Roman Reigns was set to have an unlikely challenger for his Universal Championship at the 2021 Royal Rumble event. Adam Pearce won a gauntlet match on SmackDown to become the #1 contender, his last victory in WWE.
On the January 8, 2021, episode of the blue brand, Pearce defeated Shinsuke Namakura in the last round of the Universal Title #1 Contender's Gauntlet Match. The King of Strong Style single-handedly eliminated Rey Mysterio, Baron Corbin, and Daniel Bryan.
Adam Pearce was forced to compete by The Bloodline. Jey Uso attacked both of them and placed the lifeless body of the General Manager on top of Shinsuke, leading the referee to count to three.
Adam Pearce recently shared a post on his Instagram story to reflect on that victory. That was the first and last time he won a match in WWE. He included a photo of himself and Roman Reigns in the post.
"4 years ago today. My last victory," he wrote.
Even though Adam Pearce won the gauntlet match and was the #1 contender for the Universal Championship, Roman Reigns defended the title at Royal Rumble against Kevin Owens instead.
Many fans still want to see The Great One vs. The OTC, but it's uncertain whether the match will happen this year.
Bully Ray said on Busted Open that it needs to take place in April, as it is too big a match not to happen.
“Rock versus Roman is too big a box office all over the world for it to never happen, and I would say it kind of has to happen this year at WrestleMania. Because if we get all the way to next year, who the hell knows? I mean, Vegas is the perfect place for this, the perfect opportunity for this. Otherwise, what are we doing with Roman? Roman and Jacob? Okay, maybe I’m just... I’m just giving you a suggestion if it’s not going to be Rock,” stated Bully Ray.
The Rock is seemingly a babyface now. He embraced Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns on RAW. Only time will tell whether he'll do anything at WrestleMania.