WHOSE SIDE IS HE ON?!?

The match

Roman Reigns defends the Universal championship against Brock Lesnar in the main event of today’s (Thurs., Oct. 21, 2021) WWE Crown Jewel event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The story

Roman Reigns had just beaten John Cena at SummerSlam when Brock Lesnar made a surprise return after more than a year away. Fans are back, stadiums are full, and with a big show in Saudi Arabia coming up, it only made sense to throw the bag at the big man.

That’s what the company did, bringing him back around for the biggest match they could make with the current makeup of the roster. The question quickly became just how the promotion would make yet another meeting between these two interesting.

Answer: Paul Heyman.

In Lesnar’s aforementioned more than year long absence, Heyman kept busy by aligning himself with Reigns, becoming a representative “The Head of the Table” likes to refer to as “The Wiseman.” That’s exactly what he is too, which is why it’s so compelling watching Reigns’ repeated attempts at solidifying his loyalty while Lesnar runs subterfuge in the form of simply making claims that Roman knows might be true and therefore must be treated as legitimate.

It’s been fun, actually, watching Lesnar, with all his physical prowess, use brains over brawn. This might be the first time we’ve seen this version of Reigns show any sign of weakness, a vulnerability a superior foe may exploit to defeat him.

He’s been champion for a long time now working as this mob boss like character. It would be only fitting if his downfall comes by way of an inside job, allowing someone he shouldn’t trust to get too close, near enough to plunge the knife in.

That’s still an if, though.

For now.

We’ll learn the truth soon enough.