Report: Why It Took Paul Heyman So Long To Free Roman Reigns At WWE Royal Rumble 2021 Revealed
The match seemed to come to a standstill in the final moments
Feb 2, 2021
At the Royal Rumble, Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns went one on one in a widely-praised Last Man Standing Match for the Universal Championship.
Owens had the title won in the closing stages after he handcuffed Reigns to the Royal Rumble stage, but The Big Dog was able to survive after he grabbed the referee and pulled him into a metal bar just before the official counted to 10.
The match then came to a standstill, though, as Paul Heyman struggled to free Reigns from the handcuffs to the point where the second referee had to stop counting. Heyman did eventually manage to free the champion, though, and Reigns choked out Owens with the Guillotine to win the match.
Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that it took so long to free Reigns because the keyhole on the handcuffs was on the wrong side and Heyman had to fight to turn the handcuffs over. WWE also didn't have a pair of bolt cutters nearby which meant Heyman couldn't just cut the Universal Champion free.
