‘- As per last night’s Monday Night RAW, Braun Strowman was taken out of his Royal Rumble match where he was supposed to face Universal Champion Brock Lesnar for the title; Finn Balor replaced him after winning a fatal four-way match during the Red brand’s main event against Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre, and John Cena. Balor ended up pinning the Cenation leader for the win, earning him a shot at the Universal Championship come January 27th.
EXCLUSIVE: @FinnBalor doesn’t plan on letting this HUGE #RoyalRumble opportunity go to waste when he challenges @BrockLesnar for the #UniversalChampionship! #RAW pic.twitter.com/FCjquXV4PD
— WWE (@WWE) January 15, 2019
Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer chimed in on the change up, stating Balor versus Lesnar had been the idea for the 2019 Royal Rumble title match for quite some time now, despite the change rolling out a mere two weeks before the pay-per-view (PPV).
I believe
— Finn Bálor forEVERYone (@FinnBalor) January 15, 2019
While Vince McMahon had wanted to see Strowman versus Lesnar at the Royal Rumble since their match at Crown Jewel, after the Saudi event, VKM believed Strowman was cooling down, and he didn’t want to see another loss against Strowman at the hands of The Beast Incarnate. The idea is for Lesnar to go over at the Royal Rumble, as the plan moving forward is for Brock to battle Seth Rollins at Wrestlemania 35. Therefore, Vinnie Mac did not want to see another bad finish and loss for Strowman, and the match was cancelled, and Balor was placed in Braun’s spot.
.@FinnBalor will battle @BrockLesnar for the #UniversalChampionsip at the #RoyalRumble and has gotten quite the endorsement from @JohnCena on #Raw! pic.twitter.com/fjqgDz3Z15
— WWE (@WWE) January 15, 2019
As per Meltzer, the reason that Lesnar versus Strowman was still advertised was to sell tickets for the PPV.
HE DOES IT AGAIN.@FinnBalor has a match with @BrockLesnar for the #UniversalChampionship at #RoyalRumble! #RAW pic.twitter.com/RmrjXMx4c5
— WWE (@WWE) January 15, 2019
As for Braun, he has yet to be cleared from his injury as well, and it is unknown as to whether or not he’ll be able to participate in the Royal Rumble event.
WHAT THE?? After damaging @VinceMcMahon‘s limo and refusing to pay for the damages, @BraunStrowman has been thrown out of the #UniversalChampionship Match at #RoyalRumble! #Raw pic.twitter.com/5pCm8u9DL6
— WWE (@WWE) January 15, 2019
For those who did not catch RAW last night, Strowman was taken out of the match during a segment that saw him frantically looking for Baron Corbin backstage. Baron, running from a Monster beatdown, hid in Vince’s limo and when Braun learned he was in there, he pulled the entire door off the vehicle to get to him, thus, severely damaging it. VKM fined the Monster Among Men $100,000 and pulled him from the Royal Rumble main event as a sort of punishment.
What’s next for @BraunStrowman after the CHAOS he caused on Monday Night #RAW? https://t.co/hnyJkcqxWk
— WWE (@WWE) January 15, 2019
– Speaking of Monday Night RAW, fans were pleasantly surprised when Jerry Lawler made an appearance on the show during a backstage segment. As the roster was in Memphis last night, Meltzer also reported on this, stating the reason he was placed in the promo, was simply a cheap pop. Lawler is still quite a huge name in the city, and fans continue to get excited when they see “The King”.
?, @JerryLawler! #RAW pic.twitter.com/TokQwbaWkU
— WWE (@WWE) January 15, 2019
Jerry recently signed a new two-year contract with the company, and during his podcast revealed that he will be joined by JBL and Michael Cole to provide commentary for the 2019 Royal Rumble Men’s match. Should make for some entertaining banter between the three.
