For the first time since April, Brock Lesnar defended his WWE Universal Championship at Summerslam. Did he lose to Roman Reigns, or retain the gold" separating its massive roster into individual Raw and SmackDown line-ups. When this occurred, the standard WWE Championship - then held by Dean Ambrose - was drafted to SmackDown, so a new top belt was created for Raw, the Universal Championship.
At this point though, that large red prize might better be referred to as the Brock Lesnar Championship. Finn Balor was the first Universal Champion, then the belt went to Kevin Owens, then to Goldberg. At WrestleMania XXXIII in April 2017, Goldberg lost the title to Brock Lesnar, and the former UFC heavyweight champion has held it ever since. The problem is that Brock's part-time WWE deal means he only defends the title every few months, at most. For example, his last title defense came at April's Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia.
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Tonight's WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view saw Lesnar finally put the Universal Championship up for grabs again, this time against old rival Roman Reigns. Many fans would argue that Reigns has already gotten too many shots at Lesnar, but for whatever reason, WWE seems intent on keeping the feud alive. So, did "The Big Dog" finally relieve "The Beast" of his most prized possession, or did Lesnar once again triumph?
The showdown between Lesnar and Reigns started off with a surprise, as Money in the Bank contract holder Braun Strowman came to ringside and proceeded to threaten both men. No matter who won, Strowman promised to cash in on them immediately, but "The Monster Among Men" wouldn't end up getting that chance. In fact, it was Lesnar's desire to take out Strowman that ended up costing him the Universal Championship.
After an opening flurry that almost saw Reigns get a victory, Lesnar had managed to regain control of the contest. After tossing Reigns straight into Strowman, Lesnar took the opportunity to take the bigger man out of the equation, brutally destroying him with a steel chair. He then headed back into the ring to finish off Reigns, only for the former Shield member to nail him with a spear for the win. Just like that, Lesnar's year-plus reign had ended, and Reigns' first WWE Universal Championship reign had begun. However, who knows when Strowman will once again attempt to cash in his contract.