Fresh from his UFC 200 victory, wrestling superstar Brock Lesnar seems headed to another epic battle, this time with another fan favourite, Randy Orton, who is seeking to make a comeback after he went on a hiatus due to an injury.
The much-anticipated face-off between Lesnar and Orton during the WWE SummerSlam 2016, however, is in serious danger of not pushing through, after the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) recently flagged Lesnar for a potential violation, as reported bySportsrageous.com.
The anti-doping agency has already informed the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that Lesnar's out-of-competition sample collection taken last June 28 showed some violations of the anti-doping policy. The USADA has pledged to give the professional wrestler due process.
Lesnar's anti-doping issue may have further implications in future dealings between the WWE and UFC, because this is the first time that the two camps have been involved in this kind of controversy.
The WWE will have to carefully weigh in on Lesnar's possible violation of the anti-doping policy, due to the fact that it has its own policies on professional wrestlers' health and wellness. It can be recalled that the WWE has suspended some wrestlers, such as Roman Reigns, for violating these policies.
The WWE has issued a statement saying Lesnar is not yet scheduled to return to the ring until August 21, having been on inactive duty since Wrestlemania.
With this issue hounding Lesnar, it remains to be seen whether the New York State Athletic Commission will clear him for WWE SummerSlam 2016, leaving his face-off with Orton in limbo.
However, if this match pushes through despite all the controversies, Lesnar is favoured to with over the comebacking Orton.
According to a sports column written by Alfred Konuwa for Forbes, Lesnar's dominant victory over premiere UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt is expected to give him some momentum in his looming fight with Orton.
"For now, Lesnar is staring down the barrel of a dream match against Randy Orton at SummerSlam. Although this will be Orton's return match, the smart money is on WWE capitalizing on its once-in-a-lifetime athlete and riding his momentum," Konuwa said in his column.
"With interest in Lesnar flirting with all-time highs, he needs to be showcased in a way similar to his one-sided victory over John Cena at SummerSlam 2014," he added.
