Roman Reigns was originally set to defend the Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar at the WWE Day 1 pay-per-view over the weekend, but Reigns was pulled from the show after he tested positive for COVID-19.
The Beast Incarnate was then added to the main event and he faced off against Big E, Kevin Owens, Bobby Lashley and Seth Rollins in a fatal 5 way match for the WWE Championship. In the end it was Brock Lesnar who walked out with the gold after he hit Big E with the F5 and pinned him to win the match.
It was recently noted on Wrestling Observer Live that original plans for the WWE Championship match at Day 1 called for Big E to retain his title. The title change was reportedly a direct result of Roman testing positive for COVID-19 and Lesnar being added to the match.
It’s also worth noting that after the Day 1 pay-per-view the WWE on FOX Twitter account post a graphic listing Big E as the winner of the WWE Title match, but Brock Lesnar’s face was on the graphic instead of Big E’s.
This was tweeted and deleted by the WWE on Fox Twitter, looks like Big E was originally set to retain (look under Brock Lesnar's picture) #WWEDay1 pic.twitter.com/Ygawm3o7TV
— Big Fight Feel (@BigFightFeel__) January 2, 2022
