Roman Reigns Defeats Brock Lesnar; Unifies Universal, WWE Titles at WrestleMania 38

In a bout billed as the biggest WrestleMania match of all time, Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar on Sunday in the main event of WrestleMania 38 to unify the Universal and WWE Championships.

Lesnar appeared to be struggling with a rib injury for much of the contest following a Spear by Reigns, but The Tribal Chief also seemed to have suffered a shoulder problem after a hold by his opponent.

However, Reigns overcame his injury to spear The Beast Incarnate and claim the victory at AT&T Stadium in Dallas.

Sunday marked a rematch between the two men following their controversial bout at Crown Jewel in October.

Lesnar made his long-awaited return to WWE after more than a year away at SummerSlam in August. He immediately set his sights on Reigns and the universal title, and it wasn't long before he was granted a championship match.

Reigns vs. Lesnar is always a big deal, but there was added intrigue entering Crown Jewel because of the status of Paul Heyman, who had taken the role of Reigns' special counsel after previously being Lesnar's advocate.

There were questions about whose side Heyman was on leading up to Crown Jewel, and nothing that happened at the event quelled those inquiries, as he played a central role in the finish of the match.

Heyman threw the universal title belt into the ring while the referee was incapacitated, but he threw it equidistant between Reigns and Lesnar. The Tribal Chief ultimately won by using the belt and getting help from The Usos, and Heyman looked somewhat distraught afterward.

A rematch was supposed to occur at Day 1 in January, but Reigns had to pull out of the matchup after testing positive for COVID-19. As a result, Lesnar was added to a Fatal 5-Way match for the WWE Championship, which he won.

With Reigns firing Heyman, he became an advocate for Lesnar once again, and was in his corner for a title defense against Bobby Lashley at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.

Reigns interfered in the match and was handed the WWE Championship by Heyman, who effectively turned on Lesnar. The Tribal Chief hit The Beast with the belt, and Lashley pinned him to become the new champion.

Lesnar won the men's Royal Rumble match later in the night and subsequently announced he would challenge Reigns for the universal title. But he also made it clear he wanted it to be a title vs. title match.

The Beast was added to the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship and went on to win, which ensured that both the WWE and Universal Championships would be on the line in the main event of WrestleMania 38.

Sunday marked the third time Reigns and Lesnar headlined WrestleMania against each other, and the former came out on the losing end each of the previous two times.

This year, Reigns conquered those demons by beating Lesnar for the WWE Championship and extended his record reign of nearly 600 days as universal champion.

Reigns is now WWE's undisputed champion, and it is possible his win over Lesnar signaled the official ending of the brand split.

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