Did Vince McMahon Bury Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania?

It was the match we have all seen before. But it was the ending, not many of us expected.

Rumors had been rife about the final departure of Brock Lesnar for months, with the majority of wrestling fans expecting WrestleMania to be his last hurrah with the company that made his name.

But, in a surreal turn of events that capped off an even more surreal WrestleMania, 'The Beast' ultimately retained his Universal Championship against a bloody Roman Reigns.

So... what does this all mean?

Well, judging from the result alone, we must presume at this point that Lesnar will be sticking around for a while. However, nothing is set in stone.

There is always the possibility that Lesnar has every intention of leaving WWE for good to take up a lucrative UFC contract with Dana White and that his final WrestleMania victory was simply a hard-faced demand that he go out on top to maintain some level of legitimacy.

But the burning question on everyone's mind is: Why after a year of planning and preparation did Vince McMahon sacrifice his 'golden goose' to Brock Lesnar?

Well, quite a few people have their own opinion on this:

Some have speculated the result was an attack on online wrestling fans who had been spreading the apparent result of the match since learning of it twelve months prior.

The same could be said for the fans in attendance - there wasn't a face in that crowd chanting 'CM Punk' or 'We want Nicholas' that genuinely didn't believe Reigns wasn't leaving New Orleans with the Universal title around his waist.

In short, McMahon pulled a giant middle finger to the social-media generation.

The mastermind who played us all

Others have summarised that the destruction of Roman Reigns was merely a ploy to make him more relatable to the fans.

Rather than going ahead with what was, by now, a predictable plan, McMahon chose to make Reigns appear more human and less of a superhero in the hopes the fans begin to shy away from the idea of him being 'The Chosen One.'

I think this might be a little naive, and about three years too late, but it's a possible angle.

One thing nobody seems to be considering though, potentially with good reason, is that the burial of Reigns at WrestleMania was simply that: A burial.

An emphatic statement, shown live for the whole world to see, that the boss finally stands in solidarity with the WWE Universe after all this time.

In other words, it was an admission of what we've all known for too long now:

Roman Reigns, as good as he is, is not 'The Guy.'

After almost half a decade of sitting back time and time again as WWE creative do everything in their power to make us want to see Reigns succeed, and fail miserably, there's every chance McMahon has finally given in.

Heck, in the amount of time he spent pushing Reigns to the top of the card only to watch him fail to light a fire with the fans, he could have been priming another young and up-and-coming talent to take the top spot.

Instead, he stuck with Reigns. And fair play to the man for doing that, he sticks to his guns.

But, as a businessman, maybe he finally sees that Reigns is not the money-making machine that previous top faces in the company were... and that a drastic change is needed.

Enter: Bobby Lashley.

Lashley shocked the crowd

Ten years ago Bobby Lashley was riding high with WWE, taking part in the most widely publicized match from WrestleMania that year, involving the now-President Donald Trump.Apparently, the plan was for Lashley to ascend to the top of the card and become the new face of the company.

The only problem was that his ability in the ring was highly criticized for the most part.What Lashley exuded in confidence and appearance, he lacked in the skills department.This ultimately led to him leaving the company.

Now, ten years later and a multitude of new experience under his belt, he's back and ready to take over. We all know McMahon is a man who loves to revisit the past. The revived XFL is proof of that.

Is it possible, with the knowledge that Lashley was making a return to WWE, the decision was made to deny Roman Reigns on what would have been his biggest victory? Who knows. We will find out a lot more as the weeks go by. Especially in the days leading up to the Greatest Royal Rumble pay-per-view.

I imagine the result of this card's main event - Lesnar vs Reigns in a steel cage - will give us all a good indication of WWE's plans regarding the 'Big Dog.'

Until then, all we can do is speculate. But, here's hoping the Greatest Royal Rumble is an event to remember.