Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns: Pros and Cons of Possible WWE Raw Feud

Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns may not be the feud that WWE fans expected to see right now, but it's one that was bound to happen.

That's because of WrestleMania 33. The Show of Shows has changed the landscape of the company, as the door has opened for NXT stars like Shinsuke Nakamura to debut on the main roster. Meanwhile, legends like Goldberg, are taking a break. But the biggest impact from Mania is the evident retirement of The Undertaker.

Reigns is the man who laid The Phenom to rest and, as a result, The Big Dog has never been bigger. Now he's once again in Lesnar's sights.

Perhaps that's why their feud had to be revisited now. At this point, there's no one left for Lesnar to face, and Reigns' only real path leads him to the Universal Championship. Their feud was inevitable, and Paul Heyman made it clear on the Raw after WrestleMania that his client wants Reigns.

But is it a good idea?

Just because two guys are on top doesn't necessarily mean fans want to see them collide. Sometimes it's all about the timing, which has to be right if it's to work. Lesnar was cheered when he defeated Goldberg, but that probably won't last long. 

"Suplex, repeat," is a fun tagline but it tends to get monotonous after a while. Lesnar's constant domination of the talent in the WWE was only interrupted by Goldberg, who proved to be the one roadblock Lesnar couldn't get past. But now that he has, his routine will likely become routine once again. 

Reigns was hated before he took The Undertaker down, and he's hated even more now. The man who was once one of the most popular Superstars on the roster cannot seem to keep his head above water when it comes to garnering the approval of fans.

For those fans who have indeed tired of Reigns, what could be the upside of seeing him go to war with the short-term Beast Incarnate once again? 

Whether or not this rivalry should be renewed now remains to be seen. As is often the case, it's the fans who must decide if it's all a good idea or a complete waste of time. There are two sides to this story.

The Pros

There was no way to avoid this feud.

When two guys are on top, they either get along or they fight. There is no middle ground. There are no two guys bigger in the WWE right now than Reigns and Lesnar, and there's too much good storytelling here for the WWE to ignore.

This is a tale of two embattled warriors.

Reigns is constantly trying to prove he belongs in the elite of the WWE, whether he knows it or not. The company may claim that Reigns' negative reaction is OK, and the man himself may say that as well. But the truth is that when a guy is being spotlighted as the top babyface in the company, then the company indeed wants him to be loved.

Otherwise, there would never have been a need to turn him babyface in the first place.

Lesnar may be getting cheered now, but it won't last long. The perception that he's nothing more than a prizefighter chasing the money is one that the WWE has encouraged for years. The gimmick is not a gimmick, its reality. But if the WWE wants him to continue on his current path, then he must lose.

Lesnar had never been more interesting than when he lost to Goldberg in 86 seconds at the Survivor Series in 2016. The Beast had constantly been destroying guys one after another, until he had become a caricature of himself.

If fans had seen Lesnar's act once, they had seen it. There was nothing new in his approach, or his attitude. He was indestructible, and there was no way to stop him.

That is why he must face Reigns now. The idea that Lesnar is human after all has made him much more interesting, and the WWE must continue with that notion. Reigns will only get over if he can manage to get the crowd's support, and the only way to do that is to humanize Lesnar as Goldberg did.

But Reigns needs this feud, not only to get over, but because Lesnar won't be around forever. The part-time Universal champion will probably pull the same disappearing act he did when he wore the WWE Championship, which means the title will go with him.

Meanwhile, Reigns, and every other Raw Superstar, will be left empty-handed.

Fans may hate Reigns, but once reality sets in and Lesnar stays home week after week, it will become apparent that something must change. Keeping the Universal Championship on the program is the most important thing, as it gives guys something to fight for. No one can challenge for the championship when the champion is nowhere to be found.

This rivalry must be renewed because there's just no other recourse. Even with the WWE's upcoming "Superstar Shake-up" on the horizon, there are few feuds that make more sense than Reigns vs. Lesnar. 

Both guys will bring all they have, and the WWE will get behind it. It's a war that must be waged, and it must happen soon.

The Cons

This was the last thing anyone wanted.

Reigns has been forced upon fans for so long now that it's become comical. Despite what anyone believes, a good portion of the WWE faithful did indeed give The Big Dog a chance, but it's always fallen short of expectation. 

The WWE tried to recreate John Cena in a different guy, and it never worked. 

Reigns is his own man, and that man has more intensity than anyone around him. He also looks sinister, full of evil that's just waiting to be unleashed. The only way that will ever happen is if he turns heel once again.

But there's no reason to believe the WWE will pull the trigger on that. Reigns has perhaps come too far to turn back now, which means he will continue to be featured as a babyface when he takes on Lesnar. The crowd will boo Reigns out of the building though he's done nothing to deserve it, while Lesnar is cheered though he's done his best to be hated.

It's a bad combination, and the WWE might make a ton of money from it, but fans will hate every second of it. Even those who would love to see Reigns get crushed are missing the point. Even if Reigns gets squashed, he will get back up because he's the top guy. The top guy always gets back up.

He will grow even stronger than he is now, and fans will continue to despise him. The insanity of it will be overwhelming, and Lesnar deserves better than that. Or does he?

That's the other side of the problem for WWE with this feud. Lesnar has never made anyone in the company. He works veterans and top-tier guys only. He beat Dean Ambrose at WrestleMania 32. He defeated Bray Wyatt. He decimated Kevin Owens. He didn't crush Seth Rollins because of The Undertaker's interference.

Lesnar also took down The Undertaker.

The Beast is there to get his name on the marquee and nothing more. The only reason he has the Universal Championship is because the WWE likely wants Reigns to take it from him. When that happens, what will the WWE do with Owens, Rollins and Finn Balor?

Reigns vs. Lesnar is a vicious cycle of repetitive characters and twisted situations that never seem to contain any sense of logic. Applying logic to pro wrestling may be a folly, but that does not mean the business shouldn't at the very least be believable in some regard.

To pursue the same tired direction causes fan interest to wane, and that's a con that the WWE certainly can't afford now.

Tom Clark can regularly be seen on Bleacher Report. His podcast, Tom Clark's Main Event, is available on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Android, Windows Phone and online here.