Roman Reigns Beats Brock Lesnar In Winner-Take-All Match

Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar in the Winner-Take-All WrestleMania 38 main event, winning the WWE Universal Championship.

Featuring mostly big moves from the two top heavyweights, Reigns vs. Lesnar was as advertised as an epic Clash of the Titans.

This match incorporated elements from prior WrestleMania matches, particularly WrestleMania 31. Similar to the 2015 event from San Jose, Lesnar’s gloves were off within moments as he delivered an onslaught of suplexes to Reigns. By mid-match, however, it was Brock Lesnar laughing while taking a beating from Reigns. Reigns laughed off a similarly violent attack from Lesnar at WrestleMania 31.

Reigns pinned Lesnar following multiple spears as the match ended, rather suddenly, as Reigns sold a shoulder injury. Reigns struggled to lift the WWE and Universal Championships following his win, but appeared fine while celebrating on the entrance ramp as the show went off the air. Reigns’ victory did not come without assistance from Paul Heyman, who interfered throughout.

Paul Heyman a Key Ingredient in Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar Feud

The Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar WrestleMania feud kicked off at WWE SummerSlam 2021. Following Reigns’ victory over John Cena, Brock Lesnar shocked the wrestling world with a surprise appearance just 24 hours after CM Punk’s already iconic return to pro wrestling in AEW.

The first several months of Reigns vs. Lesnar was something of a love triangle with the two top stars competing for the managerial services of Paul Heyman. After briefly siding with Brock Lesnar after Lesnar won the WWE Championship at WWE Day 1, Heyman betrayed Lesnar in favor of Reigns at WWE Royal Rumble. Though it is assumed Heyman’s allegiance was solid with the Bloodline, there always remained the outside chance that Heyman could once again change his stripes, as has been the case throughout his career as a legendary heel manager.

Between Heyman, a newly minted “ponytail” Brock (more on that later), and Reigns connecting as an excellent heel, the idea of Reigns vs. Lesnar was at WrestleMania was now a far cry from the disaster it was the last time these two main evented WrestleMania in New Orleans.

Ponytail Brock Lesnar Soared as a Babyface

MORE FROM FORBESWWE WrestleMania 38 Results: Winners, News And Notes On Night 2By Alfred Konuwa

Brock Lesnar’s “Ponytail” Brock iteration might have been his best. Now expected to do the heavy lifting on the mic as well as in the ring, the latest version of Brock Lesnar was much more personable, fashionable and charming on the mic while somehow still terrifying.

John Cena himself had high praise for Lesnar’s newest persona, which is part of the reason he’s looking forward to Reigns vs. Lesnar over any match on the WrestleMania 38 card.

“I think he’s shown his dynamic ability with this new path he’s on right now. He totally can do it all, he’s not just a strong guy, and an agile guy, he has such depth of character,” said Cena about Lesnar.

“And the fact that he was holding in these promos for so long and unleashing them now—truthfully, it shows how good, and how patient and how smart he is.”

Ever the fashion plate during this run, Lesnar’s look book included Overalls Brock Lesnar, Cardigan Brock Lesnar, Cowboy Brock Lesnar, Flannel Brock Lesnar and Denim Brock Lesnar just to name a few. In his latest comeback tour, Brock Lesnar certainly put the “beast” in “hypebeast.” Lesnar’s jovial, more playful disposition made him the perfect foil to the brooding, salty and far more serious Roman Reigns. Though many among WWE’s monolithic fanbase swore they never wanted to see this match again, especially at a WrestleMania, WWE has been building that same match for the past eight months and most are here for it.

Roman Reigns Finally Beats Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania

Roman Reigns is 0-2 against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, with Lesnar coming up short at WrestleMani 31 (due to Seth Rollins cashing in Money in the Bank) and the aforementioned WrestleMania 34. Reigns has been built up as an O.P. champion, running through the likes of Edge, Bryan Danielson, Goldberg and John Cena. Lesnar feels like the next logical step in WWE’s quest to cement Reigns as an all-time great, if that hasn’t happened already.

Not only does a Reigns win over Lesnar make sense due to Reigns finally defeating Lesnar on a big stage, but having never been pinned or submitted since December 2019, defeating Reigns is now an elusive victory. Lesnar was the last person who needed a win of this magnitude. Las Vegas seemed to agree, as Reigns entered this match as a -350 favorite with Lesnar a +225 underdog, cashing that ticket.

With Cody Rhodes returning to WWE, and WWE looking to make him into a star for a host of reasons, Rhodes should be considered an early favorite to eventually upend Reigns’ lengthy unbeaten streak. My guess, is that happens by SummerSlam. In the immediate future, however, Bobby Lashley is Reigns’ most-likely opponent following Lashley’s win over Omos. During the WrestleMania main event, Corey Graves referenced Bobby Lashley after Reigns delivered a Spear to Lesnar.