3 WWE refereeing errors that were real and 2 that were scripted

#2 Scripted: Chad Patton (Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns, WWE Greatest Royal Rumble)

It had been speculated for almost a year that Roman Reigns was going to defeat Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania 34 to win the WWE Universal Championship for the first time in his career.

With the outcome seemingly obvious, many WWE fans hijacked the main event by chanting about Superstars who were not even in the match. Then, in a surprising finish, Lesnar pinned Reigns to retain his title.

Later that month, the two WWE Superstars went one-on-one again in a steel cage match at WWE’s first major event in Saudi Arabia, the Greatest Royal Rumble.

Once again, it looked as though Reigns was going to emerge with the WWE Universal Championship, but another unexpected outcome meant the storyline continued all the way to SummerSlam.

The Greatest Royal Rumble finish saw Reigns spear Lesnar through the cage, sending both men to the outside of the ring. Lesnar’s back landed first, but the cage prevented him from making contact with the ringside floor.

“The Big Dog” actually touched the floor first, which meant he should have won, but referee Chad Patton declared Lesnar as the winner.

Patton took to Twitter to post an in-character statement on what many WWE fans originally thought was a real botch.

I understand i made an incorrect decision & want to apologize. During the #UniversalTitle match at #WWEGRR, i saw Brock Lesnar go thru the cage first and was concerned for the health and safety of both superstars.

— chad patton (@chadpattonwwe) April 30, 2018

Four months later, Reigns defeated Lesnar in the main event of SummerSlam 2018 to finally win the WWE Universal Championship.