10 Things We Learned From WWE WrestleMania Weekend 2022

6. The Roman Reigns Problem WWE Doesn't Want (Or Need) To Talk About

Gunter Ludwig Kaiser
WWE

There was something potently sobering about the bang average WrestleMania Night 2 main event between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar.

It wasn't just that it didn't live up to the ludicrous billing and hype WWE had given it ahead of the year's biggest weekend. Nor was its failure down to any obvious problems with the final run-up - 'The Tribal Chief' in particular was excellent at striking the balance between his overall dominance on the show and tacit terror having to go face to face with 'The Beast' on 'The Grandest Stage'. It wasn't even the result. Most people predicted a Reigns win, even if Lesnar's recent cowboy craic looked to be extending his tenure.

The match died on the night because WWE allowed it to.

A bunch of people in the WrestleMania crowd put their fingers in the air when he entered, and again when he won, but they sat on those very same hands during the contest. They'd seen it all before. The barricades, the spears, the punches - all of them once impactful years ago but not so now. Reigns didn't remotely colour outside the lines in a match billed as the biggest he'd ever had.

'The Head Of The Table' will be fine, but by now, fine might not be enough.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett