Brock Lesnar

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.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: profanity).

It would seem long gone are the days WWE's WrestleMania marked a triumphant end to strong storytelling with must-see payoffs for feuds and storylines. 

WrestleMania 38 would seem to be the greatest example yet of WWE going all-in on moments as opposed to something more substantial. 

This might seem like an overreaction with 'Mania still a few weeks away. But stepping back and really looking at the known cards for the two-night event so far says it all. Charlotte Flair will fight Ronda Rousey. Brock Lensar, Roman Reigns. Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair. Edge, somebody. Logan Paul in a tag match. 

That's it. 

A note from WrestleVotes says it all: 

That we're this close to 'Mania and the storylines are still open isn't a good thing. In fact, it's overly concerning from a company that routinely has whispers around it that Vince McMahon tears up booked shows hours beforehand to mix things up. 

So the question is, what are fans really getting with 38? Flair and Rousey have something of a history, but the build has been minimal. Lynch and Belair have history, but only because of bad moments booking that saw the former return to steal the latter's title in two moves at a major event. 

Edge will probably fight an AJ Styles or somebody, but the lack of an actual feud and story could leave it feeling like another Raw match, nothing more. Big names like Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, RK-Bro, Rhea Ripley—it goes on and on—all don't have established stories yet. 

And as for the celebrities, Logan Paul will have some sort of spot that will go viral on social media. So will Johnny Knoxville.

'Mania has always been about celebrities, too, make no mistake. You can pull up pretty much any 'Mania in history to find some funny or notable celebrity moments, for better or worse. Back then, WWE had to earn that pay-per-view buy while appealing to as many people as possible outside of the wrestling fanbase. 

Nobody would suggest that emphasis on celebrity needs to stop, even if WWE doesn't need to live and die by pay-per-view buys anymore. But it says oh-so-much about the product that entering 38, Johnny Knoxville—of all people—has one of the card's longest-running storylines. 

The only major exception to this long-term booking rule right now is Lesnar-Reigns. But that's a feud that has already headlined multiple 'Manias, and the fact it managed to totally derail the Raw men's title scene, the Royal Rumble and the Elimination Chamber has created a sour taste around the whole thing. 

That WWE appeared on track to give Shane McMahon one of the only big doses of longish-term booking by his final-three appearance in the Royal Rumble says it all—'Mania has become the apex of the moments mountain, which is a good summation of WWE as a whole right now. 

That...is extremely unfortunate. It might make sense in some ways. There's something to be said for a moment going viral or racking up the YouTube views. But it's hard not to look at the long-form storytelling going on in All Elite Wrestling and now feel let down by what fans are missing with WWE booking. 

Think about the long-term rise of top champion Adam Page or the slow burn on MJF, to name two brief examples. WWE has the best roster on the planet, and instead of unforgettable payoffs between icons, the scattershot booking with no direction that has ruined the company's ability to build top stars has finally laid claim to 'Mania itself. 

There was a time when 'Mania felt like the end of a season for an annual show, and the Raw after 'Mania was the must-see fresh start. But this year, it sure feels like—after two nights of moments aimed at social media impressions—the Raw after 'Mania will just be more attempts at quick pops and numbers. 

By taking this sort of approach, WWE has, inadvertently or not, gone all-in on altering the perception of its biggest event. The mega-shows in Saudi Arabia have a brand of blasts from the past like Goldberg featuring prominently, and 'Mania's brand is slowly becoming just another stop on the calendar that sacrifices the long-term for the short-term. 

Again, this might not be so jarring in the era of short attention spans thanks to phones and social media if AEW was not right there building prominent stories for a year or more. It's clear talent wants to do it, and the audience is smart enough to handle it. There's a trust between company and fan there that is, admittedly, pretty surprising and refreshing. 

Wildly, one might think WWE could focus in on some long-term stories after trimming a gaudy roster of more than 80-plus Superstars over the last year and the gutting of its NXT brand. But instead, things have been business as usual, which makes the roster cuts that much more damning. 

Instead of using its biggest platform to perhaps change things up, WWE has doubled down. And that could leave 'Mania akin to like scrolling a Twitter feed—a brief moment might entertain, but it's gone and forgotten as soon as the next thing pops up. 

As expected, the winner-take-all title vs. title match between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar will reportedly headline WrestleMania 38 in Arlington, Texas.

According to ESPN's Marc Raimondi, Reigns vs. Lesnar will be the main event of Night 2 of WrestleMania 38 at AT&T Stadium on April 3.

Reigns will enter the match as Universal champion and Lesnar will enter as WWE champion. The winner will take home both titles.

WWE previously announced that women's Royal Rumble winner Ronda Rousey will challenge Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship on Night 1 of WrestleMania on April 2.

When Reigns and Lesnar clash in the main event of Night 2, it will mark the third time they have faced each other on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

The first time occurred at WrestleMania 31, but neither man was victorious, as Seth Rollins shocked the wrestling world by cashing in his Money in the Bank contract to make it a Triple Threat. Rollins pinned Reigns to become the WWE champion.

Three years later at WrestleMania 34, Reigns and Lesnar were in the main event again. Reigns fell short for a second time as The Beast Incarnate pinned him to retain the Universal Championship.

Things are much different this time around. Reigns is a dominant heel who has held the Universal title for well over 500 days. Meanwhile, Lesnar has become a beloved babyface and won the WWE title last week by beating five other Superstars in an Elimination Chamber match in Saudi Arabia.

Another change from the previous Reigns vs. Lesnar WrestleMania encounters is that Paul Heyman is in Reigns' corner rather than Lesnar's.

The Tribal Chief has a win against Lesnar under his belt entering WrestleMania as well since he beat Brock at Crown Jewel in October thanks to some help from Heyman.

Provided Reigns vs. Lesnar goes on last on Night 2 of WrestleMania 38, it will mark Reigns' sixth WrestleMania main event in the past eight years.

The match will also be the first winner-take-all title bout involving multiple championships at WrestleMania since Becky Lynch defeated Rousey and Flair in the main event of WrestleMania 35 to become Raw and SmackDown Women's champion.

Reigns and Lesnar are perhaps the two biggest stars WWE has at its disposal. It is fitting that they are reportedly set to clash in the main event of what figures to be the most attended WrestleMania in history.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: profanity).

Paul Heyman announced on Raw that Brock Lesnar will defend his WWE Championship on Saturday, March 5, from New York City's Madison Square Garden:

Heyman said that Bobby Lashley will compete against Lesnar if he clears concussion protocol. If he doesn't, then Heyman plans to name another opponent.

In reality, Heyman vs. Lashley will not happen on March 5, which will feature a non-televised event.

Lashley suffered a kayfabe concussion at Elimination Chamber that eliminated the ex-WWE champion from the match.

In reality, he'll reportedly be out four months with a shoulder injury, per Kazeem Famuyide on The Ringer Wrestling Show.

Without Lashley, Lesnar single-handedly eliminated AJ Styles, Seth Rollins, Riddle and Austin Theory to win the belt for the seventh time.

He's currently scheduled to face Universal champion Roman Reigns in a Winner Takes All match at WrestleMania 38 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday, April 3.

Speaking of Reigns, Lesnar announced his plans to confront Reigns at SmackDown on Friday.

We'll see what goes down Friday, but for now, Lesnar's road to WrestleMania has started with a bang.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).