WWE News: WrestleMania Main Event Cut Short Due To The Rock And Ronda Rousey Segment?
WrestleMania 31 is currently being considered as one of the best WrestleMania shows of all-time. The combination of WWE part-time wrestlers with full-time WWE superstars, the WWE found a perfect solution to a skeptical fan base before WrestleMania began. Most of the matches weren’t being heavily scrutinized, except for the main event.
Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns fought a brutal match for the WWE World Heavyweight championship. Shots delivered by both men were very stiff, as the moves looked as real as they did physical. Each competitor understood that it wouldn’t be a technical masterpiece. However, the WWE champion and number-one contender proved the critics wrong.
One thing became apparent after Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase: the WWE championship match didn’t go as long as the WWE Universe thought it would. With only seven matches completed at WrestleMania, the four-hour program should’ve showcased a long main event. There is now a reason for the “shorter than usual” WWE title match.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, one particular segment ran on too long. The WWE tried to combat it with the co-main event, but the WWE decided to shorten the WWE championship match.
“The segment with The Rock and Ronda Rousey went 24 minutes long and officials were going to make up for it by taking time out of Bray Wyatt vs. The Undertaker but given how brutal the main event was going to be, they figured it was better to take time off that match because it would be better on Reigns and Lesnar.”
The main event was scheduled to go 10 minutes longer than it initially did. Due to the timing conflicts with the Rock and Ronda Rousey, WWE officials had no choice but to shorten the match. Regardless of the time it went on, there are currently no complaints from the WWE Universe about that match. Reigns also silenced the critics with his performance.
RingSide News talked about the breakdown of WrestleMania. There were seven matches in their four-hour show. The longest match was Triple H and Sting, which lasted 18 minutes and 34 seconds. The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal lasted 18 minutes and eight seconds. Lastly, the WWE title match only lasted 16 minutes and 44 seconds.
WWE has always been able to time events properly, especially if a segment runs too long. In the past few years alone, segments and matches have gone on past their scheduled time permitted. Vince McMahon, as well as the other WWE officials, has the experience needed to adjust on the fly. If it would’ve been WWE Monday Night Raw, they could’ve gotten the time to go over. Since it was WrestleMania and on pay-per-view, WWE had no choice but to adjust time so they would get out before 11 p.m.
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