The original plan for the winner of the men’s 2022 Royal Rumble match was reportedly set to be Matt Riddle and not Brock Lesnar.

Lesnar was a surprise entrant in the match after losing his WWE Championship earlier in the night with plans for the winner changing throughout the day.

PWInsider reports that Riddle was originally set to win the men’s Royal Rumble match. There was a pitch for Randy Orton to win the match in his hometown, but Riddle was in line until Lesnar was ultimately chosen.

As reported earlier, WrestleVotes reported the following:

"WWE had plans since the pairing began last spring for Riddle vs Randy Orton @ SummerSlam, which didn’t happen. Plan was to hold off til Mania. I’m told now only a handful of creative members want to spilt them, w/ the idea that if the match happens, it should be for the WWE title”
WWE had plans since the pairing began last spring for Riddle vs Randy Orton @ SummerSlam, which didn’t happen. Plan was to hold off til Mania. I’m told now only a handful of creative members want to spilt them, w/ the idea that if the match happens, it should be for the WWE title"