Charlotte Flair and Drew McIntyre won the Royal Rumble matches last night, but WWE’s original plans had Shayna Baszler and Roman Reigns winning, according to a report by Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio (subscription required).
From Meltzer:
“This is confirmed. Shayna Baszler and Roman Reigns were scheduled to win the two Royal Rumbles. And then as they were trying to decide what was going to happen for WrestleMania, the decision was made instead to go with Charlotte Flair and Drew McIntyre.
“The 14th would have been the day of the change because there was a lot of money that started being bet on Charlotte Flair on the 14th. Originally almost all of the money was coming in on Shayna Baszler.”
If Reigns had won, he would have likely challenged Bray Wyatt for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania. McIntyre winning seems like it was clearly the better choice, since it established him as a top guy, and the fans may have turned on Reigns if he won again, considering that he was already getting some pretty loud boos during the match. Reigns also doesn’t need to win the Royal Rumble to face Wyatt at WrestleMania anyway.
Cedric Alexander Confirmed He Had Opportunity To Join AEW But Wanted To Do His “Own Thing” For His Wrestling Career
WWE: Johnny Gargano WWE Contract Status Update, El Hijo del Vikingo on Him Being Hopeful of Joining WWE Main Roster Soon, New Partnership Deal with Drumsticks for Cody Rhodes Ice Cream
MJF on He Wouldn’t Jump To WWE For Less Money or For “WrestleMania Moment” Unlike Others, Tony Khan Understanding Value of Traveling Champion, AEW World Title Scene Being The Best Its Ever Been, & More
