WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns will defend his title against Adam Pearce at Royal Rumble.
In an odd turn of events, WWE official Adam Pearce ended up being the winner of a Gauntlet match on this Friday night’s SmackDown. The match was initially going to feature 5 Superstars, who would arrive one after another as each one got eliminated.
However, due to some string-pulling by Roman Reigns’ special counsel, Paul Heyman, Adam Pearce became the sixth and final participant of the match, even though he has not wrestled in over six years.
https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1347727139546816512?s=20
At the end of the match, it was Roman Reigns himself, along with Jey Uso, who helped Adam Pearce win the Gauntlet match.
Roman Reigns helps Adam Pearce win
Tonight’s episode of SmackDown opened with Roman Reigns calling Adam Pearce out to the ring because of the latter’s actions from last week. In the last episode of the Blue brand, Adam Pearce agreed to let Kevin Owens have his match against Jey Uso despite Roman Reigns telling him that they were done with KO. An enraged Reigns asked Paul Heyman to find out who was responsible for making the match.
Reigns made Pearce pay the price for his ‘lapse in judgement’ by first putting him in the Gauntlet match, and then making sure he wins, so that he can face The Tribal Chief on January 31 at the Royal Rumble.
What happened in the Gauntlet Match
Rey Mysterio and Sami Zayn started the Gauntlet Match, with the former pinning the latter within mere seconds after the bell. Next came Shinsuke Nakamura. He went on to eliminate Rey Mysterio, Baron Corbin and Daniel Bryan to move forward for the final opponent, Adam Pearce.
Pearce was accompanied to the ring by Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, and Paul Heyman. Before he could even get inside the squared circle, Reigns and Uso attacked Nakamura with a Superkick and Superman Punch combination, followed by an Uso Splash, leaving him out cold. Uso attacked Pearce soon as he stepped inside the ring with a Superkick as well.
Reigns demanded for the bell to be rung, ordered Uso to put an unconscious Peace on top of an unconscious Nakamura, and forced the referee to count for the pinfall.
After being placed over @ShinsukeN by @WWERomanReigns and @WWEUsos, @ScrapDaddyAP has WON the #GauntletMatch on #SmackDown. 👀@WWERomanReigns vs. @ScrapDaddyAP for the #UniversalTitle at #RoyalRumble!?!? pic.twitter.com/xk4uQjjZvz
— WWE (@WWE) January 9, 2021
