According to a report by Fightful.com, the finish of the WrestleMania 35 main event between Becky Lynch, Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair did not go down exactly as planned, as the idea was always for Lynch to gain the pinfall win off of the Crucifix but it went off the rails a little bit when referee Rod Zapata counted an uninterrupted three even though Rousey’s shoulders momentarily came up off the mat.
Zapata initially drew some heat backstage for not catching Rousey’s shoulders had lost contact with the mat but that dissipated quickly. However, at Monday’s WWE Raw, Vince McMahon took Zapata aside, went over the footage and discussed the finish before the ref was subsequently fined.
Zapata’s stance was that because the finish was laid out ahead of time, he was going by the script and if the finish didn’t go down as planned, Rousey in particular may have “struggled to regain her bearings.” McMahon though argued that problem would be on the talent and that Zapata – like all referees – should be calling the match as a shoot where pinfall attempts are concerned.
After the match, Rousey was reported to “not be happy” though it’s unclear if that was due to the finish or the fact that she broke her hand.
(Follow us on Twitter @eWrestlingCOM or myself, Matt Boone, @MattBoone1984 for more exclusive backstage wrestling news and rumors!)
