Ex-Shield man to meet Brock Lesnar at Show of Shows on March 29
Monday 23 February 2015 14:04, UK
Roman Reigns thought he was going to WrestleMania but now he knows he is.
The Big Dog seemed set for a showdown with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar at The Show of Shows after winning the Royal Rumble in January.
However, as Reigns was aided by his cousin, The Rock, Triple H decided that the former Shield man needed to overcome one more hurdle in order to book his spot in WrestleMania’s main event.
Daniel Bryan turned out to be that hurdle – the fan favourite overcoming Authority golden boy Seth Rollins to earn a winner-makes-Mania duel with Reigns at WWE Fastlane – but Reigns downed the bearded grappler on Sunday to secure the biggest night of his life.
The Juggernaut’s hopes of victory looked in real jeopardy early in this weekend’s clash, with Bryan taking control of the contest through his bulging arsenal of mat-based manoeuvres.
Yet, Reigns’ power soon came to the fore and after a topsy-turvy tussle, the Floridian countered Bryan’ Running Knee attempt with a spear to take the spoils.
Reigns and Bryan had engaged in a brutal brawl on the pre-Fastlane episode of Raw but respect was shown on Sunday, with Bryan shaking his rival’s hand and urging him to kick Lesnar’s behind at WrestleMania.
Wrestling fans will not only be able to see a powerhouse ding-dong between Reigns and Lesnar in Santa Clara, California on March 29, but also Sting compete in a WWE ring for the first time.
The WCW veteran challenged Triple H to a match on the grandest stage of all when he met The Game face-to-face at Fastlane, a bout WWE’s Chief Operating Officer accepted.
But Triple H came off worse when things got physical in Memphis, punished for trying to unleash his sledgehammer by getting clocked by Sting’s famous baseball bat and then flattened with the Scorpion Death Drop.
The Cerebral Assasin’s pet project, Rollins, also had a frightening night as he saw his arch-nemesis Randy Orton return for the first time since he Curb Stomped him twice in November and dish out myriad RKOs.
Rollins, Big Show and Kane saw off Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Erick Rowan in six-man action – Ziggler the man to eat the pinfall – but as the victors celebrated, Orton pummelled J&J Security and Kane.
Rollins was able to scarper before The Viper could get his hands on him, but Goldust was unable to fend off an attack from his irate brother Stardust after the pair’s one-on-one match in Tennessee.
Goldust defeated Stardust with a roll-up, leading to the latter refusing to shake his sibling’s hand and then assaulting him backstage in front of their legendary father, “The American Dream”, Dusty Rhodes.
Elsewhere, United States Champion Rusev retained his record of never having been pinned or made to tap out by submitting John Cena to the Accolade, albeit after Lana had caused a distraction and allowed The Bulgarian Brute to kick The Cenation Leader in the skull.
Dean Ambrose, meanwhile, could not pinch the Intercontinental Championship from Bad News Barrett after being disqualified for failing to quell his attack on the Brit in the corner of the ring.
Plus, Tyson Kidd and Cesaro defeated The Usos to nab the WWE Tag Team Titles; Nikki Bella pinned Paige to maintain her grip on the Divas Championship; and Bray Wyatt dared The Undertaker to battle him at WrestleMania.
Watch the repeat of WWE Fastlane, at 10pm, Monday, Sky Sports 4 (channel 405).
