WWE Considered Shocking Alternate Finish To Roman Reigns’ WrestleMania Match

Roman Reigns won the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania 42, but WWE also thought about going a different route. 

The main event of WrestleMania 42 Sunday saw Roman Reigns beat CM Punk to win the WWE World Heavyweight Title, which is part of the Raw brand. For Reigns, it is his 7th time as a WWE World Champion, and it’s his first time holding this version of the title.

Reigns and Punk had a very physical match with many nearfalls. After more than 30 minutes, Punk hit a GTS and wanted to hit a second one, but he was too exhausted to do it. Reigns hit his finishing move, the Spear, two times and won the match to become the champion.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE considered putting the title on Reigns at Backlash instead.

“It was possible and apparently talked about that Punk could beat Reigns and then lose the title at Backlash, so they’d be ‘even’ when it was over but Reigns would end up as champion, as a way to protect Punk’s position. But the decision in the end was for Reigns to win here.”

Meltzer rated the Reigns-Punk at five stars, which means it was excellent, and also the same rating that yours truly gave the match. It has been praised by many people as one of the greatest WrestleMania main events of all time.

“Reigns’ win over Punk was clean, and among the best matches in WrestleMania history. They went 33:56, ending when Punk had Reigns on his back for a second GTS, and then collapsed, and Reigns then pinned him with a spear. The storyline played into the interviews, where the match was long and grueling, and Punk got old and collapsed in the deep waters.”

Roman Reigns Was Confident After Big Win At WrestleMania

In footage of Roman Reigns after the match, he was shown walking up the ramp at WrestleMania 42, where he delivered this match.

That’s what I’m talking about right there. You better have it. You better have everything if you want to take this from me, baby. Ain’t No Fake Anymore. Unreal, real. In the ring, out the ring. You better come full circle if you want to f*ck with The Tribal Chief. Do you understand me?

On the Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania episode, Roman Reigns walked out to the ring with his cousins, The Usos. While in the ring with The Usos, Reigns said he “missed this,” meaning when he was “running” WWE with The Usos as part of The Bloodline stable from the summer of 2020 until he lost the WWE Title to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40 in 2024.

After talking to The Usos and seemingly reuniting The Bloodline stable, Roman Reigns was also confronted by his cousin Jacob Fatu, who made it clear that he was coming for the World Heavyweight Title.

Fatu made a comment about Backlash, which is on May 9th, so it appears as though Reigns will be against Fatu at Backlash, but it’s not official yet.

Also Read: Roman Reigns’ Family Makes Rare WWE Appearance At WrestleMania 42