How Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns Will Steal The Show At WWE SummerSlam 2018
Roman Reigns hasn't become a hero for trying to topple WWE's biggest villain, but Lesnar is now at least a requisite figure of loathing for him to bounce a few hundred Superman Punches off of. Brock was vociferously booed for his neglectful treatment of the Universal Title and the fanbase at large after Raw General Manager Kurt Angle at long last tried to stand up for the health of his brand, with his fragile relationship with Paul Heyman becoming the latest plot-point caught in the crossfire of 'The Beast's overdue demise.
The Brooklyn audience will put 'The Big Dog' down like every other crowd, but they'll have endured an event so utterly moribund that the prospect of Brock Lesnar finally losing the title he doesn't deserve to hold seems certain to generate an atmosphere critically missing from WrestleMania and Greatest Royal Rumble. Not least with the hope of a looming Braun Strowman/Kevin Owens Money In The Bank cash-in in the ether of an otherwise toxic atmosphere.
As Lesnar dominated the pepper-sprayed Reigns on their last pre-SummerSlam stop, Paul Heyman had his undamaged eyes firmly on the prize. He stared longingly at the Universal Title above his head, casting some minds back to an intentionally teasing tweet he sent out before WrestleMania about promising to leave with "The Champion". His character is a f*cking snake, but he's the smartest snake in any room, and he's slithered away from Lesnar once before. A Reigns relationship was perhaps a red herring going off the most recent red brand roughhousing, but Heyman's got cards up his sleeve rather than another obscured can of mace.
There's tension, confusion, and - finally, thank f*ck - a sense of resolution about the entire thing. About this entire mess. A resolution to one of the most embarrassing chapters in a top title's history. A sense of resolution to a Lesnar arc that has made a mockery of the product and the audience that invests in it far more than he ever will. A sense of resolution to Roman's relentless and at-times-infuriating quest for glory. His anointment won't mirror moments of magic afforded to Bret Hart, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Daniel Bryan or anybody else the fans actually loved, but it will - even if Braun Strowman's music immediately hits - at long last allow everybody to finally look towards a future without the looming shadow of Brock's disdain cast over top of it. A catharsis unlike much else on offer from WWE at the moment, with Roman Reigns remarkably front and centre of it all.
Picture the scene.