Brock Lesnar Not Advertised For WWE Payback 2017
The Beast in absentia?
Despite being featured on the WWE Network's recent Payback trailer, WWE and venue SAP Center are not advertising Brock Lesnar or the Universal Championship to appear at the event.
While Finn Balor, The Hardy Boyz and Kurt Angle are all scheduled to appear at upcoming Monday Night RAW events, Lesnar is not, meaning his absence from TV looks set to stretch from now until at least the 1st of May.
With no Universal Championship match to speak of, it is expected that Roman Reigns vs Braun Strowman could headline Payback, given that this match will be the main event of RAW's house shows leading up to the PPV. This also throws the future of the Universal Championship into question: how will Kevin Owens be able to get his contractual rematch against an opponent who isn't on RAW, and how will Lesnar be able to defend his title in future if he isn't around to build feuds?
With Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar II already the rumoured main event for WrestleMania 34 next year, it's not unreasonable to expect a year-long Universal Championship reign from an AWOL Lesnar, at least unless Reigns beats Brock in a preceding match, and heads into 'Mania with the title.