Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar brings an interesting new wrinkle

It was a weekend of returns in professional wrestling. Starting with Friday with CM Punk’s return to the world of pro wrestling via AEW Rampage on TNT; then Saturday at SummerSlam, with Becky Lynch making a return, and of course Brock Lesnar, whose return undoubtedly brings with it a very interesting new wrinkle indeed.

More on that in just a second, though. Let’s first take a look at the weight of these returns on the industry itself.

Two huge returns on one night—albeit the “Biggest party of the summer”

SummerSlam 2021 was probably WWE’s best event in recent months. That is of course arguable as a statement overall, but what cannot be argued, is the fact that there were at least 2 epic moments that had the entirety of the WWE Universe shocked and surprised.

Despite the fact that everyone knew that Becky Lynch was on her way back at some point (she had been teasing it on social media for months), she surprised the audience when she emerged, interrupting the match for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. As has been reported by my colleagues here already, Sasha Banks was a no-show, and Bianca was set to face Carmella when Lynch’s music hit over the PA system.

The moment undoubtedly created quite a wee bit of controversy, but, she did tear the roof off of the place, so to speak.

But that wasn’t at all the only shocking moment of the night. Brock Lesnar himself made a very epic return as well, surprising most in the audience and at home.

It seemed as though he surprised Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman as well, but we know better than that, right dear readers?

What Brock’s return can mean for a most valuable player

Has anyone thought of Paul Heyman, here? Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place. Paul Heyman used to manage Brock Lesnar, and both at the start of his career and during his most recent and most successful run in pro wrestling. (Not to mention the fact that he even co-wrote Brock’s biography with him, Death Clutch: My Story of Determination, Domination, and Survival, but that’s beside the point.)

On Saturday, when Brock came out, I couldn’t keep my eyes peeled away from the screen.

And was it Brock I was looking at? His new style, his buff, and chiseled frame? The intensity in his eyes, even?

Was it Roman, who did his best to sell the moment—the confusion, the worry that someone had finally been brought in to take what not even John Cena had been able to take?

Yes, I looked at all of this, as it was definitely all epic TV, but what I watched most was Paul Heyman. The consummate professional and seller in the business, he showed that he was in shock and definitely in worry.

Who will he choose to align with and represent?

This remains to be seen, and I’m sure the ratings will undoubtedly go up for SmackDown this week—or at least they should.

And what of Raw?

Ah…an additional wrinkle. Before Brock left, he was on the Raw brand. It was Drew McIntyre that defeated him for his belt at last year’s WrestleMania (36).

Doesn’t it seem like everyone’s on SmackDown? Couldn’t they have sent Brock to Raw; maybe him getting in a feud with Bobby Lashley which would have made epic sense. That way, Heyman could have managed them both, and Raw would have received the revitalizing force that it most definitely needs right now.

Oh man, questions, questions, questions.

Former WWE writer, Vince Russo had a lot to say on the state of Monday Night Raw, and I can’t help but agree with his words:

"“…RAW has become a 3 hour House Show. It’s no longer a TV Show. Long Matches/Meaningless Backstage Segments/0 Stories/0 Character Building/0 Cliff Hangers/Send Them Home Happy. That’s the Show. Am I Hating on (WWE)? No-just Speaking as a Casual Television Viewer/Former Wrestling Fan…”-via Vince Russo/Twitter"

The show is stale (this has been the case for a while), and a returning Brock Lesnar would have done some good for sure.

But alas, that’s not the state of affairs and although it’s sad to see Raw floundering so much, I can’t lie and say that seeing Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar wouldn’t be cool, especially with the added wrinkle of having Paul Heyman stuck in the middle.

In the past, Heyman spoke for Brock, and Brock was left to look menacing and handle his opponents without saying much—there was never any need for it during his last run. It was highly effective, and the same has worked for Reigns, who has had trouble himself in the past, as far as the microphone has been concerned.

Reigns is having his greatest run, however, and this is the perfect time to face the likes of the legendary “Beast Incarnate” himself, Brock Lesnar.

This is the first time that I’ve been really excited for SmackDown in a long while, and that’s saying something indeed.