It's official. Seth Rollins will be challenging Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WWE SummerSlam 2019. Not only do we now know the main event of WWE SummerSlam 2019, but we also know the biggest marquee match.
Seth Rollins had to overcome 9 other competitors in a cross-branded Battle Royal to earn his spot at the SummerSlam main event. He managed to eliminate the likes of Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Baron Corbin and Randy Orton to win the right to challenge for the Universal title.
Last year, Rollins would have been the defacto #1 contender due to the rematch clause, but since automatic rematches have been dealt away with to the most part, The Architect had to earn his way back. Post-match, he showed his fire and desire to take down Lesnar once again and at the biggest party of the summer, we're going to see a fired-up Rollins take on Lesnar. Here's why he's challenging for the title!
Also read: 5 things WWE subtly told us on the RAW after Extreme Rules (July 15th)
#5. They're yet to have a proper match
Believe it or not, in 3 encounters, Seth Rollins and Brock Lesnar have never really had their "proper" match. The first meeting in 2015 saw Rollins take a few minutes worth of suplexes before The Undertaker abruptly ended the match.
WrestleMania 35 saw them have a match that lasted a little over two minutes (with the pre-match beatdown taking longer) and obviously, their third match was the MITB cash-in.
Their matches put together hardly come up to a few minutes and they really need a platform to have a proper match. Hopefully, Seth Rollins can bring the best out of Brock Lesnar the same way that AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan did. Rollins is smaller than Lesnar, but not as small as the other two.
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#4. The best option for the SummerSlam main event
SummerSlam looks like it's going to be a pretty good card this year and obviously, they need a main event to draw interest despite the show being sold out in Toronto. There aren't too many great options this year for a main event, so it makes sense that WWE would want to go with Rollins vs Lesnar.
They may not have had a proper match, but you can be assured that this time around, it's going to last a lot longer than just a few minutes. Seth Rollins is going to take a beating like never before and if it is the main event, that might mean that we'll see a motivated Brock Lesnar take charge.
Either way, Brock Lesnar is practically the king of SummerSlam with all the main events and big wins against The Rock, John Cena, Randy Orton, CM Punk, etc.
#3. It makes the most storyline sense
Seth Rollins vs Brock Lesnar may not excite many (mainly due to Lesnar), but the fact of the matter is that as of this standing, Seth Rollins vs Brock Lesnar makes the most sense from a storyline perspective.
Sure, Lesnar vs Lashley would be a dream match, Lesnar vs Cesaro is another one, but similar to AJ Styles and Ricochet being the right feud right now, the same applies to Seth Rollins and Brock Lesnar.
Roman Reigns in the picture would make absolutely no sense, even if he is the uncrowned Universal Champion. He is in the midst of another rivalry now and Seth Rollins has been the one who has held the Universal title for the past few months. It only makes sense that he would be the one vying to regain the title he lost to The Beast Incarnate Brock Lesnar.
#2. To give Seth Rollins another coronation
Seth Rollins received his first real coronation at WrestleMania 35. Sure, WrestleMania 31 was undoubtedly a crowning moment of his career, but he's evolved so much since then and he's now been a babyface nearly as long as he was a heel (perhaps the same time length if you remove his injury period between 2015-16).
He was given a coronation at WrestleMania 35 because it was clear that WWE was going with Rollins as the next top star as they had no idea when Reigns would be back. He did return on time for WrestleMania 35, but it was Rollins' time then and Reigns never did anything to step over his friend.
Why WWE would put the title on Lesnar if he's going to be champion for less than a month, we're not very sure. But it's highly possible that Rollins gets another big title win in the summer.
#1. He's replaced Roman Reigns as the #1 guy
This one admittedly will leave a bit of a bitter taste in some fans' mouths. Yes, people have been whining for years now that Roman Reigns should not be in the top spot. When they pushed him the way they used to, there was a lot of rationality to it as well.
But with the leukaemia, it seems as though Rollins wasn't just a temporary replacement. The fact of the matter is that Roman Reigns' time in the ring is limited and whether that's 2 years or more, Reigns knows exactly what is at stake.
He stated before leaving in October last year that when he did return, it was never going to be about championships, but more about inspiring people. With that said, Reigns may have taken a backseat in a very different role. Not that he'll never be World Champion again, but it's safe to assume that he won't be main eventing WrestleMania as often anymore.
Will Seth Rollins beat Brock Lesnar at WWE SummerSlam 2019?