Backstage Notes On Roman Reigns & Kevin Owens' Botched WWE Royal Rumble 2021 Finish

You might want to sit yourself down before reading this one, as Dave Meltzer has revealed what really happened with the botched handcuff finish to Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns at WWE Royal Rumble 2021.

Reigns and Owens' hard-hitting Last Man Standing clash ended in farce. KO had handcuffed 'The Head of the Table' to part of the set, with Roman knocking a referee out to prevent defeat. Paul Heyman attempted to unlock the cuffs as a second official arrived and started counting. Said official was then forced to awkwardly stop counting at five as Heyman struggled with the lock. A long pause followed before Reigns was finally uncuffed, getting up at seven when the count resumed.

Speaking on today's episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer reported that the handcuffs' keyhole was on the "wrong side" and Heyman and Reigns couldn't figure this out in time. All they needed to do to prevent this immersion-breaking moment was turn the handcuffs over.

When co-host Bryan Alvarez asked why they didn't just grab some boltcutters, Meltzer suggested that they weren't thinking on their feet.

Evidently.

The finish was a shame, as the bout was suitably intense up to that point, but it happened. That the solution was so simple makes it even worse.