Tag: Roman Reigns

Why all 3 of Roman Reigns’ next title challengers make sense (and which 1 might win)

If reports about the three challengers Roman Reigns will face this summer are correct, WWE has lined things up for him perfectly.

For all the flak the WWE takes when its booking decisions defy common sense, it probably gets too little credit when it executes logical, entertaining plans for its top stars. With that in mind, it’s “give credit where it’s due” time: If reports about the three challengers Roman Reigns will face this summer are correct, WWE has lined things up for him perfectly.

Considering the way Reigns is positioned, that’s no easy feat. In his current Tribal Chief/Head of the Table/GOD Mode incarnation, Reigns holds the company’s two most important men’s championships (one for more than 600 days) and seems unbeatable. He came out of his victory over Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania with no obvious challengers, and has been cutting promos discussing how there’s no one left because he’s smashed everyone.

But as various forms of pop culture have demonstrated time and time again, audiences love a good struggle against a supposedly invincible villain, and three men have stepped up to form a bit of a Rebel Alliance against the Bloodline’s Empire: Randy Orton, his RK-Bro partner Riddle, and Drew McIntyre.

Not coincidentally, these are the three challengers Reigns is likely to face at this summer’s premium live events. Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer reported this week that the tentative plan is to have each of them face the Tribal Chief at different upcoming stadium shows.

Right now the talk is, and none of this is close to etched in stone, that Reigns wrestles Riddle on 7/2, Orton on 7/30 and McIntyre on 9/3. The first summer TV Reigns was announced for was 7/25 in Madison Square Garden, which is the go-home Raw for SummerSlam. Reigns will be appearing on TV’s to build those three matches and has also been announced for the 7/22 Smackdown in Boston and 8/19 Smackdown in Montreal.

Not only has there been a logical escalation to programs with all three men, the order is even laid out perfectly.

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Roman Reigns vs. Riddle at Money in the Bank

This got set into motion with Riddle’s knee to Reigns’ face at SmackDown last week, pictured above. It would be easy for the champ to dismiss the usually jovial King of Bros most times, but after that?

Reigns can’t let that offense go unpunished, plus it’s in character for him to want to beat up Riddle just to shut him up. There’s virtually no way WWE would let Riddle get the win, but he’s at a stage in his career where even a valiant but losing effort in a championship match can help push him forward.

Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton at SummerSlam

The biggest show of the summer requires the biggest possible match, and it’s hard to argue against this matchup for the main event slot. As many have noted, Orton appears to be having the time of his life as a fan favorite at the moment, and WWE has pushed his 20th anniversary as a Superstar pretty hard. Think of this like someone winning both current and lifetime achievement trophies on the same awards show.

It would be the safe call for Reigns to retain and take the championships into the next PLE, but let’s let our imaginations run a little bit and say that WWE wants to reward Orton even more. There’s something here that just feels like a title change could happen, especially if McIntyre gets involved and ends up costing Reigns his gold.

Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre at Clash at the Castle

A main event for the first stadium show in the UK in decades pitting the No. 1 guy in the company against its biggest UK-born Superstar. It’s a no brainer, and if Reigns still has both titles, could give McIntyre the championship moment in front of a huge crowd that the pandemic denied him. It’s a script that writes itself.

But this would also be a huge bout even if Orton wins at SummerSlam, or it could change entirely over the next few months. McIntyre vs. Tyson Fury, for instance, could definitely be on the table for Wales.

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Opening Bell: Steel cage match on Raw, jokers revealed on Dynamite

Get ready for the week in WWE and AEW with previews for Raw, SmackDown, Dynamite and Rampage.

Welcome to the Opening Bell, where we round up what’s been announced for WWE (Raw and SmackDown) and AEW (Dynamite and Rampage) programming for the week ahead.

WWE Raw preview – Norfolk Scope Arena, Norfolk, Va. (live)

With Bobby Lashley and Omos tied at one win apiece in their feud, it’s time for the two powerhouses to settle things inside a steel cage.

If Lashley loses, he can’t complain since it was his idea to lay out this particular challenge last Monday. The idea, of course, is that MVP can’t interfere, something that directly contributed to Omos’ win at WrestleMania Backlash. But this particular storyline feels like one that might continue into Hell in a Cell, so don’t be shocked if there’s no definitive winner Monday night even though the stipulation suggests there should be.

AEW Dynamite preview – Fertitta Center, Houston (live)

AEW is billing this week’s Dynamite as “Wild Card Wednesday,” which fits their gambling-related theming for the upcoming Double or Nothing PPV, but is also a reference to the jokers being revealed for both Owen Hart Foundation tournaments. Whoever the mystery wrestlers are, they’ll have their hands full in quarterfinal matchups with Samoa Joe and Dr. Britt Baker.

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Also on tap for this week’s Dynamite:

AEW Rampage preview – Fertitta Center, Houston (taped)

The most interesting question for Rampage each week at this point is when it will air on TNT thanks to NBA and NH playoff games. The answer for this Friday, May 20 is 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT.

As for the card, the one match we know for sure is going down is an Owen Hart Foundation women’s quarterfinal between Red Velvet and Kris Statlander. Statlander is taking the place of Velvet’s originally announced opponent, Hikaru Shida.

WWE SmackDown preview – Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Mich. (live)

This is it, finally. The tag team titles have been teased for a unification match since prior to WrestleMania Backlash, with The Usos trying to fulfill a directive from Roman Reigns to obtain both sets of titles and RK-Bro understandably figuring it would be cool to grab them for themselves.

This Friday, the two teams will settle things once and for all to decide which tag team reigns supreme. Probably. If Reigns doesn’t interfere, and the Street Profits, who have been on the periphery of this story throughout, don’t decide to do something. Just saying, Hell in a Cell isn’t that far away …

Roman Reigns update: Expected to be on some WWE events this summer

New reports suggest that despite being removed from advertising, Roman Reigns should still appear at some WWE events this summer.

WWE may not be advertising Roman Reigns for any weekly TV or house shows this summer, but fans can still expect the Tribal Chief will be present at some of them.

The Undisputed WWE Universal Champion’s schedule has been the topic of some debate since the night before WrestleMania Backlash, when he spoke directly to the fans at a house show in Trenton and thanked them while saying that he wasn’t sure he’d be back. Clarification followed in reports of a new deal for Reigns, one that would have him working a lighter schedule while still retaining him as a top star.

But speculation fired right back up again after Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer said it looked like Reigns could be taking the summer off, as he had been removed from all advertising for weekly TV and house shows. In other words, it was possible Reigns would only be at the two Premium Live Events during July: Money in the Bank, on July 2, and SummerSlam, on July 30.

The latest update came when the New York Post cited its own sources Tuesday, stating that “fans can expect Reigns to appear at WWE events this summer.” That suggests removing him from advertising is a precautionary move, allowing him to be used where it makes the most sense while still allowing him to cut back on his overall schedule.

While it might seem suboptimal to have Reigns on TV sparingly while holding both of the company’s most important titles, WWE has shown in the past (particularly with Brock Lesnar) that it can craft narratives around dominant champions even without them on Raw and SmackDown regularly.

That said, it makes the next few months even more intriguing in terms of WWE’s plans for the Tribal Chief, as if he drops those championships during the summer, it seems much more likely he could take an extended break.

Roman Reigns signs new WWE deal, will work fewer house shows

Roman Reigns reportedly signed a new WWE contract that will have him working fewer house shows going forward.

Hollywood can wait for the Head of the Table.

After a somewhat cryptic promo at a house show in Trenton ahead of WrestleMania Backlash caused some buzz because of the insinuation that Roman Reigns might be leaving WWE soon, it turns out the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion was being more literal: He doesn’t know if he’ll be back in Trenton because he’ll be appearing on less non-televised cards.

That’s the word from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer, who reported on Reigns’ new deal with WWE during the post-Backlash edition of Wrestling Observer Radio. In essence, the new contract will require Reigns to work less while maintaining his status as a top attraction (h/t to Figure Four Online for the transcription).

It’s not it for him, but the situation is that he got a new deal and the new deal is for far less dates. I don’t know how many house shows he’s going to be doing, but it will be much less than the number that he’s doing now. It’s one of the perks of being there for a while and being valuable there is you can kind of call certain shots.

Meltzer went on to say the deal is similar to the ones Brock Lesnar has and Hulk Hogan used to have with WWE. Lesnar, in particular, has worked a much less than full-time schedule even while holding one of the company’s main championships, a fact that has occasionally made its way into storylines as opponents called him out on it.

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Nevertheless, Lesnar has and probably always will be a big attraction when he is in the mix, and Reigns has reached that level of his career as well. Less dates on his WWE schedule will allow him to devote more time to his family ⁠— he has five children, including four under the age of 7 ⁠— and pursue more interests outside the wrestling industry should he so choose.

Reigns and his Bloodline cousins, the Usos, were victorious in the main event of WrestleMania Backlash on Sunday night. The next challenger for his WWE Championship and WWE Universal Championship figures to be Drew McIntyre, but that could be cleared up as soon as the May 9 episode of Raw.

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Former Vikings players clash in Wrestlemania 38 main event

Former Vikings players headlined the sports entertainment spectacle at AT&T Stadium in Dallas

A purple-laden main event took center stage at Wrestlemania 38 on Sunday night as former Minnesota Vikings players, Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, clashed for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

What has been deemed as the biggest feud in the world of professional wrestling ended anticlimactically—a spear off a rope whip from Reigns to sing Lesnar’s lullaby with a one, two, three count for the victory.

Reigns, whose real name is Joseph Anoa‘i, signed with the Vikings shortly after going undrafted in the 2007 NFL Draft.

However, his time was cut short with the team after being diagnosed with Leukemia during a team physical. He earned first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) honors at Georgia Tech University after posting 40 tackles, including nine for a loss and 4.5 sacks in 2006.

The Jacksonville Jaguars gave him a look as well, and he even went on to start in at least three games for the Edmonton Eskimos in the Canadian Football League.

Lesnar joined the Vikings a few years earlier than Reigns and lasted through the preseason, despite having not played a single snap of football since high school.

He spent his college years on the wrestling mats at the University of Minnesota, where he won the 2000 NCAA Division I heavyweight championship as a senior.

Former NFL veteran receiver Nate Burleson told a story of how Lesnar once came to the defense of former Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper by suplexing a Kansas City Chiefs player to the ground at a training camp practice.

“You remember Brock Lesnar, WWE? He came out and somebody cheap-shotted Daunte Culpepper late, and Brock was like, ‘Who did it?’ The next play he went and suplexed a guy,” said Burleson. “Different type of nasty but he picked up a grown man, and after the play, it was a Royal Rumble—Minnesota and Kansas City in Mankato during training camp. That was a nasty suplex on the football field.”