WWE Rumors on Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar, Gable Steveson, Johnny Gargano

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

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WWE Has Long-Term Reigns vs. Lesnar Plans

Roman Reigns is set to defend the Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar at WWE Crown Jewel later this month, but there are reportedly additional plans in place for the rivalry.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), Reigns vs. Lesnar likely isn't "one-and-done" and the idea is to use the Oct. 21 bout to build to a return match at some point.

While Meltzer didn't definitively say when the rematch would happen, he suggested WrestleMania 38 in Dallas next year is a strong possibility as long as WWE doesn't bring in Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for a match against Reigns.

Meltzer also alluded to the built-in angle of Paul Heyman being stuck in the middle as Lesnar's former advocate and Reigns' current special counsel.

Lesnar has suggested that he has been in contact with Heyman and that Heyman aided in him achieving free-agent status after the WWE draft. That has led to Reigns questioning Heyman's allegiance.

Since the storyline is of such significance, it would undoubtedly make sense for WWE to stretch it over a long period of time.

It seems unlikely that Reigns will drop the title to Lesnar at Crown Jewel, especially since WWE has teased a champion vs. champion match between The Tribal Chief and WWE champion Big E at Survivor Series next month.

Still, with Heyman's involvement, there should be plenty of meat left on the bone to go back to Reigns vs. Lesnar at a later date, and doing it on the Grandest Stage of Them All would be a sensible move if WWE has nothing else lined up for Reigns.

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WrestleMania Debut Planned for Steveson

WWE reportedly has big plans in place for Gable Steveson to make his in-ring debut at the biggest show of the year.

According to Meltzer (h/t Upton), WWE wants to bring Steveson into the fold after his college wrestling season ends in March. The idea would then be for him to wrestle his first WWE match at WrestleMania 38 next April.

WWE recently announced the official signing of Steveson—but with a caveat. Since college athletes are now permitted to make money off their name, image and likeness, Steveson was allowed to sign with WWE while continuing to wrestle at the University of Minnesota.

As further proof that WWE has big plans for Steveson in the near future, he was selected to Raw as part of the WWE draft this week.

Steveson seemingly has all the tools needed to be a big-time star in WWE for many years to come, and he already has built-in name recognition.

The 21-year-old won a gold medal at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo this past summer, plus the heavyweight has displayed a love for pro wrestling and the personality needed to succeed in it.

Transitioning from Olympic wrestling to pro wrestling was essentially seamless for Kurt Angle, and there is reason to believe Steveson will find himself in a similar situation soon.

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Gargano's Reported Status in WWE NXT

Much has been speculated about Johnny Gargano's future in WWE and specifically on the NXT 2.0 brand, but there reportedly aren't expected to be any significant changes in the near future.

According to Meltzer (h/t Upton), Gargano is written into future episodes of NXT and nothing has been said internally about his status changing. Meltzer did confirm, however, that Gargano's WWE contract is set to expire on Dec. 3.

Fightful was the first to report in September that Gargano's deal was up in December. It was noted at the time that while no contract negotiations had taken place yet, they were expected to occur in the fall.

Speculation about Gargano's future increased this week when he made some noticeable changes to his Twitter bio.

Per WrestlingInc's Marc Middleton, Gargano removed references to NXT and USA Network, although he did keep a link to his WWE.com Superstar profile in the bio.

Gargano has been part of NXT since 2016, and during that time he has become one of the most decorated Superstars in the history of the brand, having held the NXT Championship as well as the North American and NXT Tag Team Championship.

Recently, Gargano has served in more of a comedic role as part of The Way, and he has thrived as Indi Hartwell's on-screen father figure.

While Gargano has done well in that spot and has a long history of amazing matches and feuds in NXT, it is fair to wonder if WWE has long-term plans for him.

NXT 2.0 is primarily focusing on younger, homegrown wrestlers with the type of look WWE has long tended to favor.

Gargano has an indie wrestling background, is 34 years of age and is among the smallest wrestlers in WWE, which may not make him a priority from the company's perspective.

Since All Elite Wrestling is signing former WWE wrestlers left and right, there would likely be a spot for Gargano there. WWE may have to offer Gargano a clear direction in NXT or a spot on the main roster in order to keep him, and it remains to be seen if such an offer will be made.

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