WWE SummerSlam: 3 Reasons why Seth Rollins beating Brock Lesnar clean was a great move, & 2 reasons why it wasn’t

The Biggest Party of the Summer is now behind us as SummerSlam 2019 has been successfully concluded. The show itself was very good as there were some great matches at the event.

The two highlights of the show were Bray Wyatt’s match against Finn Balor and the main event match between Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins. Wyatt completely illuminated the arena with his darkness as his Fiend persona’s in-ring debut left the fans completely satisfied.

The perfect platform for the main event was set by Wyatt, and Rollins and Lesnar followed it up with a classic of their own. Lesnar has been somewhat more interested in working ever since Heyman took over RAW, and it showed in his bout against Rollins.

The Beast not only put Rollins over, but sold the latter’s moves properly. The storytelling behind the match was so excellent that the crowd, who weren’t so receptive of Rollins at the beginning of the match, cheered him through the roof when the referee counted three.

So, Rollins is now the WWE Universal Champion once again – and here are 3 reasons why that is a great move, and 2 reasons why it isn’t…

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#3 Great move: Full-time champion again

We have a full-time champ again

Let’s get the obvious one out of the way. Having the Universal Title with Brock Lesnar means that it won’t be appearing on RAW every week – let alone defending it.

The WWE Universe has always been critical of the company putting the prestigious title on the shoulders of Brock Lesnar due to his part-time schedule, and when Rollins won the title off Lesnar at WrestleMania, they breathed a sigh of relief.

And even though we basically got a WrestleMania rematch at SummerSlam, it won’t be wrong to assume that majority of the fans are happy that the title is now in the hands of a full-time performer.

See WWE Summer Slam Results, Highlights of event, & more on WWE Summer Slam Results page

#2 Not a great move: Lesnar’s special status hurt

No longer the unbeatable Beast

Brock Lesnar is THE Beast. A freak of nature and a once-in-a-lifetime athlete. There is a reason why WWE books him like an unstoppable force of nature, and it is because Vince McMahon sees him as a special attraction.

After leaving WWE, Jon Moxley, FKA Dean Ambrose, spoke on Chris Jericho’s podcast, Talk Is Jericho, in an episode that turned out to cause a huge uproar in the internet wrestling community.

Moxley stated there that the Chairman has a “million dollar man complex” and “has to be able to buy,” which is “why he pays Brock [Lesnar] millions of dollars” because, according to Moxley, “he [McMahon] wants to own Brock” as his attraction.

It is difficult to remember the last time Brock Lesnar lost clean to someone. Yes, Goldberg did that in 2016 but he, too, is a part-timer.

So, not only has Rollins beat him clean, he has also done it twice in two of the biggest PPVs WWE has to offer, and that is definitely going to put a dent in Brock Lesnar’s status as the Beast who can’t be slayed at all.

#2 Great move: Establishes Rollins as the number-one guy

The numero uno

Ever since Roman Reigns announced that his leukemia had returned, there has been a shift in paradigm at WWE. Obviously, someone had to fill up the spot for the Big Dog in his absence – which Seth Rollins did – but it seems as though he is not the top face of WWE anymore.

Reigns returned in February, and doesn’t look any close to being in the title picture yet. Rollins, meanwhile, has already won the Universal Championship twice since the Big Dog’s return.

WWE will have to be very careful with Reigns going forward due to his condition, and the man himself claimed that he thinks he could be a full-time star for another 5 years.

"Well, I mean, I just gotta go based off my health and how I feel. I'm still a young man, I'm 34, I still have a few more years in me, of just being, I think I'm at the prime of my athletic career, so if I can handle it in the ring, I'm willing to do it. I think I can hold this schedule for at least 5 more years of being full-time, but eventually, it's gonna have to be time to rest my body," said Reigns.

As a result, it is possible that WWE is looking to make Rollins the number-one guy, and his recent clean win against Brock Lesnar put him above every Superstar in the company.

#1 Not a great move: It’s Rollins again

It's him again

Let’s get this clear: Seth Rollins is one of the most talented Superstars in the industry right now. The Architect’s heel work after betraying his Shield brothers was some of the finest villainous acts of the decade, and he has earned every bit of the honors that he is being bestowed upon now.

Earlier this year, when Rollins won the Royal Rumble, the reaction of the fans in the arena said it all. They were all backing him after a great year in 2018 and he was the perfect logical choice to take the title off Lesnar.

As a result, everyone wanted him to walk out of the Show of Shows with the Universal Title in his hand, and when that happened, the fans were ecstatic. It felt like a new dawn for WWE.

But then, by the time Rollins was paired up with Becky Lynch, he had already said some things about Jon Moxley and his Twitter clash against Will Ospreay turned the fans away from him.

He was beginning to fall flat as a face and it was the perfect opportunity for another full-time Superstar to take the title off him. But in the end, Lesnar cashed in his MITB contract and won the title and now, Rollins has it again.

Again.

While the match ended in applause for the Beastslayer, let’s not forget that it wasn’t very long ago when the crowd was chanting for Lesnar to F5 Rollins “one more time”.

#1 Great move: Meaningful future feuds

Can these two face off now?

Now that Seth Rollins has the title once again, WWE can plan forward and have a meaningful feud going forward. They could have done it when he won the Championship at WrestleMania, but wasted the chance when they chose Baron Corbin as the number one contender for it.

At the time, the likes of Drew McIntyre and even Braun Strowman were more logical choices, but somehow, Baron Corbin got the nod ahead of them both. The company really tried to get the Lone Wolf over but failed miserably in the process.

In the end, we were left with months and months of a bout in which no-one was really invested. This also played a role in Rollins’ stock as a face falling and we can only hope that the company doesn’t make the same mistake twice.

Whatever happens from now is like a buildup to WrestleMania, so WWE will have to be very careful in choosing a worthy opponent for Rollins.

The sad thing, however, is that no-one from RAW has the momentum right now. McIntyre has been wasted as Shane McMahon’s bodyguard, Braun Strowman hasn’t been used since Extreme Rules, so it is very difficult to see who would be a good fit against Rollins right now.

But we hope that whoever it is, we would get a meaningful feud as it would be against two full-time Superstars.