Last Sunday at Extreme Rules, Brock Lesnar cashed-in his Money in the Bank contract to become the new Universal Champion. Lesnar cashed-in on Seth Rollins, who had just won a grueling and hellacious Mixed Tag-Team Extreme Rules match. The Beast won the Universal title for the third time in his career.
Although most fans were aware that Lesnar would cash-in on Rollins someday, few were expecting it to happen at Extreme Rules. Fans weren't thrilled at the prospect of watching Lesnar rule as the Universal Champion again, but it happened and fans were livid.
The next night on Raw, Paul Heyman announced that an All-Star, cross-branded, 10-man battle royal to determine the challenger for Lesnar at SummerSlam. At the end of the night, Rollins won the Battle Royal to become the number one contender to Brock Lesnar's Universal title at SummerSlam.
Rollins and Lesnar have faced off countless times in the recent past and some fans are underwhelmed. Rollins and Lesnar faced off at WrestleMania and Rollins managed to slay the Beast. Fans feel that WWE had better challengers to the Universal title at SummerSlam.
Having said that, let's take a look at 3 stars who would have been better options to face Lesnar at SummerSlam than Seth Rollins...
#3 Bobby Lashley
If you list down dream matches that have never taken place, Brock Lesnar vs Bobby Lashley will be somwhere near the top. Fans have been clamoring and yearning for a dream showdown between these two behemoths for years, but they haven't gotten their wish yet.
When Lashley returned in early April 2018, fans thought that they would finally get to witness the Almighty take on Lesnar in a dream match for the ages. However, Lashley hasn't come close to facing Lesnar ever since his return and has played second-fiddle to the likes of Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman and Finn Balor. Lashley vs Lesnar has the potential to be something fascinating.
It must be noted that Lashley is doing some pretty good work these days. His in-ring work has come a long way and he is excelled as a monstrous heel. Lashley has also been slowly gaining momentum recently. Two weeks ago, he defeated and decimated Rey Mysterio in a matter of minutes. He had an impressive showing against Braun Strowman at Extreme Rules and took the Monster Among Men to the limit.
Lashley would have been a better and more interesting opponent for Lesnar than Rollins. It's difficult to fathom the fact that Lashley vs Lesnar hasn't happened in spite of how much the fans want it.
#2 Braun Strowman
It's understandable that Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman have faced off numerous times in the past few years, but most of their matches were massive disappointments. Lesnar has defeated Strowman every time they faced and Strowman has struggled to recover from his losses against Lesnar. However, I think that Strowman deserved one final chance at Lesnar's Universal title.
Strowman is a monster and Lesnar is a beast. He is one of the most believable and plausible challengers to Lesnar's title. He is one of the few stars who can match Lesnar's immense strength and inhumane power.
Furthermore, Strowman has been gaining some momentum recently. He convincingly defeated Bobby Lashley in a Last Man Standing match and had an impressive showing in the All-Star Battle Royal. He has all the tools needed to defeat a champion of Lesnar's caliber.
Lastly, Strowman deserves to have a Universal Championship reign and Lesnar has been a thorn in his side for two years now. With WWE management backing Strowman, SummerSlam was the perfect time to crown Strowman the Universal Champion.
#1 Cesaro
This past week on Monday Night Raw, Paul Heyman said that he was interested in witnessing Lesnar face Cesaro. Many fans would agree with Heyman as they have been calling for a dream match between the two powerhouses for years now.
Cesaro and Lesnar have so much in common, both are extremely powerful men and let their actions speak for them. Cesaro was once a 'Paul Heyman Guy' and Heyman has always been a fan of Cesaro. With Heyman having greater creative control on Raw now, it was the perfect time to have Cesaro challenge Lesnar for the Universal Championship.
The crowd was firmly behind Cesaro during the All-Star Battle Royal, but he was the first man eliminated. Cesaro recently broke away from Sheamus and started working as a singles star.
He owned victories over Ricochet and recently dismantled No Way Jose. A Universal title opportunity could have revived Cesaro's career and could have catapulted him to great heights as a singles star.
Cesaro vs Lesnar is a missed opportunity and WWE should have done this match at SummerSlam.