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WWE Wrestlemania 34: Brock Lesnar Vs. Roman Reigns For Universal Championship
There are two things that seem abundantly clear about the fight for the WWE Universal Championship taking place at Wrestlemania 34 this Sunday, April 8 (broadcast on PPV and the WWE Network from 5 PM ET/2 PM PT). The first is that Roman Reigns, he who has been anointed for years now as the present and future king of all WWE, will again win the strap at wrestling's biggest event, sending The Beast Brock Lesnar packing (or at least away for a little bit to rejoin the UFC). And the other thing we know for sure? That this will be the reaction of the live crowd at the Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday night: Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
But is that what will really happen? The outcome seems the easiest to pick out of all the matches at Wrestlemania 34, given the WWE's insistent years-long push of the Reigns character combined with all the real-world noise being made about Brock Lesnar's impending return to the ultra violence of the UFC. The build-up, too, seems tailor-made for a Reigns victory. At the start of the feud, Reigns played on Brock's part-time status in the WWE and was actually receiving cheers from the crowd after several fiery promos calling out Lesnar as someone who didn't care about the belt or performing for the WWE universe. In recent weeks, the focus shifted to Brock continually kicking the living s*** out of Reigns in episode after episode of Raw. WWE's angle was clear--in this feud, Reigns is the passionate, outmatched babyface you need to root for.
What if, however, it doesn't go the way we're all assuming? The build-up to this year's Reigns-Lesnar match feels similar to the lead-in to Wrestlemania 31, and that bout ended up being one of the best, most surprising Wrestlemania main events thanks to Seth Rollins' exciting cash-in of his Money In The Bank contract. Will the WWE--knowing the seeming inevitability of a Reigns win--play on all of our expectations and have something ready to surprise?
Look, the answer is probably no, and we're calling a Reigns win (as we explain in our predictions for all of the Wrestlemania 34 matches). But we can hope and we can dream, so join us as we cover Wrestlemania this Sunday, starting at 5 PM ET/2 PM PT with the Kickoff Show. Wrestlemania itself doesn't start until 7 PM ET/4 PM PT, and where this match ends up on the broadcast remains a mystery (although it'll likely be one of the last few matches, if not the main event).
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But is that what will really happen? The outcome seems the easiest to pick out of all the matches at Wrestlemania 34, given the WWE's insistent years-long push of the Reigns character combined with all the real-world noise being made about Brock Lesnar's impending return to the ultra violence of the UFC. The build-up, too, seems tailor-made for a Reigns victory. At the start of the feud, Reigns played on Brock's part-time status in the WWE and was actually receiving cheers from the crowd after several fiery promos calling out Lesnar as someone who didn't care about the belt or performing for the WWE universe. In recent weeks, the focus shifted to Brock continually kicking the living s*** out of Reigns in episode after episode of Raw. WWE's angle was clear--in this feud, Reigns is the passionate, outmatched babyface you need to root for.
What if, however, it doesn't go the way we're all assuming? The build-up to this year's Reigns-Lesnar match feels similar to the lead-in to Wrestlemania 31, and that bout ended up being one of the best, most surprising Wrestlemania main events thanks to Seth Rollins' exciting cash-in of his Money In The Bank contract. Will the WWE--knowing the seeming inevitability of a Reigns win--play on all of our expectations and have something ready to surprise?
Look, the answer is probably no, and we're calling a Reigns win (as we explain in our predictions for all of the Wrestlemania 34 matches). But we can hope and we can dream, so join us as we cover Wrestlemania this Sunday, starting at 5 PM ET/2 PM PT with the Kickoff Show. Wrestlemania itself doesn't start until 7 PM ET/4 PM PT, and where this match ends up on the broadcast remains a mystery (although it'll likely be one of the last few matches, if not the main event).
More...