the controversy surrounding it.

If you've not seen the match yet, you can do so on YouTube. Lesnar defeated Kane in less than 35 seconds after hitting just one F5, and fans were understandably frustrated.

There are plenty of ideas going around at the moment about why this happened. Some are speculating that Lesnar is saving himself for a run in the UFC and that he requested such a short bout. Others, myself included, believe that this was a work by the WWE, designed to infuriate fans and get them to support Reigns against Brock at 'Mania.

If the latter is the case, it is a smart move by the WWE. At the same time, it seems unfair to fans who had paid good money in the hope of seeing Lesnar actually perform.

#5 Braun Strowman- No Mercy 2017

Strowman and Lesnar couldn't live up to their pre-match hype

Brock Lesnar's match against Braun Strowman at No Mercy last year was perhaps the most hyped title defence of his run. Braun was riding a huge wave of momentum heading into this bout, and fans, understandably, expected a monster clash between the duo.

The commentators built the match as a 'WrestleMania worthy' one, and the anticipation was at an all-time high when the opening bell rang. Sadly, the WWE decided to book a sub 10-minute match, which saw Lesnar defeat Strowman with just one F5.

It was at this same event that it became abundantly clear that the WWE had no intention of changing course for WrestleMania, and fans realised that there was no hope of Braun Strowman picking up a title victory while Brock Lesnar was still on the scene.

Thankfully, Braun recovered following the terrible booking of this match, but this really felt like a turning point for Lesnar in terms of fan opinion.

#4 Braun Strowman and Kane- Royal Rumble 2018

Kane and Braun weren't enough to stop The Beast Incarnate at the Royal Rumble

That's right, in 2018, the WWE still sees Kane as a legitimate title contender, despite having several other hugely popular superstars waiting on Raw for a title shot.

During the build-up to the Royal Rumble, rumours had begun to surface that the WWE had gone cold on the initially planned Finn Balor vs Brock Lesnar match, due to the challenger not being over enough, and as a result, we were treated to a triple threat match involving The Big Red Machine and The Monster Among Men instead.

There were multiple problems with this match. First and foremost, no-one cared about it because the outcome was so obvious from the start. Secondly, the in-ring action was pretty terrible, with the company trying to recapture the car-crash style that had served them so well in their SummerSlam main event.

Being wedged between two Royal Rumble matches did little to help this match, and this encounter was easily the worst thing on an otherwise enjoyable Royal Rumble card.

#3 Samoa Joe- Great Balls of Fire 2017

Samoa Joe took Brock to the limit at Great Balls of Fire

Brock's first defence of the Universal Title gave the WWE Universe one of the best feuds of last summer.

Brock Lesner vs Samoa Joe was, in the eyes of many fans, a dream match, and the two men did a solid job of building hype for the match. Joe was booked to look like an absolute beast on Raw, and the segment where he choked out Paul Heyman was one of the best things on the show in 2017.

The fight between the two men on Raw also gained a lot of views on Youtube, and had many fans wondering if the WWE would be brave enough to take the belt off the Universal Champion. Needless to say, they didn't, but the two men still put on a good match at Great Balls of Fire.

While the finish, which saw Joe defeated with one F5, was weak, the rest of the match was enjoyable with Joe dominating Brock and the two men telling a great story in the ring. It was one of few Lesnar's singles matches last year to really have a big fight feel. The sooner Joe gets back into Universal Title contention, the better.

#2 Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman- SummerSlam 2017

Lesnar was triumphant against not one, but three tough opponents at SummerSlam

Brock Lesnar's best defence of the Universal Title also happens to be the match he spent the least time involved in.

The Beast Incarnate's blockbuster match against Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman at SummerSlam was a battle of the behemoths, that was fitting for one of the big four PPVs.

The four men tore each other limb from limb in the name of entertainment, and Brock was taken out of the match fairly early on when Braun Strowman tipped a commentators table on top of him.

Of course, Lesnar later returned to the match and won with his unstoppable F5 finisher, but this easily the most exciting and most enjoyable of his four televised title defences.

#1 AJ Styles- Survivor Series 2017

AJ Styles got the best out of Brock in their dream match-up at Survivor Series

What other match did you expect to be here? Brock Lesnar's match against AJ Styles at Survivor Series, which pitted the Universal Champion against the WWE Champion for the first time in history in a non-title bout, felt like the only real match over the last 12 months that Brock Lesnar's heart was truly in.

Lesnar and Styles told an excellent story in the ring, with Styles outsmarting Lesnar at every turn, and at several times, making fans question what was, from the beginning, a very predictable result.

To think, before AJ won the title from Jinder Mahal on SmackDown Live, there was a point in time when fans had to face the very real prospect of Brock Lesnar vs Jinder Mahal. Thankfully, Jinder's reign of terror was brought to an end, giving fans that rare beast- a truly great Brock Lesnar match.