WrestleMania 35: Seth Rollins Conquers Brock Lesnar to Become WWE Universal Champion

Seth Rollins lived up to his “BeastSlayer” nickname on Sunday night when he defeated Brock Lesnar to become the new WWE Universal Champion at WrestleMania 35. Rollins brought Lesnar’s latest reign as world champion to an end by nailing “The Beast” with three vicious Curb Stomp to score the pin in two minutes and 30 seconds. The victory marks Rollins’ first world championship win since June 2016, his first reign as Universal Champion and his third world championship win overall.

Paul Heyman kicked off the main card with an announcement that if his client wasn’t going to be the main event of WrestleMania, then he wasn’t going to wait all night for his match. Lesnar then hit the ring followed by Rollins, but “The Beast” attacked the challenger before the bell even rang. After attacking Rollins over and over outside the ring, the bell finally rang for the match to begin.

Lesnar looked to have the match won after hitting three suplexes and an possible F-5. However Rollins rolled off his back, pushed Lesnar into the referee and nailed Lesnar with a low blow. He then hit his finisher three times in a row to secure the win.

The history between Rollins and Lesnar stretches all the way back to WrestleMania 31 when the then-heel Rollins ran down and cashed in his Money in the Bank contract during the WWE Championship match between Lesnar and Roman Reigns. Now a triple threat match, Rollins hit Reigns with a Curb Stomp to win Lesnar’s WWE title, much to the delight of the WWE fans. Lesnar would finally get a one-on-one shot at Rollins later that year at Battleground, but the match was thrown out after interference from a returning Undertaker.

Fast forward to this year’s Royal Rumble where Rollins won the 30-man match after entering at the No. 10 spot. He chose Lesnar to be his opponent for WrestleMania, stating he wanted to put an end to the stranglehold Lesnar had over Monday Night Raw‘s top championship. Lesnar’s first reign with the title lasted 503 days, but fans gradually grew tired of him rarely defending the title or even appearing with it on television. Reigns beat him for the title at SummerSlam back in August, but “The Beast” won the title back at Crown Jewel in November after Reigns had to relinquish the title due to ongoing battle with leukemia.

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