Seth Rollins Beats Brock Lesnar, Wins Universal Title at WWE WrestleMania 35

Seth Rollins slayed The Beast at WrestleMania 35 on Sunday, beating Brock Lesnar to become universal champion for the first time in his career in a surprise opening to The Show of Shows.

Lesnar attempted to gain the upper hand by attacking the challenger on the outside before the match started.

The Beast Incarnate's dominance continued after the bell rang, but things turned when he tried and failed to hit an F-5.

Rollins countered and pushed Lesnar into the referee. With the referee unable to see the action, The Architect delivered a low blow.

Sensing his opportunity, Rollins proceeded to use his Stomp finisher three times on Lesnar. That felled The Beast for good as the referee counted to three.

Sunday's match came four years after Rollins interrupted the WWE Championship match pitting Lesnar against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 31 by successfully cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase.

The circumstances were much different this time around, as Rollins won the Royal Rumble match in January to earn a world title shot at WrestleMania. Rather than choosing an opponent, The Beast made the decision for him by laying out The Architect with multiple F-5s on the Raw after the Rumble.

Lesnar's actions led to Rollins taking on an underdog role in his pursuit of the Universal Championship, but he proved to be a thorn in the side of The Beast and his advocate, Paul Heyman, leading up to The Show of Shows.

Although Lesnar got the better of most physical encounters prior to WrestleMania, Rollins used his words to create some doubt about The Beast's chances. He specifically pointed toward the champion's struggles against smaller opponents such as AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan and Finn Balor in recent matches.

Rollins even dubbed himself the "Beast Slayer" in advance of WrestleMania, which was a callback to his "Kingslayer" nickname before beating Triple H at WrestleMania 33.

While the WWE Universe was clearly and firmly behind Rollins from the time he won the Royal Rumble, he garnered even more fan support by taking jabs at Lesnar's propensity for appearing only sporadically on WWE programming.

Rollins promised that if he were to win the title, he would bring it to Raw every week and defend it regularly unlike Lesnar.

Lesnar and Heyman didn't take kindly to Rollins undermining them, which led to The Beast distracting The Architect during a match against Drew McIntyre a few weeks before WrestleMania.

The Scot won the match thanks to Lesnar's help, which created some question marks regarding whether Rollins would have enough momentum entering the title match.

The adversity only served to garner Rollins more fan support, though, and it was clear at WrestleMania that fans were ready and hopeful for a changing of the guard atop Raw.

Rollins took his lumps as expected, but he overcame The Beast again on The Grandest Stage of Them All and will now have an opportunity to be the fighting champion fans have craved for so long.

As for Lesnar, questions will persist about his long-term future with WWE, especially amid constant whispers regarding a potential UFC return.

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