Brock Lesnar Must Lose Universal Championship at WWE SummerSlam 2017

When Brock Lesnar defends the Universal Championship in a Fatal 4-Way match at the 2017 edition of SummerSlam, it would be in the best interest of WWE to have The Beast drop the title.

As great as it is for WWE programming to have a bonafide mainstream star like Lesnar holding one of the company's most prestigious championships, he and the title are hardly ever on television.

Without the actual physical belt on TV every week, the legitimacy the title has earned by having legends such as Lesnar and Goldberg hold it has been lost. Wrestling fans want to see the championship each and every week, and they want the champion on Raw to talk about how much it means to hold such an important title.

The red brand hasn't had a Universal champion who appeared regularly on television since Kevin Owens lost the belt to Goldberg at Fastlane, and it's about time the title was once again a weekly staple of WWE's flagship show.

Another major factor in taking the championship off Lesnar is that he doesn't need it to generate attention for the WWE brand. As a mainstream star who transcends wrestling thanks to his run with the UFC and his attempt to make the NFL, he doesn't need a title to get people to tune into WWE programming.

Regardless of whether Lesnar is champion, casual fans are tuning in to see him perform.

On the other hand, the other three participants in the Fatal 4-Way desperately need mainstream legitimacy, and holding the Universal Championship would assist in that pursuit.

Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman have all been good in their roles recently, but holding Raw's top title would add instant credibility to each of their characters.

Whether it's Reigns, Samoa Joe or Strowman who walks out of SummerSlam as champion, all three of those Superstars need the title more than Lesnar. Since The Beast is already an established name, giving it to any of the other members of the Fatal 4-Way would add instant credibility to their characters.

Add in the fact that whoever walks out of SummerSlam with the belt would bring it back to Raw each and every Monday night, and WWE would be accomplishing multiple goals with one booking decision.

For WWE Creative, the Fatal 4-Way stipulation is also the easiest way for the company to take the Universal Championship off Lesnar without giving him a pinfall or submission loss. The Beast doesn't even have to be involved in the decision to lose the belt at SummerSlam, which would give him a viable excuse for losing the title and a legitimate gripe for a rematch whenever he is scheduled to return to WWE programming.

As great as it is to have one of the legitimately toughest guys in WWE history holding the Universal Championship, wrestling fans are ready to have the title back on Monday nights on a regular basis.

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