Brock Lesnar Vs Roman Reigns: Original Plans Revealed

With Vince McMahon and the WWE strongly pushing Roman Reigns over the last four years, it was only logical to believe that the Big Dog would defeat Brock Lesnar in the main event at WrestleMania 34.

But many fans and pundits were shocked to see Lesnar easily squash a bloodied Reigns as he retained the Universal Championship. After all, Reigns is always supposed to win the main event at 'Mania, and Lesnar's contract was expiring that day - which some took as a hint he'd be leaving for UFC. Of course, WWE announced Monday that Lesnar signed a new deal with the WWE - though terms weren't clear.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, Reigns was expecting to defeat Lesnar and walk out of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome as the new Universal Champion. However, Reigns found out about Lesnar's contract on the day of WrestleMania, and learned he was going to lose the match.

Per Meltzer, the scheduled finish would reverse Lesnar's F5 and hit him with a spear, becoming the new champion. It's also worth adding that Meltzer said neither Lesnar nor Reigns went off-script.

WWE also announced that Lesnar will defend his title against Reigns in a Steel Cage match at the Greatest Royal Rumble pay-per-view in two weeks. Should Lesnar retain, it's logical to believe he'll carry the championship up to SummerSlam in August.

One intriguing note to add is that Kris Zellner of Between the Sheets reported a rumor that Lesnar may defend his championship against the recently returning Bobby Lashley at SummerSlam.

Lashley also has a strong MMA background and would be a worthy and realistic challenger for Lesnar's championship. He returned to WWE after a 10-year absence on this week's episode of Monday Night Raw, interrupting Elias' singalong and hitting him with his signature finisher.