Backstage details on when the plan was made for Brock Lesnar to turn heel on WWE RAW

Modified Apr 08, 2023 02:27 IST

Brock Lesnar is once again the talk of the wrestling world as he shockingly turned heel this past week on WWE RAW after WrestleMania 39.

The storyline played out over the course of the entire show, with The Beast initially set to team up with Cody Rhodes against their mutual rival, Roman Reigns. In the closing moments, however, Lesnar brutally assaulted The American Nightmare.

While it was recently revealed who produced the segments on Monday Night Raw, the general opinion among fans was that it was probably part of Vince McMahon’s last-minute changes.

As it turns out, Lesnar’s turn on Rhodes was planned at least a month ahead, albeit it was not confirmed whether the initial plan was for it to happen against the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. A recent report by Ringside News stated that the angle was brought to light by the backstage staff members the day after WrestleMania 39:

We were told that Brock Lesnar’s heel turn was decided “at least a month before WrestleMania.” At that time, a few members of the creative team “were given the heads-up about Brock’s turn happening the day after WrestleMania.” So, they were not all in the dark about that one. [H/T: RSN]

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Roman Reigns is not advertised for WWE SmackDown after WrestleMania 39

The Tribal Chief has now walked out of his third consecutive WrestleMania, still the Undisputed World Champion. Last year, it was Brock Lesnar and this year, the American Nightmare.

Lesnar’s attack on Rhodes might have been orchestrated by someone close to Roman Reigns in order to keep the latter’s WrestleMania 39 opponent away from the title picture. It seems that Reigns will not appear at the next premium live event.

WWE SmackDown tonight is set to feature Triple H, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and The Usos, but not The Tribal Chief. It remains to be seen whether he will make an unadvertised appearance.

Meanwhile, Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes has enough star power to headline WWE Backlash in Puerto Rico.