Seth Rollins Defeats Brock Lesnar for Universal Championship
Rollins defeated Lesnar in the opening match of WrestleMania 35...
“The Beast Slayer” Seth Rollins did just what he said he would do, slaying Brock Lesnar and winning the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 35 on Sunday night in New York.
During the opening of the show, Hulk Hogan and Alexa Bliss were welcoming the crowd to the show when Heyman’s manager, Paul Heyman, walked briskly past them and headed to the ring. Heyman grabbed a microphone and said that his client, Brock Lesnar, was not happy about not being in the main event tonight (Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte will main event the show). Heyman said that Lesnar planned on beating Seth Rollins and then he would to Las Vegas where his client would be “ultimately” appreciated, teasing Lesnar’s potential return to the UFC.
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Lesnar then made his ring entrance, followed by Rollins.
Rollins was beaten up by Lesnar before the match began and suplex through one of the ringside tables. After several minutes, the two men ended up in the ring and Lesnar yelled at the official to ring the opening bell to officially begin the match. Lesnar continued to dominate Rollins but the tide swung when the referee was on the outside and Rollins hit Lesnar with a low blow and then a curb stomp to score the pinfall and win the championship.
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Rollins’ win ended Lesnar’s Universal Championship reign at 156 days. Fans have been critical of Lesnar carrying the championship as a part-time wrestler who hasn’t appeared much on television or even on some pay-per-view events.
In total, Lesnar had held the championship for 660 of the last 734 days, dating back to WrestleMania 33 in 2017. The only time Lesnar was not champion was during a 64-day stretch where Roman Reigns carried the belt last year before he was forced to vacate the title in order to battle leukemia.