WWE Rumor Roundup - Real Reason why Goldberg was allowed to beat The Fiend revealed, Backstage reaction - 28th February 2020

We are back with a special post-PPV edition of the daily WWE Rumor Roundup. Super ShowDown is in the books and there are a lot of things that need to be addressed.

Goldberg's unexpected Universal Championship win over The Fiend has left a majority of the fans fuming, but why did the WWE take the bold call? We may now know why.

While Super ShowDown highlighted three major veterans in Undertaker, Goldberg and Brock Lesnar, there were a few current big-name Superstars such as Kevin Owens and Daniel Bryan who missed the show. We now know WWE's message to the talents who refused to make the trip to Saudi Arabia.

The WrestleMania card underwent many big changes this week as many previously planned matches were altered for a variety of reasons.

Regarding WrestleMania, a legendary Superstar has been pushing to be featured on the card and he is rumored to have a big match at the event.

Vince McMahon is also determined to make a deserving Superstar a World Champion soon and that should please the fans.

We end today's line-up with reports of a Superstar's increasing backstage influence and his WrestleMania match.

Here is today's WWE Rumor Roundup:

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#6. Reason why Goldberg beat The Fiend clean to win the Universal title at WWE Super ShowDown, Goldberg's backstage reaction

While it was teased to happen based on the latest WrestleMania reports, Super ShowDown ending with Goldberg becoming the 2-time Universal Champion didn't go down well with the WWE Universe.

On the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer speculated that Goldberg was given the title to set up a WrestleMania match against Roman Reigns.

For the WWE, Reigns vs. Goldberg garners more interest than Reigns vs. Fiend, which was the original plan as of last week.

WrestleMania is all about spectacle matches that can also draw the attention of an average viewer or casual fan, and WWE probably feels that Big Dog taking on the Hall of Famer in a battle of spears is the ideal match to book to attain the required numbers.

After the show, Goldberg reacted to his win backstage by saying:

Firstly, I'll be limping out of Saudi Arabia. But you know, hey man, it's an honour just to be here, and to go out there and attain this belt again, this title again, it's a dream come true, truly is. It's something you always shoot for, but the older you get, the further that pinnacle is you think and I'm just in awe.

I had to hit him with everything I had, as quickly as I had, as quickly as I could. Catch him on surprise (breaths heavily), catch him off guard, just like I did with Brock. You know you got to hit guys before they are ready, especially at my age, so, it worked. I'll just strike it up as another conquest.

#5. WrestleMania 36 card changes

WWE made a few big changes to the previously planned WrestleMania 36 card, and these alterations had a big effect on the Super ShowDown outcomes.

Dave Meltzer had reported in yesterday's Wrestling Observer Radio that the new plan was to have Roman Reigns vs. Goldberg and John Cena vs. The Fiend for WrestleMania 36.

WWE booked the Super ShowDown main event in line with the new direction. Reigns is expected to win the Elimination Chamber match to determine the #1 contender while John Cena could be involved in a beatdown angle at the hands of The Fiend when he returns on SmackDown.

As stated earlier, WWE officials feel that the two aforementioned matches are more appealing and can draw bigger numbers than the originally slated bouts.

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#4. John Cena has been campaigning to get on the WrestleMania card

John Cena has spent a considerable amount of time away from the WWE and absence does make the heart grow fonder.

Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue told Korey Gunz on the Dropkick DiSKussions podcast that John Cena has been actively pushing to be featured on the 'Mania card for quite some time now.

Tom added that the Cenation leader would most likely not be involved in the title scene, which, as we now know, seems legitimate.

John Cena is a late addition. He’s been arguing, well not arguing, he’s been campaigning to get himself onto the card and I didn’t confirm last week whether or not the match with Elias was definitely the plan because I hadn’t got confirmation that it was the plan. And here we are hearing that it might not be the plan after all. I’m still confident that John Cena will not be involved in a championship affair.

#3. What did the company tell the Superstars who didn't want to travel to Saudi Arabia?

Super ShowDown had many absentees and Kevin Owens and Daniel Bryan were the biggest of the lot, who voluntarily turned down the offer to be a part of the show in Saudi Arabia.

On the latest edition of Sportskeeda's Dropkick DiSKussions podcast, Tom Colohue revealed the WWE management's message to the talents who did not wish to make the trip to the Middle East.

The decision to go or not was up to the Superstars themselves and the company didn't pressurize anyone to be a part of the show.

Tom revealed:

What they say to the talent and what has been quoted to me is they say, ‘look, if you don’t want to go, you don’t have to go. It’s up to you.’ That’s what they are saying, sounds very magnanimous and really in many ways it is, but there will be reactions to that.

There will be consequence even if they are not, shall we say, direct or intentional sometimes. There is always a consequence of some action. So it’s a tricky one. It’s a difficult position to put yourself in especially if you do it voluntarily but people have made that choice and I give them all the credit in the world to stand by what they believe in.

#2. Vince McMahon wants to make Drew McIntyre a World Champion

At a time when WWE booked a 53-year-old veteran to become the Universal Champion, it's relieving to know that Vince McMahon is also focussed on building up top-tier Superstars for the future.

Tom Colohue revealed on the Dropkick DiSKussions podcast that the WWE boss is still determined to make Drew McIntyre a World Champion and that could happen at WrestleMania itself when he beats Brock Lesnar to become the new WWE Champion.

While Tom explained that McIntyre may have lost momentum as he wasn't featured on the Super ShowDown card, WWE is firmly behind the Drew McIntyre project and the Scottish Psychopath should finally win his first world title at the Show of Shows in April.

I know that Vince McMahon is still determined to make Drew McIntyre a world champion because a long, long time ago, Vince McMahon said this is a future world champion and Vince McMahon is still determined to prove himself right. Drew McIntyre, when he came back, was always going to be an immense success.

It has also been reported by WrestlingNews.co's Paul Davis that Vince McMahon already sees McIntyre as the perfect company representative and the two share a strong relationship behind the scenes. He is the Chosen One after all.

#1. Daniel Bryan's WrestleMania opponent and backstage influence

The recent episodes of SmackDown have seen WWE provide Drew Gulak and Heath Slater with some deserved TV time and according to a report from WrestlingNews.co's Paul Davis, Daniel Bryan is the catalyst behind the decision.

The Leader of the Yes Movement pushed for an angle with Gulak and Slater as he knows how underutilized they are and is also friends with them backstage.

It was added that Bryan has a great influence backstage from a creative standpoint as most of his ideas end up on TV, even though some of them do get turned down by Vince McMahon and Executive Director Bruce Prichard.

I am told that this is Daniel Bryan’s idea and the reason why Gulak and Slater have been appearing on SmackDown lately is that Bryan suggested for them to be used in a storyline with him since he is friends with them and knows that they are underutilized.

Sometimes Vince [McMahon] and Bruce [Prichard] will turn down an idea but a lot of the things he has pitched have been used on TV.

It was also revealed that WWE could be planning on having Bryan face Sheamus at WrestleMania 36.

"Bryan appears to be in a holding pattern right now as he is currently not in a major storyline. There has been talk of having him face Sheamus at WrestleMania to play off of Sheamus’ 18-second win at WrestleMania XXVIII in 2012.”