Brock Lesnar finds himself at the center of a serious controversy.
Multiple reports have surfaced that the results for an anti-doping test "The Beast" took in June prior to his fight with Mark Hunt at UFC 200 came back positive for a banned substance. Lesnar returned to the Octagon as part of a cross-promotion between the WWE and UFC last Saturday for the first time since 2011.
The former WWE and UFC heavyweight champion's fight in Las Vegas also helped promote the WWE's SummerSlam event, which takes place on Aug. 21 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Though Lesnar's anti-doping failure has created a stir, the WWE released a statement which seems to intimate he's still a go for the "Biggest Party of the Summer," where he'll batle Randy orton.
"Brock Lesnar has not performed for WWE since WrestleMania and is not scheduled to return until Sunday, Aug. 21," the WWE wrote in a breif statement, according to Wrestlingheadlines.com.
While it seems like the WWE is still going forward with the Lesnar vs. Orton main event, here are three potential replacements for "The Beast" in the event the negative publicity leads to the WWE pulling the plug.
1) Karl Anderson
This may seem like a random match, but The Club member already went on record as saying now that he's in the WWE, he wants to battle Orton.
"Being in the WWE is a dream in itself," Anderson told Amarillo.com last month. "Being in the ring with John Cena on Monday night was something crazy. I'd love to get in the ring with Randy Orton. Roman [Reigns] was cool to be in the ring with, Dolph Ziggler would be really sweet. But I think Randy Orton right now would be pretty cool for me. He's somebody I look up to. We're about the same age but he's been on TV for a long time so it'd be pretty cool to get in there with him."
Evenif the WWE doesn't run a singles match, AJ Styles, Anderson and Luke Gallows are currently feuding with John Cena and could possibly spin a mega match out of that, possibly as a 3-on-2 or adding a mystery partner to the babyface side.
2) Sami Zayn
The former NXT standout has been a great addition to the main roster and his seemingly never-ending rivalry with Kevin owens has been a compelling part of WWE storyline as of late, but eventually he'll have to move on. "The Viper" recently revealed that Zayn is one of his desired opponents if he had a choice to step in the ring with anyone on the main roster. Much like the Owens-Cena rivalry, a feud with a veteran like Orton could do wonders for Zayn early in his main roster tenure.
3) Finn Balor
Orton also expressed a hefty interest in going toe-to-toe with "The Demon." It seems like a main roster call-up for Balor is inevitable, and could happen as soon as the brand extension this Tuesday on "SmackDown Live." Balor has been a great fixture in NXT, but if the WWE wants him to debut with a bang, having him enter a program with someone the caliber of the "Apex Predator" could help him shine early, rather than having him get lost in the shuffle like many of the NXT call-ups do upon their arrival to the main roster.
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