5 Ups & 7 Downs From WWE Raw (Jan 31)

1. Again, Why Did Brock Need Rumble Win?

Brock Lesnar Bobby Lashley
WWE.com

Let’s get it straight: Brock Lesnar won the Royal Rumble Saturday night presumably to get a Universal Title match. But Monday night, he was handed one title match after declaring he was using his shot to challenge for the other title.

Yep, Brock said he would challenge Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 38, which we all knew was coming, and that could have been arrived at without the need for a Rumble magic ticket.

But then on top of that, Lesnar gained entry into the Elimination Chamber match Monday night to challenge for the WWE Championship, declaring he was going to win that title and make his Mania match with Roman a title versus title bout.

This isn’t a knock against the Chamber slot for Brock, who was cheated out of his title, but it should be further proof there was no real reason for Lesnar to win the Rumble, as he had a logical reason to get a rematch, and he also has a clear reason to get Reigns at WM 38.

It’s just a waste of a Rumble win, which could have really elevated another wrestler.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.