Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Monday Night Raw episode that aired Monday, July 19. Read at your own risk!
After John Cena made a surprise appearance at Money In The Bank and then confirmed his match against Roman Reigns at SummerSlam 2021 shortly after, fans began to wonder if the other major rumor surrounding the pay-per-view event is also true. Bobby Lashley was rumored to be possibly going up against legend Brock Lesnar on the big night but was surprised on the latest Monday Night Raw by Goldberg instead.
After Bobby Lashley demolished a recently returned Keith Lee in his open WWE Championship challenge, Goldberg emerged from the ramp and demanded Lashley give him a title shot next. While Lashley and his manager MVP ignored the iconic former WCW juggernaut's request, it appeared evident that the organization laid the groundwork for its other marquee matchup at SummerSlam 2021. It's certainly a solid matchup that fans will want to see, but what happened to all the rumors about Brock Lesnar?
It's a good question, as rumors alleged the WWE was in talks with Brock Lesnar for a contract specifically for SummerSlam 2021. Goldberg's appearance on Monday Night Raw would seemingly indicate the organization had to go with Plan B, or perhaps that the rumors that Lesnar was actually in negotiations with Vince McMahon and Co. weren't all that reliable.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter revealed (via Sportskeeda) that he heard that Brock Lesnar wasn't available for SummerSlam because he would not be able to commit to any matches that followed. Reportedly, the thought was that if Lesnar lost at SummerSlam to Bobby Lashley, it would weaken the future matchup of when the WWE may pit Lesnar against his manager Paul Heyman's new dominant champion, Roman Reigns. Obviously, the WWE hasn't revealed any explicit details behind its future plans, so this is the best we have to go on.
If this is the reason Brock Lesnar won't be at SummerSlam, WWE fans may feel it's a weak argument. After all, if wrestlers losing major matches impacted their legacy so greatly, guys like Bray Wyatt wouldn't have successful careers. Also, Lesnar has lost before in major matches, so the thought that losing to Bobby Lashley would weaken his profile is strange.
Regardless of the reasoning, it would appear that Bobby Lashley will not fight Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam 2021. Instead, he'll seemingly face Goldberg, who has been similarly promoted as an unstoppable force in pro wrestling, though at 54, he's a decade older than Lesnar and Lashley. He can still put on a match in the ring, but it's fair to say he's a bit more limited than the other two. It will be interesting to see if Lashley and Goldberg can deliver quite the same energy in a match at SummerSlam.
Monday Night Raw airs on USA Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET. For more on the WWE, read up on what's going on with Daniel Bryan and why it could be a while before I see him again.
