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Overall, the general consensus from the WWE Universe is that WrestleMania 35 was a successful event. All three fan favourites won their big title matches – first Seth Rollins, then Kofi Kingston, then Becky Lynch – while the return of John Cena as “The Doctor of Thuganomics” was another major highlight.
The biggest negative after the show involves the main event, specifically the finish to the match, which saw Lynch pin down Ronda Rousey’s shoulders with a unique pinfall to pick up a 1-2-3 and become the new Raw and SmackDown Women’s champions.
On paper, “The Man” defeating “The Baddest Woman on the Planet” via pinfall sounds like the perfect way to appease the audience at the end of the historic women’s main event. In reality, however, it was clear during the pinfall that Rousey’s shoulder was up and that the referee should not have counted to three.
Given that the finish came seemingly out of nowhere, many people are speculating whether the show was supposed to end with Lynch’s 1-2-3 or whether the finish was ‘botched’ and the match should have continued for another 5-10 minutes.
Either way, the outcome of the match is the talk of the WWE Universe today, so let’s take a look at four theories why WWE ended its biggest show of the year in the way that they did.
#4 The finish was planned to get people talking
If you scroll through your social media timelines, you will likely see fans adamantly claiming that the WrestleMania 35 was botched and others insisting that the plan all along was for Becky Lynch to win by pinning Ronda Rousey.
There has been plenty to discuss post-WrestleMania, from Kurt Angle’s loss to Baron Corbin to Batista’s retirement to Seth Rollins and Kofi Kingston’s world title wins. However, just like before the event, the majority of fans are still discussing the main event between Lynch, Rousey and Charlotte Flair.
If Lynch won clean, this eight-month storyline would be over and all three women would likely move on to feud with other Superstars. Now that there is controversy added to the match, fans will keep discussing “The Man” & Co. and they will stick around to see what chapter WWE delivers next in this story.
#3 Botched finish… and Ronda Rousey is not happy
Botched finishes rarely happen in WWE, never mind at the company’s biggest show of the year, but it is being reported by some outlets that the referee was not supposed to count the 1-2-3 and Becky Lynch was actually supposed to defeat Charlotte Flair, not Ronda Rousey.
Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp tweeted: “The finish didn't happen as planned. Rousey wasn't happy after, either. Thought the situation made her look bad, apparently.”
SEScoops reporter Kristen Ashly tweeted, quoting Tom Colohue: "I've been told by different people, in different positions within WWE, that that was the plan [Lynch should have made Flair submit]. It sure looks like they've just botched the main event of WrestleMania… Accidents happen. The ref's continued a count after a kick out. He hasn't delayed between the 2 and 3 like they're supposed to and Becky hasn't let go in time for Ronda to kick out."
#2 The finish was planned to set up Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey
Heading into WrestleMania 35, there was one women’s match that the majority of WWE fans wanted to see: Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey.
After Charlotte Flair was added to the main event, it seemed likely that WWE would continue the storyline with Lynch and Rousey post-WrestleMania, with the two long-term rivals finally meeting one-on-one at some point in the next few months.
If “The Man” picked up a clean victory in the main event, there would not be as much interest in a singles match between the two women. However, from a storyline perspective, Rousey now has a legitimate claim to have a match against Lynch, so perhaps this finish was planned to set up another long-awaited encounter in the future.
For what it’s worth, the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer is reporting that the controversial finish was supposed to happen and that Rousey has suffered “a severely broken hand”, which will presumably rule her out for at least a few months.
#1 The finish was planned to keep Charlotte Flair in the title picture
With so many contrasting rumours out there today, it’s difficult to believe whether or not the finish was indeed planned or whether the referee and/or Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey botched the end to the match.
If the finish was supposed to happen in the way that it did, one possible theory behind WWE’s booking decision is to keep all three women looking strong after WrestleMania.
As the winner, Lynch obviously looks strong. Rousey, the disgruntled loser who was essentially robbed, still looks strong. And Charlotte Flair, who was not even in the ring at the time of the finish, does not exactly look strong but she definitely has a case to remain in the title picture after losing her title without being pinned or made to submit.
Maybe, just maybe, this finish was set up to keep the Lynch vs. Flair story going while Rousey recovers from her hand injury and returns at a later date.
