It's been revealed that Braun Strowman was originally supposed to win the Universal Championship at the Crown Jewel PPV in Saudi Arabia back in 2018. The Monster Among Men faced Brock Lesnar at the event with the vacant title on the line (Roman Reigns had just vacated it due to his battle with cancer), and The Beast picked up the 1-2-3 after just four minutes in the ring.
Former WWE writer Kazeem Famuyide opened up on the company's original plans during a recent interview, and explained the ramifications that followed when Lesnar was chosen to win over Strowman.
"It was in Saudi [Crown Jewel 2018] and Braun [Strowman] was supposed to beat Brock [Lesnar]," he explained. "This is right after Roman [Reigns] announced he had cancer, right? So, Brock and Braun was supposed to fight for the world title and we had a whole Monday Night Raw written with Braun Strowman as champion and then sike, Brock Lesnar wins and then as soon as Brock wins, we all had to go back into the office, rewrite the whole show."
"I just thought it was some sh*t where it’s just like oh, they’re just kind of keeping us on the D.L. [down low], whatever but I didn’t know they could change like [that]."
It would have certainly made more sense for Strowman to win to give fans a happy ending, but he wouldn't get his hands on the title until last year's WrestleMania in the WWE Performance Center. There, he defeated WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg in a forgettable match to finally become Universal Champion.
Do you think Strowman should have won back in 2018?