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#1: WWE official Adam Pearce unexpectedly won the gauntlet match to face Roman Reigns at Royal Rumble 2021
Just like all the dominant mob bosses throughout history, the new version of Roman Reigns doesn't like authority being imposed upon him on WWE SmackDown.
Adam Pearce was the one who allowed Kevin Owens to face Jey Uso in the main event last week, even after Reigns had stated that he was done feuding with The Prizefighter. The consequences were harsh, as Owens was demolished by Reigns and Uso at the end of last week's WWE SmackDown.
This week, Reigns would impose his own authority upon Adam Pearce through the course of the episode. Paul Heyman pulled a few strings backstage to insert Adam Pearce into the gauntlet match. Pearce was conveniently placed as the final entrant in the gauntlet match.
After Shinsuke Nakamura survived till the end to defeat Daniel Bryan, Reigns and Uso arrived to lay a beating on The King of Strong Style. The stage was set for Adam Pearce to win the match, even though he was reluctant to get involved in the main event.
Despite Pearce's reluctance, Uso laid out the WWE official with a superkick and placed him on top of Nakamura for a successful three count. Now, Adam Pearce has all the odds stacked against him, as he is set to face Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble event.
Adam Pearce was a solid performer as a pro wrestler back in the day, being a former five-time NWA champion as well as a former PWG champion. He hasn't had a match since 2014, but this current storyline with Roman Reigns is the perfect stage for him to make a comeback.
It made all the sense for an authoritarian figure like Roman Reigns to control the authority by effectively manipulating the decision-maker, Adam Pearce. One can understand now why Sonya Deville was also inserted as a WWE official on SmackDown, as Pearce will be engaged in matters pertaining to his own fight on the road to WWE Royal Rumble 2021.
As a whole, Adam Pearce's inclusion in the Roman Reigns storyline was a surprising turn from a creative standpoint. As stated earlier, the gauntlet match also established Shinsuke Nakamura as a future opponent for Reigns, so it was a win-win scenario for all parties involved.
Do catch SK Wrestling experts Rick Ucchino and Denise Salcedo as they share their thoughts on all that went down during last night's WWE SmackDown in the video linked above.
