Brock Lesnar Ruined My Dream Of Another All-Champion Stable

Sunday night at Hell in a Cell, Brock Lesnar made a shocking return to WWE and kicked the door in on the main event match between WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and “Monster in the Bank” Braun Strowman.

When Lesnar’s music hit, I let out an audible groan; and when the match ended in a no contest, I was just as unsatisfied as the rest of the WWE Universe. As per usual, the non-ending left us with more questions than answers. What does it mean that the match ended in a no-contest? Will Strowman’s Money in the Bank cash-in still count, or will the contract be restored as if he never used it? How many more Reigns vs. Lesnar title matches will we have to endure until Lesnar leaves for UFC for good?

We might already have the answer to that last question, but I’ll get to that in a moment. The fact of the matter is, the real reason I’m upset about Lesnar’s return is that he ruined any chance we had last night of getting another all-champion stable in WWE.

Stable Domination

Stables are my favorite. When I first started watching wrestling, it was D-Generation X that got me hooked. When I discovered it again in 2009 after a seven-year hiatus, it was at the height of Legacy’s run. I loved the Straight Edge Society; I loved the (original) Nexus, I love The Shield; show me a stable and I’m there for it.

I also love when every member of a stable is a champion. I wasn’t even watching WWE when Evolution had their run, but reading about their domination makes me wish I had been. I ate it up when, during The Shield’s original run, Ambrose was United States Champion while Reigns and Rollins were WWE Tag Team Champions. Most recently, I very much enjoyed when Undisputed Era had both the NXT Tag Team Championship and the NXT North American Championship (although I will say I was glad when Ricochet won it from Adam Cole).

You can imagine how excited I was at the prospect of The Shield – arguably my favorite stable of all time – becoming not just an all-champion stable, but walking away with all the gold Raw has to offer the male roster. The fact that Seth Rollins – arguably my favorite Superstar – could become a double champion yet again was just the cherry on top.

However, my dream of an entirely gilded Shield did not come to pass. Instead, Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler retained the Raw Tag Team Championship in what was the match of the night.

But even though Rollins and Ambrose didn’t win, there was still a chance – albeit a slim one – that Hell in a Cell could end with an all-champion stable (of sorts) being crowned. Unfortunately, Lesnar’s untimely return completely ruined that possibility.

Could it still happen? Of course. Rollins/Ambrose and Ziggler/McIntyre aren’t done with each other yet – but Lesnar’s return complicates things. If reports are to be believed, Lesnar was lured back by a seven-figure payday in Saudi Arabia, but that, unfortunately, doesn’t offer a lot of clues as to what will happen in the Universal Championship picture. Hopefully, we’ll get some much-needed answers on Raw; and, hopefully, my dream of another all-champion stable isn’t completely lost.