Photo credit: WWE.com.

Roman Reigns Beats Edge, Bryan; Retains Universal Title at WWE WrestleMania 37

Mike Chiari

Roman Reigns beat Edge and Daniel Bryan in a Triple Threat match in the main event of Night 2 of WrestleMania 37 on Sunday to retain the Universal Championship.

The Tribal Chief's title reign had appeared to be in serious danger when Edge prepared the Con-Chair-To, but Jey Uso returned to the ring after an earlier injury to make the save for his cousin.

Reigns delivered a Spear and his own Con-Chair-To on The Rated-R Superstar before piling him on top of Bryan and pinning both men to maintain his championship run.

The match was originally slated to be Reigns vs. Edge after the latter won the 2021 men's Royal Rumble match, but the complexion changed when Bryan got involved and proved he deserved to be part of the title bout at The Show of Shows as well.

The Yes! Man's insertion into the angle began at Elimination Chamber when he beat five other Superstars in a same-titled match to earn a title shot against Reigns that same night. The Tribal Chief immediately came to the ring and beat an exhausted Bryan in short order.

Bryan rightfully felt short-changed by the way things went down, leading to him lobbying for a rematch against Reigns, which he was granted after beating Uso in a steel cage match.

Edge was unhappy with Bryan getting a title shot at Fastlane and jumping the line in front of him, especially since they were originally supposed to team up against Reigns and Uso at Fastlane on March 21.

In an effort to have some involvement in that match, Edge attempted to establish himself as the special enforcer, and he earned that distinction by beating Uso in a singles match on SmackDown.

At Fastlane, the referee got knocked out during Reigns vs. Bryan, leading to Edge taking on the duties of an in-ring official. Things broke down, however, when Uso interfered and when Bryan accidentally hit The Rated-R Superstar with a steel chair.

With the referee still incapacitated, Bryan made Reigns tap to the Yes Lock, but rather than calling for the bell, Edge hit The Yes! Man with a steel chair and then struck Reigns as well before leaving.

When the referee recovered, he counted the pinfall in favor of Reigns, meaning The Tribal Chief had successfully defended the Universal Championship.

Bryan called for another opportunity on the next episode of SmackDown and piqued WWE official Adam Pearce's interest enough that he took it under consideration.

Despite Reigns and Edge lobbying against Bryan, Pearce decided to make the WrestleMania main event a Triple Threat between three of the biggest stars in the company.

Although the addition of Bryan meant Reigns could have dropped the title without being pinned or submitted, he managed to win and retain at WrestleMania, thus continuing his dominant run.

        

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