WWE Reportedly Deciding Between Two Finishes for SummerSlam's Universal Championship Match

There is no shortage of directions WWE can take the Universal Championship at SummerSlam. However, a new report suggests that Vince McMahon and Co. have mapped out two options for Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar's main event match.

According to Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Live, WWE is currently choosing between two types of matches for Reigns/Lesnar IV.

"There are 2 ideas for the Lesnar/Roman match. One of them is a rather short match."

"The other is, you guessed it, a longer match. And by long match I mean one of the longer matches Brock has been in since being in the company," he said.

While neither of these options suggests a clear winner, the idea of Lesnar and Reigns having a 30-minute match is a possibility few would foresee. During his term as Universal Champion, Lesnar's title defenses have been short and explosive. After a round of suplexes, he and his opponent trade finishers until Lesnar's F-5 finally ends the match.

The idea of an elongated match does accomplish a few things. The first being that it would seem the increase the likelihood of Lesnar making a departure. A marathon performance that ended in him losing the title would be something fans would grow to appreciate as it could be Lesnar's very last WWE match. Lesnar is confirmed to be at Raw the following night — could that be a send-off for The Beast?

A long match also would seem to boost the chances of a Summerslam cash-in by either Kevin Owens or Braun Strowman. If Lesnar were to endure one of the longest matches of his career as The Observer reports, we have to imagine that he and Reigns would be close to dead by the end of their contest — making them easy picking for whoever is carrying the briefcase at the time.

Regardless of what Lesnar's future holds, WWE will want to make him look strong in defeat. The bigger the dragon, the bigger moment when the knight finally slays him, so no matter who leaves SummerSlam as champion, expect Lesnar to put up a remarkable fight.

While the idea of a longer match sound fun, it's something that runs the risk of being completely polluted by a salty Brooklyn crowd. At the moment, there seems to be a lack of enthusiasm surrounding the Universal Championship match. Given we've already seen Reigns and Lesnar twice this year, some fans have already checked out — regardless of the result. No matter what WWE does to hype up the match, there will be a sizeable chunk of the Barclays Center who will be eager to protest the match with ironic chants. Does WWE want to give them a stage for 30 minutes?

We'll have to wait and see, but SummerSlam's main event is packed with both obvious and subtle storylines. No matter how much fans may wish other Superstars were fighting for the big red belt, we'll all want to know how this one finishes.

[H/T Ringside News]