As noted, Brock Lesnar did not appear on WWE Raw this week as scheduled, and as a result Roman Reigns cut a scathing, shoot style promo on The Beast’s absence.
According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Brock Lesnar not appearing on Raw this week was an “11th hour decision”, as Lesnar had flown to Las Vegas on Sunday and was supposed to then travel to Anaheim for Raw. While Brock Lesnar and Vince McMahon have had major disagreements in the past, and this week would not be the first time Lesnar has decided against showing up to Raw, it’s worth noting Paul Heyman was also not in Anaheim on Monday. The Observer notes the only way Heyman would not have been in Anaheim is if he was told ahead of time not travel to the show, another indication that this entire situation is part of WWE’s storyline and creative direction.
As noted, the Roman Reigns promo on Raw was designed to get Reigns over as the babyface in his WrestleMania feud with Brock Lesnar, given Lesnar’s future in WWE beyond WrestleMania is currently in doubt.
Conflicting Information Regarding Undertaker’s Status
In other WrestleMania news, it was reported earlier this week, via Sports Illustrated, that The Undertaker will not be working WrestleMania this year, and subsequent speculation began that Cena might be facing Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania 34.
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According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Cena cutting the TV promo on not facing Undertaker at ‘Mania was done to draw people’s attention away from the match, as Cena first will compete at WWE Fastlane before his WrestleMania feud begins. However, at the time Cena cut the Raw promo, the plan in WWE remained for Cena to face Undertaker in New Orleans, and Dave Meltzer noted in his Observer report that he had not been told the match was off at the time he published his report, which was late Wednesday night. Meltzer added the only way the match would be canceled is if Undertaker suffered some type of injury during training.
Dave Meltzer reiterated the above on today’s edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, noting Vince McMahon would never have had John Cena cut the promo referencing Undertaker if the plan was not to have the match take place.
You can watch Cena’s promo on The Undertaker in the video below: