8. Brock Lesnar (c) vs Roman Reigns (Universal Championship, Summerslam 2018)

Inside a Steel Cage in Saudi Arabia, Lesner defeated Reigns under controversial circumstances. He Speared Lesner through the Cage wall, causing both to fall to the floor. For some reason, Lesner won, although Reigns clearly hit the floor first. Oh well, they needed to drag out the feud somehow, didn’t they? But the feud wouldn’t continue at the next PPV Backlash, or even the PPV after that…in fact, we had to wait until Summerslam!!! Would this be better than any of their other matches? The same old, same old, I’m afraid…

Lesnar hadn’t defended his Championship since ‘The Greatest Royal Rumble.’ So, for nearly four months, he was off WWE TV. I thought champions had to defend their belts at least once every ninety days? But Lesnar was an exception to the rule. Part of me thinks that it was done partly to encourage cheers for reviled babyface Reigns; in the build to Summerslam, Reigns frequently referred to Lesnar’s absence. ‘The Beast’ was unworthy of being a champion due to his absence. Surely the crowd would start to cheer Reigns as the hero who could bring back the Universal Championship to regular WWE TV?

Well…no…the crowd were mostly indifferent, in not outright hostile to the match. ‘This is boring’ chants ring out more than a few times. Even the nonsensical inclusion of Braun Strowman does little to intrigue the crowd. At the time, he was the Money in the Bank holder. Just before the match starts, he enters the ring and says he won’t cash in on a weakened wrestler…but proceeds to stand outside the ring, MITB briefcase in hand, as if he’s going to cash in the contract straight after the match? It makes little sense…until you realise he’s there to soak up punishment. Half the match (and it’s another one that stretches to just over ten minutes) consists of Lesnar pummelling Strowman.

I’m not going to lie, it’s always entertaining to see Lesnar lose his temper and pummel someone. But it’s the kind of intensity you’d wish he retain in the actual match. Yet again, it’s another finisher-fest that ends suddenly. The most interesting thing that I noticed Was that Lesnar used the Guillotine, a move that Reigns incorporated into his heel move repertoire. Why was that not brought up in their recent feud? Guillotine vs Guillotine? But, apart from that, it was a lifeless match, one in which the crowd couldn’t care less. Without the Strowman beatdown, what would we be left with? A few F-5s, a few Spears and a Guillotine. And after a four month absence, we deserved a better, longer, Universal Championship defence.

Hammy’s Rating: ** (out of 5)

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