WWE had to scramble to rewrite upcoming storylines and feuds after Braun Strowman’s injury, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Braun Strowman, who is expected to be out 1-2 months after minor elbow surgery, was set to face Roman Reigns at the upcoming Extreme Rules PPV, likely in some sort of gimmick match. Strowman would then go on to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at Great Balls of Fire in July.
On upcoming house shows, Bray Wyatt is being advertised as facing Roman Reigns, replacing Strowman. Wyatt originally had been scheduled for matches with Finn Balor. That doesn’t necessarily mean that Reigns will be feuding with Wyatt on TV, but Raw really only has 3 “top” heels besides Strowman (and Lesnar, who isn’t really a heel): Wyatt, The Miz or Samoa Joe. One of those guys will probably be Roman Reigns’ next feud now that Strowman is out.
If Strowman isn’t able to return in time for the July PPV, Lesnar would likely face either Seth Rollins or Finn Balor, according to Dave Meltzer. Again, the top Raw faces other than Reigns are only Rollins, Balor or Ambrose. Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar are expected to face each other at next year’s WrestleMania, but it seems like it will be hard for WWE to keep them apart for basically another year, though it looks like they’re going to try to prolong their meetup as much as possible for now.
We’ll see if WWE decides to continue with the Reigns vs. Strowman feud once Strowman comes back or if they just have him go right into his match against Lesnar (maybe at SummerSlam) then have Strowman go back to his feud with Reigns afterwards.