Sometimes, being the Tribal Chief comes with a physical toll.
Roman Reigns emerged from Tribal Combat at SummerSlam this past weekend in Detroit with his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and role within the Bloodline still in his possession. But there was suspicion that he didn’t make it out completely unscathed; not only was he announced for the post-event press conference and then replaced at the last minute by Paul Heyman, but Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that he got hurt early in the emotional match against Jey Uso.
Now Fightful Select (subscription required) has more information on what it means for Reigns going forward. While confirming the Observer’s report that he was, indeed, injured early in the SummerSlam bout, the outlet says he is still supposed to appear this week on SmackDown in Calgary.
That tracks with how WWE was promoting that show this week on Raw. After Jimmy Uso made his dramatic turn on Jey during Tribal Combat, he’s supposed to be on hand on SmackDown to reaffirm his commitment to acknowledging Reigns as Tribal Chief. That’s most effectively done with Reigns there in person.
After that, it’s unclear when me may see Reigns next. The next WWE premium live event is Payback in early September, and the company has shown a willingness to put on shows of that level without its top star. The issue between the Uso twins can carry on the Bloodline story for now with little risk of a loss of momentum.
What’s interesting to note is that was probably the plan anyway, one that, for now, hasn’t been affected by whatever injury Reigns picked up in Detroit. Fightful ends its piece by saying “as of Tuesday afternoon, it hadn’t changed creative” for Reigns, while cautioning that could always change.
While there’s definite sentiment among WWE fans at times that Reigns’ part-time schedule is a negative, the upside is that if he gets banged up a bit, plans can continue without too much disruption. Unless it turns out that his injury is more severe, it’s possible that what WWE has planned for this fall simply rolls on.