Brock Lesnar returned to WWE Friday Night SmackDown after a near two-year absence, and he has Universal gold on his “Next Big” agenda. Roman Reigns and The Bloodline kicked off SmackDown in Madison Square Garden as “The Head Of The Table” took hold of the mic to say he owns New York City. The Usos and Paul Heyman put their champion over further before Lesnar came out to a massive reception from the NYC fans. Lesnar then asked his former advocate why he didn’t tell Reigns that he was going to be in the building for WWE SummerSlam.
That revelation infuriatd Reigns, so he left Heyman alone in the ring with Lesnar. Heyman, ever the chameleon as Pat McAfee put it, got into his old schtick as The Beast Incarnate’s advocate. Lesnar relished in the nostalgia before he told Heyman flat-out that he had five seconds to accept his challenge for the Universal Championship. Heyman was hesitant to do so, and Lesnar responded by picking him up, ready to drop him with an F5.
At this point, Reigns came back to the ring to deliver a Superman Punch to Lesnar. But the former champion caught his rival and went for na F5 until the Usos helped him get free. Their involvement prompted Lesnar to lariat the brothers down before sending them to Suplex City.
.@BrockLesnar is making his presence felt at @TheGarden! #SmackDown @WWERomanReigns @WWEUsos @HeymanHustle pic.twitter.com/WlABsDXvsT
— WWE (@WWE) September 11, 2021
A few minutes later, Kayla Braxton asked Heyman about Lesnar’s challenge. In response, Heyman said that “The Tribal Chief” will respond when he’s ready. Later in the show, in a backstage interaction, Reigns again asked Heyman why he didn’t make it known that Lesnar would be at SummerSlam, but his special counsel still didn’t offer an explanation.
Fans had to wait until the end of the night for Reigns’ answer, and “The Head of the Table” briefly vowed to “smash” Lesnar once he’s done with Finn Balor. But at this moment, Balor came to the ring, not as his usual persona, but as “The Demon”, making it clear that his dark side will be facing Reigns at WWE Extreme Rules.
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