"A note of gratitude" - Adam Pearce's message to the WWE Universe for supporting the idea of him vs. Roman Reigns

On Friday Night SmackDown, Roman Reigns signed the contract to face Adam Pearce in a Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble.

Afterward, Pearce revealed that he had a bad knee that was bothering him, and he was not cleared to compete at the pay-per-view. Pearce then announced his replacement was none other than Kevin Owens, much to Reigns' chagrin.

For the one week that the match was official for the Rumble, the WWE Universe was split on whether they actually wanted to see the match or not.

To the portion of fans who wanted to see the former NWA World Champion compete in a WWE ring, Pearce took to social media tonight to thank them.

"A note of #gratitude to those that supported the idea of seeing me face Roman Reigns at Royal Rumble. Wrestling fans have amazed me for 25+ years and now is no different. That said, some things just aren't meant to be, and "not medically cleared" is a status I wish on no one. *Praying Hands Emoji*"

A note of #gratitude to those that supported the idea of seeing me face Roman Reigns at Royal Rumble. Wrestling fans have amazed me for 25+ years and now is no different. That said, some things just aren’t meant to be, and “not medically cleared” is a status I wish on no one. 🙏

— Adam Pearce (@ScrapDaddyAP) January 18, 2021

Kevin Owens replaces Adam Pearce against Roman Reigns at WWE Royal Rumble

With Kevin Owens now set to compete against Roman Reigns at the WWE Royal Rumble, things certainly become a lot more interesting from a storyline standpoint of where things could go from here.

If WWE still wants to do Reigns against Goldberg at this year's WrestleMania, they could do so without a title being involved by having both Reigns and Goldberg lose their respective title matches at the Royal Rumble.

There is no shortage of challengers that WWE could pair with Owens at the biggest show of the year and it would certainly be quite the swerve on the road to WrestleMania that few people would see coming.

If WWE still wants their main event match from last year's show in the same stadium it was scheduled to be in, it's very much a possibility depending on the direction the company wants to take at the Royal Rumble.

As the old saying so fondly put it, anything can happen in WWE.

https://t.co/HIjNQlDKfw pic.twitter.com/8NDUaosLsx

— Adam Pearce (@ScrapDaddyAP) January 16, 2021

Are you happy that Owens is now facing Reigns at the WWE Royal Rumble for the Universal Championship? Or would you have preferred to see Pearce have this match? Let us know by sounding off in the comments section below.