Backstage plan for Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar - Reports

Brock Lesnar is the current WWE Champion, whereas Roman Reigns holds the Universal Championship. Even so, rumors indicate that the two men are set to face each other in the main event of WrestleMania this year.

Roman Reigns was initially set to defend the Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar. However, The Tribal Chief contracted COVID-19 and had to miss the Day 1 event. Lesnar was added to the WWE Championship match instead, which he won in under nine minutes.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter recently noted that despite The Beast Incarnate holding the WWE Championship on RAW, the current belief backstage is that he and Reigns will headline this year's WrestleMania. Meltzer also mentioned the original plan for their feud:

"The belief is that Reigns vs. Lesnar, the match that was to headline the WWE’s first Day 1 show at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, is still on top as the main match for the 2022 WrestleMania. The original plan was for Reigns vs. Lesnar to headline for the Universal title. One would think it would be Lesnar defending since what would have made the most sense was Paul Heyman in some form costing Reigns the title."

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Did WWE change their original plans for Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar?

Dave Meltzer stated that the chances of Brock Lesnar winning the Universal Championship were high at Day 1. As a result, Roman Reigns would have seemingly gone into WrestleMania as the challenger. However, the plans were changed backstage, and now Lesnar holds the WWE title.

"Instead, on Raw on 1/3 in Greenville, Heyman was back as being the advocate for Lesnar without any kind of dramatic angle. From there they could go a number of different ways, although long-term it makes more sense for Reigns to be long-term champion simply because he’s full-time and Lesnar isn’t," stated Meltzer.

This week, The Beast Incarnate and The Tribal Chief will come face to face on SmackDown. It will be interesting to see what transpires between the two rivals, now that they both hold world championships.