Possible SummerSlam Plans for the Universal Championship

There were two prevalent rumors surrounding the Universal Championship heading into last night's Great Balls Of Fire pay per view. One, by the ever reliable Dave Meltzer, suggested that Roman Reigns would defeat Braun Strowman and go onto SummerSlam to face Brock Lesnar for the championship, thus erasing WWE's original plans of having the two square off next year at WrestleMania 34.

The other, a rumor from wrestling site SportsKeeda, speculated that Reigns would lose to Strowman and the original plans for 'Mania would stay put. Their source was quoted as saying:

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"Nobody would even pitch changing that. We've known about that since last March. It's the one thing the old man (Vince McMahon) has set in stone and not one person would even waste any time pitching, just to be shot down in a creative meeting. It is what it is."

As we all saw, Reigns did indeed lose to Strowman at the PPV, but despite the finish, Meltzer stood by his original speculation last night on Wrestling Observer Radio claiming that WWE is still likely going to stick with having Reigns face Lesnar at SummerSlam and for Reigns to win the Championship.

Meltzer even went on to suggest that the finish of the Bray Wyatt vs. Seth Rollins match was likely changed late this week because they will need to develop some strong heels to face Reigns later this year. And while Lesnar was always planned to go over Samoa Joe, the booking was done in a way to try and keep Joe as a legitimate contender.

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Meltzer's assumption doesn't seem to leave any room for the possibility that Roman actually turned heel last night. Maybe we got our hopes up thinking he had finally flipped the switch, but WWE has to know that if they follow up Roman attempting to murder another superstar with Roman taking the title from The Beast, Lesnar, he's going to be the biggest heel in the company.

Sure, Reigns could keep up the rhetoric of just being the biggest dog in the yard, but the anti-Roman base will amp up their hatred to see him in feuds with Joe, Wyatt or even Big Cass. WWE could lean into his new attitude and have him carry the Championship into programs with Finn Balor or either of his old Shield brethren as he sets up an eventual dream match with "free agent" John Cena.

It's clear Meltzer is going to stick to his original prediction, but after what transpired last night, I can't see a scenario where Roman gets to Lesnar without any involvement from Strowman.