Predicting Brock Lesnar's Next WWE Appearance and Best Possible Feuds

Envisioning Brock Lesnar trading shots with the likes of Bray Wyatt or Cesaro has to leave WWE salivating, but many of the most promising feuds involving the powerhouse will remain fantasies. The Beast Incarnate simply doesn't have enough time on his schedule to engage in all these rivalries.

The former world champ won't be around much this year. WWE has maxed out its Lesnar credit card.

In an interview with Dan Gelston of the Associated Press, Lesnar revealed, "Vince [McMahon] got his checkbook out, and he's writing more checks. But I have a limit, and we're at that limit right now."

By using him as an attraction at live events, WWE already has Lesnar close to matching his busiest year since his return in 2012.

Year	Number of Matches	Non-PPV Bouts
2012	2	0
2013	3	0
2014	4	0
2015	8	3
2016	7	4

Offering Lesnar more money could sway him to compete more—but only to a point. The Beast Incarnate isn't suddenly going to become a full-time wrestler or a workhorse. If he can earn millions by stepping into the ring just a few times a year, it's hard to blame him for going that route.

So with limited use of Lesnar, expect WWE to save him for the year's next major event: SummerSlam.

It's a marquee pay-per-view, second only to WrestleMania on the WWE calendar. It will need Lesnar's drawing power to live up to its annual hype, especially if Undertaker isn't going to be around.

Credit: WWE.com

And other than WrestleMania, it's the only PPV that Lesnar has not missed in the last five years.

Expect him to show up a few weeks before the summer blockbuster event in August. On Raw that month, he will charge out of the curtains and take aim at his next rival.

As to who that should be, WWE has a myriad of viable choices.

Samoa Joe

This is the least likely scenario since The Samoan Submission Machine is still at NXT, but it's among the most appealing. Their clash would be an absolute hoss fight, a battle of two fearsome beasts. 

Hall of Famer Jim Ross is among those dreaming of that bout. While discussing Joe's latest slobberknocker with Finn Balor, Ross wrote on his blog, "I'd love to see Joe vs. Lesnar some day."

Few men feel like legitimate threats to Lesnar, but Joe does. Instead of the standard David vs. Goliath story that Lesnar has to tell, this would be more akin to Godzilla vs. Gamera.

Fighting Lesnar would be a tremendous way to announce Joe's arrival to the main roster and help shoot him up the ranks in a hurry, win or lose. But with Apollo Crews, Baron Corbin, Enzo Amore, Colin Cassady and The Vaudevillains all moving up from NXT this week, the chances of Joe doing so are slim.

Still, if WWE wants all-out, thunderous, physical theater for SummerSlam, its best option is to pit Joe against Lesnar.

Cesaro

The King of Swing's popularity didn't dissipate during his absence. When Cesaro made a surprise return on Monday's Raw, the crowd welcomed him with a roar. He remains a red-hot asset, and WWE has to make better use of him.

A smart way to send him toward the top tier would be to let him collide with Lesnar.

It would no doubt be a great match—a wrestling clinic mixed in with smashmouth offense. It would be unlike any previous Lesnar match because Cesaro is unlike any other Superstar. The fresh pairing would increase the buzz surrounding SummerSlam and Cesaro himself. 

This would be the biggest bout of his career. And Cesaro could leave a made man if he outlasts the powerhouse, blasting The Beast Incarnate with uppercuts en route to victory. 

Match quality and the impact it would have on Cesaro make this an intriguing option—as does Cesaro's previous connections with Lesnar's advocate, Paul Heyman.

Roman Reigns

If WWE continues to have Reigns grow more smug and arrogant as champion and slide toward heel status, Lesnar makes for a brilliant choice as a rival down the road.

Juxtaposing the popular Lesnar with the man who can't get fans to stop booing him makes perfect sense. Much of the audience will be rooting hard for Lesnar to smash Reigns into the mat.

WWE can rekindle their old issues with little effort. There was no real conclusion to their feud last year. Seth Rollins inserted himself into the storyline last WrestleMania and distracted these titans from their animosity. At Fastlane, Ambrose's steel chair shots on Lesnar led the predator away from his focus on Reigns.

Credit: WWE.com

The Beast Incarnate seeking the world title is a no-brainer, too. A dominant force like him knows he's only one opportunity away from taking back his rightful place as champion. Reigns vs. Lesnar II is a fitting SummerSlam main event.

Bray Wyatt

Chapters remain unwritten in the Wyatt-Lesnar story. The Wyatt Family pounced on the powerhouse before the Royal Rumble and worked together to eliminate him at the actual event.

Lesnar did get a crack at Luke Harper at Roadblock, but Wyatt's back issues forced him to sit out the action.

Revisiting that rivalry could lead to a compelling SummerSlam matchup between the two. Like Joe, Wyatt's hard-hitting style is a great fit opposite Lesnar's. Wyatt's promo acumen would allow him to carry the feud between Lesnar appearances. And Wyatt clashing with Heyman on the mic promises to be magic.

It helps that the rivalry would have momentum already, with WWE building on their past history. It's a feud that Wyatt himself feels is inevitable.

On the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast, Wyatt said, "Me and Brock Lesnar are going to meet. And this is the only way I can put this, me and Brock Lesnar will meet down the line. And it will mean something, and I'm going to give him my soul and my body, and hopefully he doesn't kill me."

By "mean something," he likely means that it will be an important match on an important show. SummerSlam fits that bill. And if WWE ever decides that it wants to shoot Wyatt to the moon, Lesnar can be a key part in that journey.

Rollins launched himself off Lesnar's back last year. Letting such a promising talent like Wyatt do the same would be smart business.