WrestleMania 36: 3 possible replacements for Roman Reigns
WrestleMania 36 is a week away, and the annual extravaganza will take place inside empty arenas for two straight nights, April 5 and April 6, and will stream live on the WWE Network. The event will be a unique and memorable one as mega-stars like Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, The Undertaker, Edge, Randy Orton, AJ Styles, Drew McIntyre, John Cena, Bray Wyatt are scheduled to compete in high-profile matches.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, several changes have been made to the card. Stars like Rey Mysterio, Dana Brooke and Buddy Murphy were sent home and pulled from the card due to health concerns. However, by far, the most impactive change involves the Universal Championship match, one of the card's biggest attractions - Roman Reigns.
The challenger to the Universal Championship, Reigns has been pulled from the card. He personally requested WWE to grant him a leave of absence as The Big Dog was immunocompromised, due to his battle with leukaemia, and didn't want to risk his health.
That leaves Universal Champion Goldberg without a challenger for WrestleMania 36. The Universal Championship must be defended at WrestleMania, hence WWE must find a viable replacement as quickly as possible.
Lets look at 3 possible replacements according to wwe news and rumors for Roman Reigns and potential challengers for Goldberg.
#3 Triple H
Make no mistake about it, this year's WrestleMania card is absolutely loaded. But, fans can't help but notice one conspicous and glaring exclusion - Triple H. The WWE Hall of Famer isn't booked for the card. The Game has transitioned into a part-time backstage role, but it's still an oddity that he won't be competing at WrestleMania.
Could The Game be a surprise opponent for Goldberg? It mind seem a bit far-fetched, but the signs are there. On this week's edition of SmackDown, Michael Cole asked Triple H a few questions about the match between Goldberg and Reigns.
The Cerebral Assassin firmly believed that Reigns was the favorite and that his money is always on Reigns, the Universal Champion will definitely take issue with that. Moreover, WWE aired the main-event of WrestleMania 32 which featured Triple H versus Roman Reigns for the WWE Championship.
Reigns was expected to win the title from Goldberg, but WWE will have to put that on hold for now. If the plan is for Reigns to be crowned in the near future, then it makes sense for Goldberg to win. Triple H will serve as a good placeholder challenger for Goldberg.
#2 Matt Riddle
Matt Riddle and Goldberg are no strangers to each other. There has been a constant source of friction between the two Superstars. Riddle has taken quite a few shots at Goldberg on Twitter ever since the Hall of Famer's match with The Undertaker back in June 2019.
Riddle has ridiculed Goldberg for far too long, but Goldberg has remained silent on the issue. They did run into each other backstage at SummerSlam last year, but there has been no physical confrontation between them on WWE television.
WWE loves to translate real-life stories into storylines. They did it with Matt Hardy and Edge and Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. Will they do with Goldberg and Riddle?
#1 Braun Strowman
Of all the options WWE has, this is the most feasible and logical one. Braun Strowman is without a match at WrestleMania, while the Universal Champion is also without a challenger. WWE needs to come up with a big match for a huge stage like WrestleMania. This match ticks all the boxes.
Strowman versus Goldberg is a dream match and fans wouldn't mind watching these two behemoths lock horns. The Monster Among Men needs to pick up some steam, and has never had a worthwhile match at WrestleMania. Hopefully, it could change real quickly if WWE decides to go this route.
It hasn't been made official, but it is rumored to happen. Strowman deserves a match at WrestleMania and Goldberg sounds like a viable opponent.
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