Backstage News On Original Plans For Seth Rollins Vs. Brock Lesnar And The WrestleMania 35 Opener
The WWE Universal Title match between Brock Lesnar and new champion Seth Rollins was originally scheduled to go on late in the WrestleMania 35 card but plans were changed late in the day.
The original plan was for Rollins vs. Lesnar to take place right before the "Winner Takes All" main event between Charlotte Flair, Ronda Rousey and new RAW & SmackDown Women's Champion Becky Lynch, according to PWInsider. The decision was made to move Rollins vs. Lesnar to the opening match, right after the segment with WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan and host Alexa Bliss.
As noted earlier this week, Hogan had no idea why Paul Heyman was coming out to the ring to introduce the Universal Title match because Rollins vs. Lesnar being moved to the opening slot was a late change, made after Hogan was informed of his segment with Bliss earlier in the day. We also noted on WrestleMania Sunday afternoon that the latest run sheet had Styles vs. Orton being the opener. This new report confirms that the original plan was for Styles vs. Orton to open. PWInsider noted that Hogan was not the only one surprised by Heyman coming to the ring.
The change in the line-up of matches was made official at around 3:30pm ET, right around the time that doors opened for fans at MetLife Stadium. The final line-up change may have been done to accommodate Lesnar so he could fly back home as soon as he was done with the match. The rest of the card took place in the original order that officials had scheduled.