COVID-19 played a major role in WWE Day 1, in more ways than one.
After Roman Reigns tested positive, WWE put Brock Lesnar in the WWE Championship match, and he won the title. But a new report states that Seth Rollins was initially scheduled to win the gold.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer penned a column about Day 1 for Sports Ilustrated, and while he was discussing the last-minute shift to Lesnar, he noted that WWE planned on having Rollins leave the show as the champion.
“The original plan to build for WrestleMania, whatever it was, changed greatly when Lesnar pinned Big E to win the WWE title to end Saturday’s show,” wrote Meltzer. “The original scripted plan for the show was for Big E to lose the championship, but to Seth Rollins, who had tested positive for COVID-19 last week, and the champion instead lost his title to Lesnar as the result of another positive test.”
Ironically, as Meltzer pointed out, Rollins — like Reigns —tested positive ahead of Day 1, but “The Drip God” recovered in time for the show. (He tested positive the previous Sunday.)
Lesnar will defend the WWE Championship against Bobby Lashley at WWE Royal Rumble; it’s unclear what Rollins’ short-term future holds.
