What actually caused the Roman Reigns botch at Royal Rumble finally revealed

Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns.
Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns.

Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens put on a typically brutal Last Man Standing match at Royal Rumble, and expectedly enough, The Tribal Chief came out victorious.

The finish, however, left a lot to be desired. Paul Heyman struggled to unlock a handcuffed Roman Reigns, and the delay even led to the referee stopping his count. The fans were quick to highlight the botch as Roman Reigns had no chance of beating the count had the referee hadn't stopped. The handcuffs finally came off, and Kevin Owens was counted out.

youtube-cover

Dave Meltzer has now revealed on the post-RAW Wrestling Observer Radio why Paul Heyman found it difficult to unlock the handcuffs. Meltzer reported that the keyhole was on the wrong side.

As ridiculous as it sounds, the keyhole was on the wrong side, and Heyman couldn't find it in time. Meltzer and Alvarez had a hilarious exchange about the awkward spot:


Meltzer: Okay, so, the handcuffs, the hole with the key was on the wrong side. The keyhole was on the wrong side. They didn't get it in time or something. Time stood still.

Alvarez: It was on the wrong side? So, why didn't he turn the handcuff over?

Meltzer: Eventually, he did (laughs). They did get him out!

Alvarez: So, he was just jamming the key into the side in which there was no hole and couldn't figure out why it didn't work?

Meltzer: I don't know, yeah!

Alvarez: The bigger question is that nobody had a pair of bolt cutters in the building to just go and clamp it off?

Meltzer: Perhaps, they could, but they weren't going to beat the ten count.

Alvarez: Well, they were never going to beat the ten-count anyway. They might as well just got those things out there.

Meltzer: Maybe nobody was thinking on their feet about bolt cutters! Maybe they were just thinking we need a key.


Meltzer joked that WWE would hide bolt cutters when they plan on having a similar spot in the future.

WWE's WrestleMania 37 plan for Roman Reigns

Edge and Roman Reigns.
Edge and Roman Reigns.

Keeping the botched finish aside, Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens put on a memorable Universal Championship match. It had all the explosive elements that kept the fans invested throughout the contest. As reported by Meltzer, the current plan is to have Roman Reigns vs. Edge at WrestleMania 37.

WWE wants to get some fans back for WrestleMania 37, and the battle of Spears should be a marquee match for the grandest stage of them all.

Quick Links