WWE SummerSlam: When Roman Reigns annihilated Brock Lesnar in an epic Championship match

At WWE SummerSlam 2018, Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar faced each other in an action-packed Universal Championship match. The match was gripping from start to finish as Brock Lesnar did everything in his power to stop Roman Reigns, but in the end, The Big Dog won and ended Brock Lesnar’s 504-day-long championship reign. The match was loved by many as it was powered by a really well-written storyline, and it also established Roman Reigns as the new face of WWE. “It was gloriously handled, and the result was the most well-received of Reigns' big-match wins since his title victory in Philadelphia in 2015,” wrote Erik Beaston while reviewing the PPV.

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WWE SummerSlam 2018: How it all began

The feud began after Brock Lesnar refused to defend his Universal Championship at Extreme Rules. Things took a turn for the worse after RAW General Manager Kurt Angle gave The Beast an ultimatum, claiming that Lesnar would be stripped off his title if he refused to defend it. On the episode of RAW after Extreme Rules, Lesnar's advocate Paul Heyman announced that The Beast will defend his title at WWE SummerSlam.

However, after the announcement, many superstars including Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins, Elias, Finn Balor and Roman Reigns challenged The Beast to a match. To find a contender for Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle announced a tournament, which Roman Reigns ended up winning. WWE later made Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns official for WWE SummerSlam 2018.

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WWE SummerSlam 2018: Roman Reigns defeats Brock Lesnar

Before the match began, Mr Money in the Bank Braun Strowman announced that he will stay at ringside, so that he can cash in on the winner. The bell rang as Roman Reigns rocked Brock Lesnar with three Superman punches and three spears. Brock Lesnar trapped Roman Reigns in a guillotine choke, but The Big Dog replied with a spinebuster. Brock Lesnar soon recovered and performed two German suplexes.

Roman Reigns then tried to hit the champion with a spear, but The Beast evaded it, resulting in Reigns accidentally performing a suicide dive onto Strowman outside the ring. Brock Lesnar then went down and hit Strowman with an F-5. He punished Strowman with the MITB briefcase and threw the briefcase up the stage ramp. In the climax, Lesnar attacked Strowman with a chair, preventing him from cashing in after the match. However, Roman Reigns took advantage of the situation and delivered a spear on Lesnar to win the title.

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Image credits: WWE.com