Well, believe this: He didn’t. When all was said and done and the dust cleared, Reigns, who clawed his way through a Royal Rumble, a grudge match with Daniel Bryan and the animosity of the WWE Universe itself to become No. 1 contender, was left to watch the man he once called a brother walk away unscathed with his family’s birthright. Before that, however, the defining bout of WrestleMania 31 unfolded exactly as the WWE Universe initially expected it to: A pound-for-pound slugfest between two of the ring’s heaviest hitters. The hostile crowd acted almost as a third competitor of sorts, raining boos upon the embattled 2014 Superstar of the Year and throwing themselves wholeheartedly behind The Beast, who days earlier revealed his intentions to remain a WWE Superstar over a rumored return to the UFC.

Reigns, never lacking in bravery, went right at Lesnar in an attempt to prove that he can, and he would. But he could not. Lesnar hoisted The Big Dog up like a small child, sending him airborne with a German Suplex and executing an F-5 within the first 30 seconds of the contest. No pinfall was attempted, however, as the maneuver was merely intended as a taste of things to come. Spared for the moment, Roman got one good blow in, drawing blood from The Anomaly’s cheek. But it was an empty victory as the butchery continued for what seemed like hours. Lesnar was unmoved in every sense of the word by Reigns’ clotheslines, and went about merrily continuing his all-access tour of “Suplex City” while Heyman kept a running count of the maneuvers at ringside.