Brock Lesnar Accused of Going Off-Script, Shortening 2022 Elimination Chamber Match
Former WWE star Matt Riddle has alleged that Brock Lesnar deviated from the planned script during the 2022 men’s Elimination Chamber match, leading to a shortened bout and frustration among other participants.
Details of the Alleged Incident
According to Riddle, Lesnar was scheduled to be the last entrant in the match, which also featured Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles, Austin Theory, Seth Rollins, and himself. The original plan involved a sequence where Seth Rollins would deliver a buckle bomb to Austin Theory into a pod, intended to concuss Bobby Lashley and lead to his removal from the match. However, Lesnar reportedly bypassed this sequence.
“Brock Lesnar was supposed to get out last, you understand. So, you got myself, Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, Austin Theory, Bobby Lashley. Seth Rollins buckle bombs Austin into the pod. This is all the plan to kind of concuss Bobby and medical takes him out. So now everybody’s out, but technically the next entry was supposed to be Bob, but Bobby’s not there. Even though when the bell goes off, his pod lights up, but Brock still has to wait like another five minutes. Now in that five minutes, there’s multiple spots, multiple moves that everybody wanted to do to showcase their character function, and everybody was like supposed to get a pin. Well, what happens? Brock Lesnar not listening to anybody but himself and maybe Paul Heyman,” Riddle recalled.
Lesnar’s Actions and the Match’s Duration
Riddle claims Lesnar prematurely broke out of his pod, despite the fact that the plexiglass wasn’t particularly strong – a feat Riddle asserts he could also accomplish. This unscheduled exit resulted in the match being approximately 15 minutes shorter than planned.
“And AJ Styles was furious, I was furious, Seth, everybody was furious, you know. And then he eliminated all of us. And then eliminated Theory,” Riddle stated. “And then after the match, he’s laughing. He goes, ‘Oh, sorry. I forgot.'”
Aftermath and Reactions
Riddle expressed disappointment with Lesnar’s lack of apology following the incident, noting that the former WWE Champion appeared to be amused by the disruption he caused. The incident reportedly angered several participants, including AJ Styles and Seth Rollins.
Previous Interactions
This isn’t the first instance of reported tension between Lesnar and Riddle. A prior altercation occurred before the Royal Rumble in 2020, though it did not escalate to a physical confrontation [FandomWire].
Lesnar recently returned to WWE at SummerSlam, setting up a match against John Cena at Wrestlepalooza, which he won. His return followed a period of absence related to a sex trafficking lawsuit involving Vince McMahon, WWE, and John Laurinaitis [Fightful].