Report: WWE Scrapped Original Lesnar-Gunther SummerSlam Plan

Brock Lesnar’s path to SummerSlam apparently looked a lot different not too long ago. According to a report from Ibou on the Self Made Sessions podcast, WWE originally had Lesnar lined up to face Gunther at SummerSlam, only for those plans to fall apart amid a broader creative shake-up that rippled through several top storylines.

Ibou explained that Gunther was also supposed to face Roman Reigns in the late spring or early summer, but that match got scrapped as well. “Yeah, that’s what it feels like, for sure, I mean, literally, they gave the Bron-Roman match to Oba, and then whatever happened there, happened, and that isn’t happening either. But neither here nor there,” he said. “To be honest, part of that also was Gunther was supposed to face Brock at SummerSlam, and Gunther was actually supposed to face Roman in the, like, late spring, early summer. And for whatever reason, that got changed, and then that switched up a lot of people’s creative.”

The fallout from those scrapped plans has reshaped the build to SummerSlam considerably. Lesnar is now set to collide with Oba Femi inside Hell in a Cell, while Roman Reigns has been redirected into a World Heavyweight Championship program with Seth Rollins instead of Gunther. Gunther himself has pivoted into a feud with Cody Rhodes, and Bron Breakker remains paired with Austin Theory as one-half of the WWE World Tag Team Champions.

Before SummerSlam arrives, Gunther and Sami Zayn are scheduled to team up against Cody Rhodes and CM Punk at Saturday Night’s Main Event, adding another layer to the Gunther-Rhodes rivalry ahead of the pay-per-view.

While none of this has been confirmed directly by WWE, the report paints a picture of a creative plan that shifted significantly behind the scenes, with Lesnar, Reigns, Gunther and Bron Breakker all landing in different spots than originally envisioned. Whether more details about the original plans surface before SummerSlam remains to be seen.