After a shocking turn of events, WWE official Adam Pearce is going to face Roman Reigns at the Royal Rumble 2020, for the Universal title. Twitter erupted after SmackDown as fans had mixed feelings about the match.
In the five-man gauntlet match, Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Rey Mysterio, Baron Corbin, and Daniel Bryan. However, he was only pushed over as Roman Reigns and Jey Uso attacked him after his match with Bryan.
Pearce stood outside the ring as he witnessed Reigns and Uso lay carnage upon Nakamura. Following a Superman punch, Frog Splash, and more, Shinsuke lay flat on the ring.
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Roman then pushed Pearce into the ring as Uso delivered a kick to his head. Both Shinsuke and Adam fell motionless in the ring as Uso put Pearce over Nakamura.
Roman Reigns then ordered to ring the bell and count the pinfall. Adam Pearce ‘won’ the match as Reigns smirked away.
After the shocking end to the match, fans went on to Twitter to express their thoughts. Some were angry to see the constant ill-treatment of Nakamura in WWE, while others were somewhat happy with the storyline.
Here are some fan reactions following the match –
Think I might start watching AEW & NJPW now pic.twitter.com/qLMtuKWXfG
— kelenthe2nd🌺 (COMMS WILL NEVER OPEN) (@keIenthe2nd) January 9, 2021
@ everyone complaining, think of it like this
Shinsuke is still protected. He did NOT lose clean by any stretch. PLUS, now he has a MAJOR problem with Reigns and Uso
The way I see it, it'll be Roman Reigns vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania
— Krazy Dragon | #BlackLivesMatter (@KrazyDragon_YT) January 9, 2021
Actually a great night!
New champs
Nkamura respected
The Adam match will be dumb but good story
Good show 👍— JT Evans (@JT_Evans97) January 9, 2021
Good job. People won’t like it but Roman proves why he’s the top heel. 10/10 show . Salt incoming pic.twitter.com/FvJzNBwzAP
— Artetaball (@theArsenal23) January 9, 2021
You could’ve built Nakamura back up and had an actually INTERESTING title match but….. pic.twitter.com/7x2tusFf8e
— Patrick Mester (@PMester27) January 9, 2021
Roman Reigns established himself as the top heel as he tricked Adam Pearce
Despite the disappointment of many, WWE is doing a tremendous job at portraying Roman Reigns as the top heel of the company. As per the warning at the beginning of SmackDown, Roman made sure it is he who runs the Blue Brand.
This is all a conspiracy against Pearce, it seems. As he mentioned earlier, he has not wrestled in six years, and now he has to fight against the top star of the company.
This could also be a mind game on Reigns’ part. During the opening segment, Roman Reigns grabbed Pearce by the collar but could do nothing.
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As per WWE policies, assaulting an official could have severe consequences. Hence, Reigns orchestrated the ending of the gauntlet match to get Pearce one on one inside the squared circle.
What did you think about the ending of the match? Do you think Nakamura deserves better? let us know in the comments below.
