Was a Bloody Roman Reigns Always the Plan for WrestleMania?

Roman Reigns' crimson mask from WrestleMania has been the subject of mass internet speculation. Given that blood was banned from WWE years ago, was his leaking head wound an accident or was it all part of the show?

Well, now we know.

Cagesideseats reports that Vince McMahon, Brock Lesnar, and Reigns had all agreed to the blood-inducing elbow ahead of time. There had been reports that Lesnar may have acted unilaterally by getting Reigns to gush red—an egregious violation of WWE's policy—however, this report puts that juicy theory to rest.

Lesnar had a similar situation with Randy Orton at 2016 SummerSlam. In the climax of his rage, Lesnar used an identical elbow to slice open Orton's head. The copious amount of blood that followed ended the match and Lesnar looked like that America's top sadist.

And that's exactly what WWE portrayed last Sunday.

Much has been made about the final moments of WrestleMania 34. Few people expected Reigns to lose that match—even fewer say it ended with him in a puddle of his own blood. Expectations had Lesar handing over the Universal CHapionship and headed to UFC.

But, What we didn't know was that Lesnar had agreed to a new WWE contract just six days prior.

Dave Meltzer spoke about the new deal on Wednesday night's edition of Wrestling Observer Radio. According to Meltzer, Lesnar's new deal with WWE is not just an extension of his old contract. It is an entirely new deal at a higher rate of pay. What still isn't known, though, is if the contract is for just one more match (the big steel cage match at Greatest Royal Rumble) or for an extended period of time.

An agreement for a new contract between WWE and Lesnar was reportedly made at the go-home RAW show last week in Atlanta (six days before WrestleMania), though it was not officially signed until the day of WrestleMania. This was also the day the finish of the match between Reigns and Lesnar was changed, as Reigns reportedly arrived at the Superdome on Sunday believing he would be winning the Universal title.

It is still a big question mark whether or not Reigns will win the title at Greatest Royal Rumble in just two weeks, though Meltzer reports the plan is still to go with Reigns as the champion long term. If Lesnar drops the belt in Saudi Arabia, it could be a sign that Lesnar's re-upping with the company was for the short term. A victory by Reigns in Saudi Arabia would definitely be cheered by the fans in attendance more-so than a victory in New Orleans would have been.