At Extreme Rules, Kurt Angle said that if Universal Champion Brock Lesnar did not show up for "Raw" or agree to the terms of when Lesnar will defend the championship, then he would be stripped of the championship. On July 16, 2018 episode of "Raw", Heyman interrupted Angle, who was about to strip Lesnar, and stated that Lesnar would hold on to the championship for however long he pleases. Angle then scheduled Lesnar to defend the championship at SummerSlam and if he did not, he would be indefinitely stripped. On the July 30 episode of "Raw", Angle threatened Heyman's employment due to Lesnar's refusal to leave the backstage area and appear in the ring. After several failed attempts by Heyman to convince Lesnar to appear in the ring, Lesnar attacked Angle with an F-5 and choked Heyman. Two weeks later on the August 13, 2018 episode of Raw, Heyman revealed it was all a ruse as both Heyman (wielding pepper spray) and Lesnar ambushed Reigns. Heyman would accompany Lesnar going into SummerSlam, where Lesnar's 504 days reign as champion would come to an end after Lesnar was pinned by Reigns. Heyman would appear in a segment backstage the "Raw" after SummerSlam to invoke Lesnar's rematch clause against Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at Hell in a Cell, but the rematch was denied by Kurt Angle. However, at Hell in a Cell, Heyman appeared as Lesnar interfered with the main event match between Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman. The next day, Heyman appeared on "Raw", setting up a triple threat match at Crown Jewel between Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman, and Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship. However, following Reigns' leukemia announcement, Heyman would instead set up a singles match between Lesnar and Strowman for the now-vacant title at Crown Jewel, a match Lesnar won.