WWE fans were left surprised on Sunday night, as the main event of WrestleMania 34 looked to be the most predictable in years with Roman Reigns expected to leave New Orleans as the new Universal Champion.
WWE had been planning this for years. It was thought that the Mercedes-Benz Superdome would be the venue where The Big Dog finally slays The Beast in a passing of the torch moment, while Lesnar had been expected to leave the company and return to the UFC.
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Instead, Lesnar delivered F5 after F5 on a bloody Reigns before picking up the surprising win inside the same venue where he ended The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak four years ago.
To even more surprise, Lesnar signed a new deal with the WWE which was announced on Monday. Now, Reigns is getting a rematch at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia later this month inside of a steel cage.
So, what happened? The world was believing the rumours that had been circulating - Reigns was almost certain to be leaving with the championship and Lesnar was finally going to be beaten and on his way out. Well, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has revealed that those backstage also believed that was the case heading into the event.
Speaking on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer claimed that the writers and many of the producers were under the assumption that Reigns was going to win, and that the decision to have Lesnar win was a last-minute decision reportedly decided during the week.
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According to Rajah, they kept it so tightly guarded that not even the referee knew how the match would finish. Instead, he was only told during the match to count to three, meaning he went into the match believing Reigns was going to win but at some point during the match, he was given clear instruction that the finish was changed and he’d need to count to three for Lesnar rather than Reigns.
The reason for the late decision is that WWE realised the fans simply weren’t going to cheers for Reigns. Instead, the plan is to have Lesnar drop the title in front of the more receptive crowd in Saudi Arabia not only to get the reaction they want, but to also show the country how much they value them as an important partner.
What do you make of WWE's late decision to have Brock Lesnar defeat Roman Reigns? Have YOUR say in the comments section below.
WWE 2K18: WrestleMania Edition is out now on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.