Real reason why Brock Lesnar was not at WWE SmackDown this week - Reports

After a blockbuster return at WWE SummerSlam 2021, Brock Lesnar missed this week's episode of Friday Night SmackDown, much to the disappointment of fans. The reason behind this is Lesnar not being Roman Reigns' next challenger for his Universal Championship.

According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider, Reigns would likely face Finn Balor at next month's WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view. This week's SmackDown closed with Balor coming out to the ring during the family celebration of The Bloodline and challenging The Tribal Chief for his title at next week's episode of the blue brand. The match has now been made official.

.@FinnBalor challenges @WWERomanReigns for the #UniversalTitle NEXT WEEK on #SmackDown! @HeymanHustle https://t.co/GV4HbBWo2x pic.twitter.com/KHEsEKWJRF

— WWE (@WWE) August 28, 2021

As for Brock Lesnar, the report claims that he will be facing Roman Reigns either at Crown Jewel or Survivor Series later this year. WWE likely wants to have this massive match on a bigger stage than Extreme Rules.

The build to Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns has already started on SmackDown

While we may not be getting a full-blown Reigns vs. Lesnar feud immediately, the build to it has already started on SmackDown. The biggest question heading out of SummerSlam last week was - who will Paul Heyman choose now that his former client Brock Lesnar is back?

Kayla Braxton asked the same to Heyman this week on SmackDown during a backstage segment. Heyman claimed that he will remain by the side of The Tribal Chief. However, he was locked out of Reigns' locker room. The Usos then came out and accused Heyman of knowing about Lesnar's return at SummerSlam, which he denied.

Did... Did @HeymanHustle KNOW that @BrockLesnar was showing up at #SummerSlam????@WWEUsos @WWERomanReigns pic.twitter.com/P72e9ufEYh

— WWE (@WWE) August 28, 2021

Upon Roman Reigns' arrival, Paul Heyman looked scared but the Universal Champion was surprisingly calm, or at least made it look like he was. WWE is clearly teasing tensions between Heyman and The Bloodline and it would be interesting to see where this angle heads to.

Comment down and let us know your thoughts on whether Paul Heyman would remain by the side of Roman Reigns or betray him and go back to Brock Lesnar?