Brock Lesnar To Face Braun Strowman For The Vacant Universal Championship

With Roman Reigns revealing his leukemia diagnosis and taking a leave of absence from wrestling, WWE will be crowning a new Universal Champion at Crown Jewel.

WWE announced tonight on Raw that Brock Lesnar will battle Braun Strowman for the vacant Universal Championship on November 2 at WWE Crown Jewel (at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia). Strowman and Lesnar were originally scheduled to challenge Reigns for the Univeral Championship in a Triple Threat Match.

Paul Heyman appeared on Raw and praised the now-former titleholder (“It is humbling to … have been in the presence of such courage and such greatness”) before arguing for Lesnar as the WWE Superstar who could best carry on the legacy that Reigns brought to the title — both in the ring and, potentially, the Octagon. That drew out Strowman, who took exception to the notion that he isn’t Lesnar’s league. Strowman promised that he would be the one to defend the title on a weekly basis and that Reigns would be first in line for an opportunity when he returned. But for now, the only thing awaiting Lesnar at Crown Jewel would be “These Hands.”

However, the words had barely gotten out of Strowman’s mouth when he was suddenly leveled with a Claymore Kick from a “monster-hunting” Drew McIntyre, who hinted that he’d be making his move on Strowman following the dissolution of the “pack” last week.

Here’s the updated card for Crown Jewel.

• Triple H and Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker and Kane
• Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar for the vacant Universal Championship
• WWE Champion AJ Styles defending against Daniel Bryan
• World Cup tournament (John Cena, Kurt Angle, Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler, Jeff Hardy, Randy Orton, The Miz, and Rey Mysterio)