Heading into Friday’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown, most fans knew of the changes that had to be made to title matches taking place at WrestleMania 36.
The first expected change was Roman Reigns, who was slated to challenge Universal Champion Goldberg at this event, not competing.
Since the show was taped last week, Reigns decided to pull out of the contest due to his concerns about the coronavirus as he has a weakened immune system with his leukemia battle.
WWE confirmed on SmackDown that Braun Strowman will replace Reigns in the contest to challenge the WWE Hall of Famer for the Universal Title. Despite Triple H stated that WWE would make the match change in a unique manner, WWE had Michael Cole announce the news in a quick segment.
WWE had originally announced face-off for Friday’s SmackDown with Goldberg and Reigns, where it was expected that the change would be explained. Clearly, that didn’t happen.
The other change was to the originally announced contest that would’ve seen John Morrison and The Miz defending the SmackDown Tag Team Titles against The Usos and The New Day at WrestleMania 36.
The Miz was pulled from the match due to him being ill and not able to work the show. However, WWE didn’t announce that change during the broadcast.
WWE presents the WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event as a two-night event on Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center.
Video: Roman Reigns Explains His Decision To Not Compete At WWE WrestleMania