WWE Rumors: Here’s Who Might Be Replacing Roman Reigns In ‘WrestleMania 36’ Title Match, Per Dave Meltzer
Due to concerns regarding his compromised immune system, Roman Reigns will no longer be facing Goldberg for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36. However, if the latest rumors are to be believed, a longtime fan-favorite — former Intercontinental Champion Braun Strowman — may be stepping in to replace “The Big Dog” in what many had expected to be his crowning moment as Friday Night SmackDown‘s top star.
As first reported by Pro Wrestling Sheet on Thursday, sources familiar with the situation revealed that Reigns will no longer be competing at WrestleMania 36, noting that the 34-year-old no longer felt comfortable wrestling in WWE’s Performance Center. This, as noted, was because his past leukemia battle weakened his immune system, thus putting him at greater risk of contracting the coronavirus. While no names were mentioned at the time of the report, the outlet added that Reigns would be replaced in his Universal Championship match against Goldberg, with WWE honoring his request to pull out of the upcoming show.
In a later update on the situation, WrestlingNews.co wrote that longtime combat sports journalist Dave Meltzer took to the Wrestling Observer forums, where he said that he’s heard Braun Strowman will be replacing Reigns as Goldberg’s WrestleMania 36 opponent. As further pointed out, the event was reportedly taped on Wednesday and Thursday, well ahead of its scheduled April 4 and 5 airdates on the WWE Network, but spoilers had yet to leak out at the time of writing.
“If that is the case then it likely means an angle will play out on SmackDown to explain the change,” the publication added. “SmackDown was taped earlier this week at the Performance Center. This also means that Strowman could walk out of WrestleMania as the new Universal Champion.”
As @BraunStrowman showed tonight at #WWESyracuse, he can take care of business when the odds are against him! pic.twitter.com/PPqB1qRYX6
— WWE (@WWE) March 2, 2020
If Strowman does end up beating Goldberg for the Universal Championship, this will mark his second run as a singles champion and his first world title reign after several failed attempts in recent years. These included a match against Reigns at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view in 2018, one that was interrupted by the return of Brock Lesnar and eventually declared a no-contest due to the former UFC heavyweight champ’s vicious attacks on both men.
Interestingly, Strowman’s rumored selection as Reigns’ WrestleMania replacement comes about a week after he made some controversial comments on social media about independent wrestlers who aren’t able to make money due to how the coronavirus pandemic has led to the cancellation of shows. While he seemingly felt that these performers should take accountability for their situations, he also clarified in a subsequent tweet that he, too, doesn’t get paid by WWE when he isn’t able to work.
