WWE Superstar Shake-Up 2019: 3 Reasons Roman Reigns Should Stay on Raw
2. Be Vigilant Should Brock Lesnar Return
Prior to his departure to fight leukemia, Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. It was a moment that was years in the making. All the way back at WrestleMania 31, Roman Reigns made his way to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship after winning that year’s Royal Rumble. Unfortunately, what looked to be a crowning moment for reigns ended with Seth Rollins cashing in his Money in the Bank Contract to stomp Reigns into the mat and escape with the title.
More from Raw
- WWE Raw Predictions: Seth Rollins Will BURY Jey Uso
- Three feuds for CM Punk on WWE Monday Night Raw
- Three candidates to take the Women’s World Championship from Rhea Ripley
- WWE Raw Predictions: LA Knight Will Return The Favor To Cody Rhodes
- Why Drew McIntyre turned heel during WWE Monday Night Raw
From that moment, a long road began where Reigns struggled to prove he could topple The Beast Incarnate. At Fastlane the next year, he defeated Lesnar and Dean Ambrose in a Triple Threat Match to earn a shot at then-champion Triple H at WrestleMania 32, but did so by pinning Ambrose.
At SummerSlam 2017, Roman Reigns got a chance to redeem himself by toppling Lesnar for the Universal Championship, but it was in a Fatal 4-Way that also included Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe. Once again, Reigns saw victory slip through his fingers, and Brock Lesnar left as Universal Champion.
That failure saw Brock Lesnar continuing a heavily criticized reign as Universal Champion, despite rarely appearing on WWE television and only defending the title a handful of times a year. Reigns looked poised to end that reign and save the WWE Universe from a world with Lesnar at champion at WrestleMania 34, but Reigns lost again. He got another shot at WWE Greatest Royal Rumble, but a bad decision by the referee left Reigns on the losing end once again.
Finally, at SummerSlam 2018, Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. He stood ready to be the fighting champion the fans deserved, but his leukemia diagnosis kept him from doing that. In his absence, Brock Lesnar quickly took control once again by defeating Braun Strowman at WWE Crown Jewel to regain the Universal Championship.
While Lesnar was toppled by “The Beast Slayer” Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 35, he remains a looming threat should he decide to return. Rollins may be the fighting champion right now, but Roman Reigns will be eager to keep watch on WWE Raw should The Beast Incarnate try to come back and restart his reign of terror atop The Big Dog’s yard.