WWE Money in the Bank has already undergone a change in venue. Now it appears it will be without its Tribal Chief as well.
Reports earlier this spring suggested WWE was considering Riddle, Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre as the next three challengers for Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, with the idea that he’d face them at Money in the Bank, SummerSlam and Clash at the Castle, respectively.
Riddle’s comments about going to SmackDown and demanding a match with Reigns pointed toward the first part of that plan coming true. But Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso poured some cold water on that today, saying that Reigns “currently is no longer scheduled to work Money in the Bank.”
That could come as a bummer for WWE fans attending the event live, after already enduring a switch from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (a football stadium, and home to the NFL’s Raiders) to what WWE is calling the “intimate confines” of MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Money in the Bank ladder matches are attractions in their own right, so the show will likely be just fine.
Still, if Reigns is indeed sitting this one out, it will be the second straight premium live event without WWE’s biggest draw. Hell in a Cell managed to get the wrestling world buzzing without him, but that was due in large part to a once in a lifetime act of playing through pain by Cody Rhodes.
Barrasso seems to think all three of the proposed challengers may still get their shots at Reigns, but the timetable is definitely now in question. Orton makes the most sense at SummerSlam, and McIntyre still figures to be a shoe-in for Clash at the Castle considering it’s being held in Wales.
That means Riddle could be the odd man out, which would be a shame as he feels as popular with the fans as he has ever been in his WWE career. It’s not inconceivable that he gets a shot somewhere before the end of the summer on Raw or SmackDown — Reigns is still expected to do some weekly TV over the next few months — but it’s clearer than ever that Reigns’ reduced schedule is for real, and even the big monthly shows aren’t guaranteed to have him there.
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