Why Roman Reigns Vs. Brock Lesnar Isn't Happening At WWE Royal Rumble 2022
The latest on Reigns vs. Lesnar, which takes place at WWE Day 1, not the Royal Rumble.
The 3 December episode of WWE SmackDown brought the announcement that Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar's Universal Title rematch would take place at the upcoming Day 1 pay-per-view (1 January 2022) rather than at Royal Rumble 2022 (29 January), which was the show many had pinpointed for it.
What prompted WWE's decision to go for Day 1 over the Rumble? Per Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, a desire to make Day 1 one of the biggest shows of the year.
The New Year's Day event has been described as a Nick Khan vehicle. WWE hope it will become an annual holiday tradition for the promotion and believe that in order to get it over as a big deal, it needed a match the size of Reigns vs. Lesnar. Thus, they booked it for 1 January.
On top of this, WWE also feels like the Rumble doesn't need the match.
Reigns and Lesnar last contested the Universal Title at Crown Jewel 2021 (21 October), where Roman triumphed following interference from The Usos. The duo have been feuding ever since but missed each other on last week's episode of SmackDown, with WWE explaining, in kayfabe, that Reigns was training in Samoa.