Paul Heyman's Presence at Raw Could Have Major SummerSlam Implications

WWE would like us to believe that we'll finally know Brock Lesnar's SummerSlam opponent after Monday's episode of Raw. But there's a chance things come to an inconclusive finish.

PWInsider reports that Paul Heyman will be the Cincinnati, OH episode of Raw. Per the scoop, Heyman is there to advance the SummerSlam storyline, which likely means he'll factor into tonight's match between Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley.

Even more, Cagesideseats write that Reigns and Lashley's showdown isn't expected to have a clean finish. If this proves to be true, then a triple threat for the Universal Championship seems likely.

Multiple reports last week indicated that WWE is preserving the idea of Reigns, Lashley, and Lesnar meeting up in Brooklyn, but until that actually happens those will remain speculative. However, it does certainly feel like we're heading in that direction.

If Paul Heyman does get involved on Monday, don't expect WWE to announce a triple threat to close Raw. Instead, they'd probably wait until next week to reconcile Heyman's dastardly ways and add whoever was done dirty to the Universal Championship match.

That's about all of the speculation we can stomach for now, but a triple threat may be WWE's best option.

Considering fans are rarely excited about Roman Reigns and still don't know how to feel about Lashley, picking one of them for SummerSlam would be tricky. So, in WWE's eyes, it may be better to not chose at all and use them both.

Realistically, they'll both be booed in Brooklyn. So will Lesnar. It's still early, but it seems likely that the Universal Championship match will be hijacked by fan chants. While that won't deter WWE from changing course, it is an indicator of how messy WWE's main event is in 2018.

The one hope that will unify the Brooklyn crowd will be the dream of a Braun Strowman cash-in. Right now, it's certainly a possibility. WWE has already balked twice at crowning Reigns and doesn't seem to be thrilled with the idea of Lashley taking the big red belt. There is the off chance Lesnar retains but considering his UFC ambition, and potentially high profile loss to Daniel Cormier, Vince McMahon will likely be more comfortable with his belt in someone else's hands.

Stroman may be his best option unless he envisions Seth Rollins beating Roman Reigns to become king later this year.

We'll certainly know more after tonight as Paul Heyman will provide the spark that ignites SummerSlam.