New Details on Brock Lesnar’s WWE Contract, WrestleMania Finish

With each passing day, we are starting to learn a little bit more about why Brock Lesnar shocked everyone and retained the Universal title at WrestleMania this past Sunday.

We know that Lesnar has signed a new contract with WWE. What we don’t know yet is how long that contract is for. 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 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.

Meltzer went on to note that very few people knew the finish of the match, as most WWE employees and performers expected the Reigns victory. In fact, the referee did not find out the finish until he got in the ring for the main event on Sunday night. Reigns did, though, so he was not double-crossed, and he also knew that Brock’s vicious shots that busted him open were going to happen in the bout. Some had speculated that Lesnar went into business for himself with those shots, which does not appear to be the case.

The outcome at WrestleMania 34 has certainly continued to cast a shadow over the WWE and its immediate future. There are strong opinions in both directions on whether WWE made the right choice or hurt Reigns even more in the long term by him coming up short in a match that had been built up for the past three years.

Either way, people are talking and there should be even more interest now in WWE’s Greatest Royal Rumble show in Saudi Arabia on April 27.