That promo. That damn promo. The Raw after Wrestlemania is supposed be fun, with new people debuting, old faces coming back, and fans who will chant whatever they want. I watched, enjoying the show and writing about what happened. Even with my keen observation, I missed hearing something that I started to wonder about the next day.
When Roman Reigns walked to the ring, the first thing I noticed was he was off. He didn’t look like the hero, beaten but still holding his head high. He wasn’t angry, furious he had broken his word. No, he looked rattled, as if he had something he had to say and wanted to be done with it. His promo was about feeling like something was off, and how no one would look him in the eye. Standard stuff, but then came the line which would consume my thoughts for the next few days.
In the end, I just wish Vince would have smartened me up.
“Smarten up” is a wrestling term which usually has two meaning. The first is letting someone know outside the business that the wins/losses are predetermined. (Example: “Your father attacked me after our match for cheating. I think you need to smarten him up.”) The second use is when a finish of a match has been changed and letting the wrestlers involved know about. At the time, I thought nothing of it. My wife did notice, remarking that the line sounded weird. The next day, that line would replay in my head, connecting other points and solving some lingering questions about the Wrestlemania main event.
Reigns should have won. Story line, it was the only outcome. Reigns had been building toward this all year. Losing did not make sense, and actually hurt Reigns. The story line, Brock Lesnar as a part timer, had gotten more people on Reigns side, but he was still going to be booed. Have him win, take the boos and move on. Reigns lost, and the ending of the match seemed to come out of nowhere. This was not Lesnar vs. the Undertaker, where ever F-5 was building to the one Undertaker could not kick out of.
Reports that come out after said that Lesnar had gotten into a verbal altercation with management after the match. The belief was this was due to busting Reigns open and that the blood was not sanctioned. It was believable, but there were also reports that Lesnar had gone off script, throwing Reigns into the German announcer table in a spot that was not predetermined. Was Reigns telling us on Raw that Lesnar had won a match he was never supposed to win? I wondered, but a final piece put it all in perspective.
A final report stated that the ending of the match was changed halfway through it. Reigns was supposed to win, but the hostile reception changed the finish. Knowing this, I think I can guess what happened. Halfway through the match, Lesnar and Reigns were informed that the ending had been changed. Lesnar decided that the only way to make Reigns look beatable was to bust him open. After the match, Lesnar was confronted about the blood, probably told that there was a better way to win instead of going hardcore.
In the end, do I feel good of potentiality solving a mystery? Not really. I feel bad for Reigns, thinking he was going to win on Wrestlemania, only to have it snatched away. I feel bad for Lesnar, who had to come up with the best solution he could and getting yelled at for it. I feel bad for the WWE, having to change their biggest story line in front of millions of people. If anything, it was a chance to peek behind the scenes. When Reigns and Lesnar have their rematch at Greatest Royal Rumble, perhaps we will see what their match at Wrestlemania was supposed to be.
Pro Wrestling has given us more access than ever before. We see the men and women hanging out behind the curtains. We have shows detailing the personal lives. We see heels and baby faces laughing and playing video games together. If this situation teaches us anything, is that sometimes, there is more going on then you think. All you have to do is watch. And listen.
