Rumor: WWE Considering No Universal Title Match at the Royal Rumble

WWE is currently rumored to be considering the idea of Brock Lesnar not defending his Universal Championship at next year’s Royal Rumble, according to a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio.

As previously reported, Vince McMahon is rumored to be no longer interested in the idea of Finn Balor facing off against Brock Lesnar due to Vince feeling that Balor is not “over” enough to be seen as a credible challenger. The Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that Vince McMahon is also currently against the idea of a rematch between Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship due to Lesnar beating Strowman clean in their prior match, Strowman being prepared for a big match against Triple H instead, and not wanting anyone to kick out of Lesnar’s F5 until Roman Reigns does it at WrestleMania 34.

Meltzer also reported that due to the lack of credible challengers, WWE is considering the idea of having Lesnar not defend his Universal Championship and using his scheduled appearance for something else instead at the event.

Meltzer did speculate that if WWE does go ahead with a Universal Championship match at the Royal Rumble, Samoa Joe would likely be the next best choice available on the RAW brand other than Balor and Strowman.