Brock Lesnar has been absent from television ever since he lost the WWE Championship to Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 36, but he should be back on WWE programming before long.

Several reports suggest that Lesnar will participate at the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view on Aug. 23. If so, it sounds like the Beast Incarnate will get a rematch against the man who dethroned him at WrestleMania.

But Lesnar, who resides in Canada, isn't by any means a guarantee for SummerSlam. The Canada-U.S. border is closed to non-essential traveling, and that's unlikely to change any time soon.

So if WWE is unable to bring Lesnar over for the SummerSlam event, what will plan B entail? On the Dropkick DiSKussions podcast, Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue speculates that Randy Orton will end up facing McIntyre if Lesnar isn't able to cross the border.

Colohue explained that the plan was for Orton and Edge to have another match at SummerSlam, but the latter suffered a torn triceps during the Backlash tapings. He'll be out of action for several months, so a rematch with the Viper is on hold.

"Now that Edge is out of the picture, they have given Orton something to do while they work out what to do next," Colohue explained. "If they can't get Brock Lesnar into the country, or if they just need someone for McIntyre, we may end up with McIntyre vs. Orton, but we need to kill a little bit of time on the way."

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Dave Meltzer recently explained on Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE is "setting up for" a program between Orton and McIntyre, while Colohue reported that Lesnar is the planned opponent for the WWE Champion.

McIntyre is set to defend his title against former tag team partner Dolph Ziggler at the Extreme Rules: The Horror Show pay-per-view on July 19. Following that match, WWE will likely start building towards McIntyre's SummerSlam feud, so we should have an answer soon enough.

Either Orton Or Lesnar Will Do

Both Orton and Lesnar are big-named stars and established main eventers. Simply put, either of them would be a suitable and intriguing opponent for McIntyre at SummerSlam. Only time will tell who his opponent will be, but fans can at least be excited in knowing that WWE is working on a marquee match for McIntyre at the upcoming pay-per-view.

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