Wrestling fans had some strong and hilarious reactions to Roman Reigns entering the Royal Rumble at number 30. Many were hoping to see the debut of Samoa Joe or the return of Kurt Angle or Finn Balor and sadly disappointed when Reigns took the spot. One report that has been flying under the radar is that Roman Reigns was not originally intended to be the final Rumble entrant.
The Dirty Sheets Podcast reported that not only was Roman not intended to be in the Rumble, but that he was also not supposed to face Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Apparently, WWE originally hoped Finn Balor would take both of those spots, but he was declared not ready to return to the ring the week before the Rumble, which is when plan b was put into place.
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“Had Finn Balor been cleared, this spot may have occurred earlier on in the Rumble, where there were definitely 15 low key minutes that could have benefited from a high spot. Finn Balor was scheduled to face Undertaker at WrestleMania and Roman Reigns was programmed to face Braun Strowman.
This is the third time that The Undertaker’s WrestleMania opponent has changed. The Undertaker was originally pencilled in to face John Cena until those plans were scrapped by Vince McMahon in December.”
The setback could actually be beneficial to Balor. If WWE decides to keep him off TV for the next six weeks, he could be RAW‘s big surprise return the night after Mania, which would set up a huge program with whoever is holding the Universal Champion after Mania.
As for Roman, he will have a huge opportunity to take his heat with the crowds to another level against the beloved Deadman.
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