WWE Royal Rumble 2021: 5 reasons why Kevin Owens replaced Adam Pearce against Roman Reigns

#4 WWE never had any intention of letting Adam Pearce wrestle Roman Reigns

Adam Pearce with a moment of trickery

Adam Pearce as Roman Reigns' next Universal title contender got a lot of buzz, but it was always unlikely to happen. The former NWA Champion has sold himself well in the role, but it seems as though WWE never intended to have a Roman Reigns vs Adam Pearce match in their third-biggest PPV of the year.

It was likely just a move to get attention to Roman Reigns' Royal Rumble title match.

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#3 It's the same match as four years before with the roles reversed

Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens in 2017

In the 2017 Royal Rumble, Roman Reigns challenged Kevin Owens for the Universal title with Chris Jericho suspended above in a shark cage. It was a fun match, and this time around, the roles are completely reversed.

Roman Reigns is the heel Universal Champion with the numbers advantage. It's four years on, but they're having the same match with the roles swapped, which is likely one of the reasons it was booked in the first place.