7 surprise replacement opponents in Championship matches in WWE

#2. Braun Strowman replaces Roman Reigns to win his first WWE Universal title at WrestleMania 36

Braun Strowman

There was a point between 2017 to 2018 where Braun Strowman was WWE's hottest full-time star. While many argued that it would have been the perfect time for him to have a Universal Championship run, it never came to fruition due to WWE's preference for Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar.

The latter two held a duopoly of dominance in RAW's main event scene, and Braun Strowman was a clear #3. While it wasn't a bad position to be in, the losses on big occasions saw The Monster Among Men lose momentum.

At WrestleMania 36, the newly-crowned WWE Universal Champion was set to face Roman Reigns in a dream clash, but the latter pulled out due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While health issues were the speculated reason, Roman Reigns stated that it was more related to family issues.

Ultimately, Braun Strowman was announced as the surprise and abrupt replacement, with WWE giving no actual explanation for Reigns' absence. Braun Strowman had a match with Goldberg that only lasted minutes, but it finally led to him winning the WWE Universal Championship. He would hold on to it for over four months while Roman Reigns took a 5-month hiatus. Reigns would return and win the Universal title a week after Braun Strowman lost it to 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt.