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WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar was set to appear following his successful title defense at Royal Rumble, back before a huge winter storm warning shifted last night's Raw away from Hartford, Connecticut's XL Center and into the company's Stamford headquarters.
While word is that his interview segments from last night's show were taped in the afternoon so he could return to Minnesota, Lesnar has been added to the advertising for the now live broadcast of SmackDown that will be taped in Hartford at XL Center on Thursday, January 29. Brock is not on the "Featured Superstars" list for the show on the company's website, making it unclear if his appearance will be tape only or if this is a make-up date for the cancelled Hartford gig.
The Beast Incarnate's on the card for a Monday night in Columbus, Ohio on February 9.
He is featured in the commercial that WWE has released for Fast Lane, the pay-per-view (PPV) which replaces Elimination Chamber as the weigh station between the Rumble and WrestleMania, but he is not advertised on WWE.com or the site for the venue, Memphis, Tennessee's FedEx Forum.
The champ is listed for the fallout show from that PPV, as the 'Mania sales pitch begins in earnest in Nashville. But then he's off again and not scheduled to return until the 'go home' show for WM 31, on March 23rd in Los Angeles. [Edit: he's advertised locally for the March 9th Raw in Pittsburgh, even though WWE doesn't list him on their event page...those four magic words "Card subject to change" make these things tricky]
Seems like a lot of the build for his championship showdown with Roman Reigns will fall on his advocate, Paul Heyman, and the Big Dog himself.
Last night's promos helped a lot of fans turn the corner on the prospect of Lesnar vs. Reigns. Does the lack of time we'll spend with the man holding the top prize in sports entertainment change your minds?