Is it Necessary to Have Roman Reigns in the WrestleMania 31 Main Event?

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Since the 2013 Survivor Series pay-per-view, Reigns has been rising up the WWE hierarchy. From his domination at that show, to setting a Royal Rumble elimination record, and the spotlight that he’s had since the break-up of the Shield, he has been being set up to be a star in the company in the future. This rapid rise should culminate in the main event of WrestleMania 31 in Santa Clara, California, according to Wrestling Rumors.

"Currently, Roman Reigns is looked at backstage as the “next big thing” of this generation and is primed to win the 40-man Royal Rumble Match on Jan. 25. He would then go on to face Lesnar at WrestleMania 31. If creative’s current plan comes to fruition, Reigns will dethrone Lesnar on March 29 and begin a new era as champion. Lesnar will then contractually free from WWE, and he may return to UFC, according to reports."

This leads to the following question – it’s not if he deserves the spot, but is it necessary for Reigns be placed in that spot?

The answer here is yes and there is one reason why – who else would be a believable candidate to defeat Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship?

While WWE can script someone of any physique to defeat any star on the roster, it cannot happen with the defeat of Lesnar. Whoever takes him down has to be a big, muscular Superstar (WWE’s prototype face) that is believable in the eyes of fans. It’s not going to be Dean Ambrose or Seth Rollins (although they do deserve the spot more than Reigns). Daniel Bryan returning and winning the Royal Rumble to face the Beast Incarnate wouldn’t be believable, either. John Cena is believable, but he certainly wouldn’t be put back in there with Lesnar after seeing them face off at SummerSlam, Night of Champions, and now, potentially at Royal Rumble.

This leaves Reigns as the guy to take down Lesnar. Seeing him take down Paul Heyman’s client would be realistic from a fan’s point of view.

Before this happens, the former Shield member has a long way to go. He could have been working on his promos or improving in the ring right now, but the injury bug caught him with the incarcerated hernia that he suffered the night before the NOC PPV last month. It has stalled his much needed development time before WrestleMania 31 and still leaves many to question if he can survive in a 20-25 minute match.

We saw Reigns work a 16 minute match at SummerSlam with Randy Orton, but the latter carried a significant portion of it. If anything, it raised even more doubt in fans if he can succeed as a main event star. Whenever Reigns returns, WWE needs to put him in position on their shows to experiment with new moves so this does not happen to him again in March.

While this main event of WrestleMania 31 won’t be set in stone until after the Royal Rumble, all signs have pointed this way for months of having Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns compete for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Reigns may not fully deserve the spot, but he is the only guy for the job.

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