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In early 2015, the writing was on the wall that WWE intended for Roman Reigns to become the new face of the company. The pieces were all in place for that to happen. Brock Lesnar had been positioned as one of the most dominant monster heel champions in company history, complete with dominating John Cena to take the WWE Championship off of him at SummerSlam 2014. Meanwhile, Reigns had moved up the ranks, most notably winning the Royal Rumble to set him up as the number one contender going into WrestleMania.
The trouble was, the fans weren't buying into Reigns.
Not only had Reigns been booed with fury at the Royal Rumble, but the returning Daniel Bryan had garnered a hero's welcome. The message was clear that vocal contingent of the WWE Universe would rather have seen Bryan vs. Lesnar, and in particular Bryan winning back the title he had never lost.
WWE seemed to acknowledge the fans' reactions in booking Reigns vs. Bryan for Fastlane 2015, with The Big Dog's 'Mania title shot on the line. Reigns won, thus reaffirming the path WWE had put him on. But what if WWE had gone the other way?
#5 Daniel Bryan Vs. Brock Lesnar three and a half years early
Daniel Bryan and Brock Lesnar staged a fun match at Survivor Series 2018, which was particularly memorable for the oddball heel vs. heel dynamic at play. The story saw Lesnar using his brute force, while Bryan countered with not only his speed and technical savvy, but also his newfound heel machinations to hold his own.
Bryan facing Lesnar as a face could have worked just as well, if not more naturally in pitching him as a straight-up underdog hero. That's exactly the dynamic we could have expected had Bryan beaten Roman Reigns, and thus taken his WrestleMania 31 title shot opposite The Beast Incarnate. There's little question that the resulting match would have been great, for not only both of these men's talent but Lesnar's propensity to work especially well with smaller opponents and Bryan's ring generalship which would have all but guaranteed a carefully crafted, superb outing.
Bryan vs. Lesnar would have been a more than worthy main event for WrestleMania 31, nicely combining Bryan's appeal to the hardcore fan base with Lesnar's broader name recognition and credibility.
#4 Daniel Bryan loses against Brock Lesnar
WWE has a long history of using WrestleMania main events as a platform for feel-good stories, like Hulk Hogan reigning supreme in the early years of the event, Shawn Michaels realizing his boyhood dream, or the Stone Cold era getting its start after Steve Austin pinned HBK. The story of Daniel Bryan beating the odds to overcome Brock Lesnar and win the WWE Championship certainly would have fit that traditional mold. However, it isn't realistic to think that Bryan actually would have won in this instance.
In Brock Lesnar getting the nod to end The Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania 30, it was clear WWE was awarding him a unique push and readying him for a WWE Championship reign. In all likelihood, he would have squashed Bryan rather than John Cena at SummerSlam 2014 had Bryan been medically cleared. It's unlikely that WWE would totally change directions with Bryan challenging Lesnar at Levi's Stadium.
The story of Lesnar vs. Bryan likely as not would have been that of a competitive match, with Bryan holding his own, but ultimately succumbing to the overwhelming force of The Beast Incarnate. The outing wouldn't bury Bryan, but neither would it derail Lesnar's run on top.
#3 Roman Reigns wins big at WrestleMania 31
If Roman Reigns had lost to Daniel Bryan at Fastlane it would have reshaped his trajectory, including Bryan getting subbed into the WrestleMania 31 main event, and Reigns taking a step backwards for a time. If there's one thing we know for sure about what really did happen over the years to follow, it's that the powers that be at WWE were committed to ultimately getting Reigns over at the highest level.
So what would Reigns have done had he not challenged Lesnar at WrestleMania 31? It's unlikely he would have slipped so far as to have simply swapped spots with Bryan, and participated in the Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match that opened the show.
He may well have worked opposite someone else from that match like Wade Barrett one on one, or conceivably have been booked opposite Dean Ambrose to tell a different story among Shield alumni. Otherwise, someone like The Big Show could have been pulled from the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal to work Reigns.
Whoever the opponent and whatever the stakes, we can safely guess Reigns would have picked up a big and decisive victory to get him back on track toward ultimately becoming the face of WWE.
#2 Seth Rollins waits
There may be no more memorable moment from WrestleMania 31 than the final three minutes of the main event. That's when Seth Rollins became not only the first Superstar to ever cash in Money in the Bank in the middle of the match to force a Triple Threat, but also the first to do so during the WrestleMania main event--probably the single highest-profile match of the year.
Rollins cashing in was the perfect move for the situation at hand. Fans were primed to reject Roman Reigns going over Brock Lesnar for the world title; the idea of Lesnar beating Reigns, even if fans didn't want The Big Dog to win, nonetheless felt like a deflating way to end a WrestleMania. Rollins interceding provided the electricity of a huge surprise and moment while protecting both Reigns and Lesnar.
If Daniel Bryan were to be the man challenging Lesnar for the title, it would have presented some similar concerns. Lesnar going over would have been dissatisfying for the crowd, while Bryan winning also would have felt like a less than ideal option given the backstage concerns we now know about regarding his health.
That said, neither option would be as problematic; Bryan winning would have at least sent fans home happy, and WWE wasn't as invested in protecting Bryan for later as it was for Reigns. In either case, WWE could have kept the WrestleMania cash in, as well as Rollins's specific briefcase in its back pocket for use down the road.
#1 Roman Reigns slays The Beast
Roman Reigns was not the beast slayer at WrestleMania 31 in large part because WWE didn't want to risk the live stadium crowd and vocal critics on social media panning the creative choice of a champion they didn't feel was ready. If, however, Reigns had not been up for the title shot at WrestleMania 31, it would have allowed WWE to be more patient and book this title match for a later date.
If Brock Lesnar had retained his title through WrestleMania, and perhaps even through the summer and into the fall, Reigns may have been ready for a comparable big moment to the one we achieved later in the year when he bested Dean Ambrose for the vacant title, or when he reclaimed the title from Sheamus on Raw.
In short, WWE might have had its cake and eaten it too, with Reigns getting to unseat Lesnar to be anointed as the new top star in WWE and to do so in a period of time when his skills would have better warranted the big push. No less importantly, fans would have been ready to offer more support for this big push. WWE would still ultimately arrive at a similar place, but Reigns didn't beat Lesnar until SummerSlam 2018 instead.
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