WWE News: Seth Rollins Blasts Brock Lesnar, Says He ‘Devalued’ The Universal Championship
With UFC President Dana White having reportedly said that Brock Lesnar is retiring from mixed martial arts, as tweeted earlier this week by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, it also appears that the former two-time WWE Universal Champion isn’t quite done with pro wrestling. Per CBS Sports, Lesnar will be among the wrestlers headed to Saudi Arabia in June for WWE’s third event in the country. While it’s far from certain whether he’ll also be back in the title hunt in the weeks to come, current Universal Champion Seth Rollins recently said that he’s willing to give Lesnar a rematch for the title, but added some pointed comments about the 41-year-old former UFC Heavyweight Champion’s infrequent television and pay-per-view appearances as a WWE superstar.
As quoted by the Daily Express, Rollins made the remarks earlier this week during an international media call, as he talked about his rivalry with Lesnar and stressed that he’s open to a rematch of their encounter at WrestleMania 35 last month. Speaking partly in character, he emphasized the importance of “[taking] on all challengers” as a fighting champion and not “[resting] on his laurels” by ducking rematches with people he’s already defeated.
“While Brock Lesnar is living and breathing he is most certainly a capable challenger for the Universal Championship,” Rollins said. “I beat him once so I’m not afraid to giving it another shot.”
Separately, WrestlingNews.co quoted Seth Rollins as saying that Brock Lesnar “devalued” the Universal Championship through his limited appearances and his tendency to only defend the belt “when the time is right.”
“I think he thought that he could make it more prestigious but to me, having the title on the show every week and being a champion that defends the title on a regular basis only makes the title and its legacy grow.”
Seth Rollins reveals his goals as Universal Champion after ending Brock Lesnar's controversial title reign #RAW #SDLive https://t.co/Nb9ZEWuQG3
— Express Sport (@DExpress_Sport) April 30, 2019
This isn’t the first time in recent weeks that Rollins has fired shots at Lesnar regarding the part-time schedule that helped him hold the Universal Championship for a combined 660 days across two reigns, per Den of Geek. Speaking to Sports Illustrated shortly before WrestleMania 35, the 32-year-old Monday Night Raw standout called Lesnar “self-serving and selfish” and accused him of choosing to become a part-time performer because he “doesn’t care” for the wrestling business, rather than because of any in-ring superiority over other competitors.
If Lesnar does get to face Rollins in a rematch for the Universal Championship, “The Beast” will have to wait it out a bit. Currently, Rollins is scheduled to make his first defense of the title against AJ Styles at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, which will be held at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, on May 19.
