Brock Lesnar

Roman Reigns defeated Riddle on Friday night's episode of SmackDown to retain the undisputed WWE Universal Championship, but the surprise was what came after the match.

It was announced that Reigns will defend the undisputed WWE championship against Brock Lesnar in a last man standing match at SummerSlam on July 30.

Based on the stipulation laid out by Reigns' special counsel, Paul Heyman, Riddle can no longer challenge for the title while Reigns is champion.

The finish saw Riddle attempt an RKO, but Reigns countered by throwing him into the ropes. Reigns hit the ropes, speared Riddle in mid air and the referee counted the pinfall.

Afterward, Lesnar made his first appearance on television since losing to Reigns a WrestleMania. The Beast hit all three members of The Bloodline with an F5 as the show went off the air.

Lesnar's return comes at a point when WWE may have been scrambling to find a challenger for the undisputed champion. It was originally thought that Randy Orton would get the shot at SummerSlam, but Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select (h/t WrestlingInc's Dominic DeAngelo) reported on Thursday there's concern the Viper may need back surgery that would keep him out for the rest of 2022.

Based on the stipulation laid out by Reigns' special counsel, Paul Heyman, Riddle can no longer challenge for the title while Reigns is champion.

Riddle has been at odds with The Tribal Chief and The Bloodline as a whole for several weeks, dating back to RK-Bro's feud with The Usos over the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships.

At the time, Riddle and Randy Orton held the Raw tag team titles, and The Usos were SmackDown tag team champs. That led to a unification match on SmackDown, which The Usos won thanks to interference from Reigns.

After the match, Reigns and The Usos brutally attacked RK-Bro, leaving Orton on the shelf with an injury for an undetermined amount of time.

From that point forward, The Original Bro vowed to get revenge on The Bloodline, and he temporarily teamed with Shinsuke Nakamura in an attempt to beat The Usos for the tag titles, but Jimmy and Jey Uso were victorious.

Riddle then set his sights on Reigns, and he was given the opportunity to challenge Reigns for the world title if he could beat Sami Zayn in a match.

Zayn, who had been trying to force his way into The Bloodline, came up with the stipulation that Riddle would be banned from SmackDown if he lost, but would face Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship if he won.

Riddle came out on top, setting the stage for the biggest match of his relatively young WWE career.

Friday marked Reigns' first title defense since unifying the WWE and Universal Championships in a win over Lesnar at WrestleMania 38.

Riddle posed a legitimate challenge, but Reigns managed to come out of the match with his title run still intact.

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The status of Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar, two of WWE's biggest draws, is reportedly "up in the air" for the Money in the Bank pay-per-view on July 2 in Las Vegas.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported (via H. Jenkins of Ringside News) that both Superstars were originally scheduled to appear on the card, but plans have started to shift following the event's venue change.

Money in the Bank was scheduled to take place at Allegiant Stadium, the 65,000-seat home of the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders. The company has since switched the location to the MGM Grand Garden Arena, which seats a more modest 17,000.

While WWE didn't confirm a reason for the change, it's fair to assume there were concerns about whether they'd be able to sell enough tickets to sell out the much larger venue.

Meltzer previously reported only 16,833 tickets for MITB were sold as of May 6.

As part of the changes, both Reigns and Lesnar were removed from the promotional poster, raising questions about whether they'd take part in the show, per Jenkins.

Zack Heydorn of PWTorch reported Reigns' recent contract extension with WWE included a lighter schedule, both in terms of television appearances and house shows, which is something the company's top champion hinted toward at recent live events.

"From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate all of y'all," he told a crowd in Iowa. "I obviously had the internet talking last week or the week before that. I'm not going to be doing too many live events like these, on Sundays, going forward. So, this could be my last one."

He's still likely to headline WWE's four marquee events—Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series—but things are less certain beyond that.

Meanwhile, Lesnar has long maintained a limited schedule that usually surrounds storylines leading up to high-profile shows. Money in the Bank at an NFL stadium would have qualified, but with the event being scaled down, it sounds possible he'll be removed from the card.

Superstars still featured on the updated promotional MITB material include Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, Bianca Belair, Riddle and The Miz.

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Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.

Reigns, Lesnar, More Removed from MITB Advertising

After switching to a smaller venue, WWE's Money in the Bank pay-per-view may feature less star power.

According to WrestlingInc's Sai Mohan, several Superstars who were previously advertised to appear at Money in the Bank were removed from the advertising following Thursday's announcement.

In the wake of WWE moving Money in the Bank from Allegiant Stadium to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Bobby Lashley were all removed from the pay-per-view poster.

Also, Reigns, Lesnar, Flair and Rousey were removed from the WWE.com Money in the Bank event page.

Some of those names aren't surprising, while others were widely expected to be part of the show.

Lesnar has not appeared on WWE programming since WrestleMania last month, while Flair was recently written off television with a storyline injury so she can get married.

Meanwhile, Reigns is the undisputed WWE universal champion and Rousey is SmackDown women's champion, so they seemed like sure bets to compete at Money in the Bank.

With WWE going from a 60,000-plus-seat stadium to a normal-sized arena, however, the company may feel like it is no longer as necessary to stack the card with star power.

The men's and women's Money in the Bank ladder matches may be enough in their own right to sell the show, which is now scheduled for July 2 at the MGM Grand.

Rhodes Discusses AEW Departure

Cody Rhodes reiterated the reason for him leaving AEW in favor of WWE once again this week.

Responding to a tweet accusing AEW President Tony Khan of lowballing him financially, Rhodes made it clear that his decision was not driven by money:

Cody called going back to WWE a "personal" decision based on his desire to "go for the big one."

"The big one" almost certainly refers to winning the WWE Championship, which Rhodes made his stated goal in his first promo after returning to WWE as Seth Rollins' mystery opponent at WrestleMania 38.

In that promo, Rhodes noted that his father, late WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, came agonizingly close to becoming WWE champion but fell just short.

Cody wants to fill in that gap in his family's legacy, and the only way to do it was by returning to WWE after six years away.

Rhodes was a central figure in the creation of AEW and one of the promotion's top stars during his time there, but he has made it clear in multiple interviews that he felt he had run his course in AEW and needed a new challenge.

Cody is facing that new challenge in WWE and conquering it thus far as arguably the most over babyface in the company.

Zelina Vega Reportedly Out After Undergoing Surgery

Queen Zelina Vega's recent absence from WWE programming is reportedly because of an injury.

According to PWInsider.com (h/t Mohan), Vega underwent surgery after suffering an injury in the ring, and the expectation is that she will miss another 6-8 weeks.

Vega has been out for about a month-and-a-half after she and Carmella dropped the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships to Sasha Banks and Naomi in a Fatal 4-Way at WrestleMania 38. She then lost a singles match to Bianca Belair on the April 11 episode of Raw.

Zelina and Carmella had a storyline falling-out before Vega was removed from television, which suggests she may be a solo act when she returns.

WWE released Vega in November 2020, but she returned to the company last July and has since experienced a great deal of success.

In addition to holding the WWE women's tag titles with Carmella, Vega won the inaugural WWE Queen's Crown tournament, beating Doudrop in the final at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.

Vega has consistently been one of the top heels in the women's division since returning, and it will be a huge addition when she returns to the fold.

Based on the timeline PWInsider.com provided, Zelina could potentially be back in time for SummerSlam on July 30.

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Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 38 to unify the WWE and Universal championships, but don't expect the complete elimination of Raw and SmackDown brand identification in the near future.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported Friday (via Colby Faria of Wresting Inc.) that both Fox (SmackDown) and the USA Network (Raw) want Superstars who only appear regularly on their respective shows.

"Both networks kind of want unique rosters. You can do some of that back-and-forth, but Fox in particular really wants, kind of, exclusivity on their guys," Meltzer said.

It's fair to wonder whether those concerns from the networks had an impact on Sunday's 2022 WrestleMania Backlash card.

Originally, a unification match for the Tag Team titles was scheduled between Raw champions RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle) and SmackDown champions The Usos, who are part of The Bloodline with Reigns.

Between Reigns' triumph at WrestleMania and that scheduled showdown, it was starting to feel like WWE was trending toward the possible end of the brand split.

Instead, the match was altered to become a six-man tag match also featuring Reigns and Drew McIntyre with no titles on the line.

Another sign the brand split is likely to continue came Monday when H. Jenkins of Ringside News reported the WWE draft remains on the tentative schedule for September.

If the company was going to remove the borders between Raw and SmackDown, a draft creating two separate rosters wouldn't be necessary.

So, while some fans within the WWE Universe would have likely enjoyed more freedom of Superstar movement between the shows, it sounds like the networks prefer keeping the more exclusive style in place.

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Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.

Reigns Reportedly Wasn't Injured at WrestleMania

Despite speculation to the contrary, Roman Reigns reportedly didn't suffer an injury during his WrestleMania 38 main event match against Brock Lesnar.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer said on the Sunday Night's Main Event podcast (h/t WrestlingInc's Marc Middleton), Reigns did not get injured at WrestleMania, and his match against Lesnar went off as planned.

There had been speculation that Reigns suffered a shoulder injury, thus forcing him and Lesnar to end the match sooner than intended, but that reportedly wasn't the case.

Reigns needed about 12 minutes to beat Lesnar with a spear, retaining the Universal Championship and winning the WWE Championship in the process.

Reigns is now the unified world champion, meaning he can appear on both SmackDown and Raw moving forward, which is something he has already done since WrestleMania.

On last week's SmackDown, Reigns was confronted by Shinsuke Nakamura, who appears to be The Head of the Table's first challenger coming out of WrestleMania.

A match has yet to be announced, but it seems likely that Nakamura will challenge Reigns for the titles at WrestleMania Backlash next month.

Meanwhile, Lesnar hasn't been seen since WrestleMania, and it is unclear when he will be brought back to WWE programming.

Regardless of Lesnar's status, there is little doubt that Reigns is the face of WWE currently, and he will continue to be presented as the top star in the weeks and months to come.

Rey Mysterio Missed Raw for Medical Reasons

WWE originally advertised Rey Mysterio to face Veer Mahaan on Monday's episode of Raw, but Rey did not appear on the show.

According to Meltzer (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), Mysterio was unavailable due to a "medical issue," which resulted in WWE changing up its plans.

Instead of Rey, his son Dominik Mysterio was Veer's opponent. Veer won the match in dominant fashion, which led to Dominik being taken backstage on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance.

After months of teases, Veer finally appeared on last week's post-WrestleMania edition of Raw. He made his presence felt in a major way by attacking and decimating both Rey and Dominik Mysterio.

That attack occurred after Rey and Dominik suffered a defeat at the hands of The Miz and Logan Paul at WrestleMania.

At 47 years of age, Rey has essentially been relegated to helping his son develop, while also putting over other Superstars on the roster.

Rey almost certainly would have put over Veer on Monday, but with their match getting postponed, it seems likely that it will still occur at a later date with the same result.

Depending on how long Rey is out, a match between him and Veer at WrestleMania Backlash is a possibility.

Jericho Understands Rhodes' Decision to Leave AEW for WWE

AEW star Chris Jericho gave a diplomatic response when asked Monday about Cody Rhodes leaving AEW for WWE.

Appearing on SiriusXM's Busted Open (h/t WrestlingInc's Danny Wolstanholme), Jericho said the following about Cody's departure:

I was honestly disappointed that he left. But, I get it. I've done it many times myself. You know this, we've discussed the reinvention of Jericho many times. I mean, I left WWE in 2017 for basically the same reason why Cody left AEW, from what I understand. He just didn't think he was getting the—I don't know if it's the spotlight or the respect or whatever the word being, but you could kind of see the writing on the walls.

Obviously now, Cody is as bigger than he's ever been just by changing companies. And obviously, they did a great job in putting him over at WrestleMania, bringing him in at the highest of levels, and now it's up to Cody to do the dirty work shall we say and continue that momentum and get that job done. And can he do it? Absolutely. He's a very smart guy. He's a great performer.

Cody shocked the wrestling world in February when he announced he was leaving AEW despite being an executive vice president and one of the people chiefly responsible for creating the company.

Fans eagerly anticipated a return to WWE, and they got precisely that at WrestleMania when Rhodes arrived as Seth Rollins' mystery opponent and picked up a victory.

Remarkably, Rhodes had the same presentation in WWE as he did in AEW in terms of his gear, theme music, nickname and more.

Cody received a massive reaction from the fans at WrestleMania, and that has continued over the past two episodes of Raw, firmly establishing him as one of the top babyfaces in WWE.

In AEW, it seemed as though fans had grown tired of Cody, as evidenced by them routinely booing him despite him being a face.

Rhodes had essentially done all he could do in AEW, feuding with many of the top stars and holding the TNT Championship on multiple occasions. As a result, he felt it was the right time to go back to where it all started for him.

Cody has made it clear that his goal is to do what his father, WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, never did, and that is winning the WWE Championship.

Based on how over he is with the WWE fanbase, it seems like it is a matter of when rather than if he wins the title.

Brock Lesnar competed in the main event of Night 2 of WrestleMania 38 on Sunday, but he left Dallas without any titles in his possession.

In a clash with Roman Reigns to determine the holder of both the WWE and Universal Championships, Lesnar fell to The Tribal Chief and dropped the WWE title in the process.

The Beast Incarnate was not on Raw the following night, and it is unclear when he will be back on television, but he figures to be on a warpath when he resurfaces.

Assuming Lesnar moves on from his rivalry with Reigns, here is a look at three of the best opponents WWE could book against him in the coming months.

Edge

Since Lesnar is now on his own as a babyface and doing an impeccable job in that role, WWE would be best served putting him up against heels.

Aside from Reigns, Edge is one of the most compelling villains in WWE right now even though his turn is only a few weeks old.

It occurred during the build toward WrestleMania 38 when AJ Styles accepted his challenge for The Show of Shows. The Rated-R Superstar attacked his rival with a steel chair and then expanded his character over the next few weeks.

Edge began wearing dark-colored suits, cutting promos in purple lighting and even changed his theme song. His WrestleMania entrance also gave off sinister vibes, as he rose up on a throne surrounded by flames.

The Rated-R Superstar defeated Styles at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, but he did so thanks to a distraction from Damian Priest, who pledged his allegiance to the WWE Hall of Famer on Monday's Raw.

While Edge hasn't outwardly said it, there seems to be a good chance that he will add even more names to his group, with Tommaso Ciampa, Finn Balor and The Viking Raiders standing out as a few candidates who would fit in well.

If that is indeed the plan, pitting Edge against Lesnar would be great booking, as it would put The Beast at a numbers disadvantage and force him to go through multiple opponents in order to get to the group leader.

Lesnar is at his best when he is wrecking shop, and contesting an entire stable would allow him to do precisely that.

Also, The Beast and Edge and have never faced each other in a one-on-one match despite the fact that they have both been in the wrestling business for 20 years or more.

The closest they came was when Lesnar and Paul Heyman beat Edge in a handicap match at Rebellion in 2002, meaning a match between them would feel fresh and desirable to the WWE Universe.

Gunther

Those who like hard-hitting, physical wrestling would love to see Lesnar mix it up with Gunther.

Formerly known as WALTER, the Austrian has been a dominant force in NXT UK and NXT for years, holding the NXT United Kingdom Championship for a record 870 days and beating top NXT stars such as Pete Dunne, Kushida, Ciampa, Undisputed Era and LA Knight.

On Tuesday's episode of NXT 2.0, some indications were given that Gunther could be on his way to the main roster.

He challenged Bron Breakker to a match for the NXT Championship, and the titleholder won the match cleanly. Gunther losing is a rare occurrence, and it seemed odd that the bout was booked on a whim rather than being built toward.

The way things played out suggests Gunther may be on his way up, and the NXT decision-makers wanted him to put Breakker over first.

Also, his Imperium stablemates, Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel, had issues earlier in the night when the former walked out on their match against The Creed Brothers.

That means Gunther may be making the transition to the main roster on his own, leaving Aichner and Barthel to work out their differences.

Having Lesnar clash with all of Imperium would be a better storyline, but even if it is just The Beast against Gunther, it would be can't-miss television.

Few Superstars in WWE can match Lesnar's size, aggressiveness and physicality, but Gunther's portfolio of matches proves he can.

It's a dream match to many, and now is the ideal opportunity to make it happen.

Kevin Owens

Building interest in a WrestleMania main event without having an opponent present on weekly television is a gargantuan task, but Kevin Owens was more than up to it.

His rivalry with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was one-sided until WrestleMania 38 when the WWE icon accepted KO's challenge for a No Holds Barred match.

Austin was victorious on Saturday night, but Owens also received plenty of praise for the job he did.

The Canadian's excellent mic skills made fans want to see the match against Austin, and he could do something similar with Lesnar as well.

Since The Beast is a part-time Superstar who isn't on TV every week, having him feud with someone who can carry things while he is away is preferable, and Owens has proved his worth in that regard.

Additionally, KO is a bigger guy and a top-notch brawler, meaning he has the tools needed to believably pose a threat to Lesnar in the ring.

Also, like Edge or Gunther, a match between The Beast and Owens would be fresh.

The only time they have faced each other in a singles match was at an non-televised house show in 2017, meaning few members of the WWE Universe have seen them mix it up.

Owens deserves a reward for the yeoman's work he did on the Road to WrestleMania, and a rivalry with Lesnar would be a great way to show appreciation.