Tag: Roman Reigns

Dave Meltzer Provides WWE Backstage Update On The Rock Vs. Roman Reigns

Things are very up in the air for WWE right now, with the promotion capping off a “great week” by fielding just as many questions regarding a lawsuit, and accusations of sexual assault, against former chairman Vince McMahon as they did their new Netflix deal. They also found time to hold their Royal Rumble PLE, which saw Cody Rhodes win the Men’s Rumble, and immediately challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 40.

Rhodes’ victory led to more questions than answers, however, particularly whether this meant the long-rumored match between The Rock and Roman Reigns was off. As it turns out, it is and it isn’t. On the latest “Wrestling Observer Radio,” Dave Meltzer confirmed that Rhodes vs. Reigns is the planned WrestleMania 40 main event this year, and will take place as a singles match, without any involvement from The Rock.

That being said, The Rock is still expected to come back to WWE, and a match between him and Reigns is in the cards. When and where the match will take place remains to be seen, as conversations between Rock, who was named to WWE/TKO’s board of directors last week, and WWE, regarding the match are said to be ongoing.

The delay in Rock vs. Reigns will give Rhodes a chance to finally “finish the story” and capture the Undisputed WWE Title, something he failed to do against Reigns last year at WrestleMania 39. Reigns meanwhile will look to continue his record-setting reign as champion, which has lasted for over 1,240 days, putting him only 234 days short of passing Hulk Hogan’s 1,470 day reign as WWE Champion in the 1980s.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE May Consider Other Options For The Rock vs. Roman Reigns

After WWE Monday Night Raw, the hot topic of discussion was the potential showdown between Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Roman Reigns, fueling speculation that it could happen at WrestleMania 40. 

Many believe that this marked the beginning of the highly anticipated match between the two.

Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE may hold the match at Elimination Chamber next month instead of WrestleMania or in Saudi Arabia. 

“But nothing is official. Everyone is tight-lipped completely past Johnson would not have said what he did at the time he did without the plan being to build to such a match. While one would think WrestleMania would be the place, it also could be in Perth, Australia, given the story that the government there specifically requested Johnson on the 2/24 Elimination Chamber show, and it also could be at the next show in Saudi Arabia, which does not have a date. The government there is paying ridiculous money for shows already and bringing Johnson in could possibly negotiate a bonus that would make it the biggest money event in company history,” Meltzer wrote.

Source: eWn

Backstage News On WWE’s Groundwork For The Rock vs. Roman Reigns Dream Match

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made a surprise return to WWE on Monday night’s ‘Day 1’ themed episode of RAW, confronting Jinder Mahal and teasing a potential match with his cousin, Roman Reigns.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Radio is reporting that a potential dream matchup between The Rock and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 is not yet confirmed.

However, it was noted that Reigns began using the “Head of the Table” and “Tribal Chief” as nicknames years ago to set up an eventual blockbuster clash with The Rock.

Meltzer said, “That whole thing, ‘The Head of the Table’ and all that, and ‘Tribal Chief,’ was all done originally to build up the Roman Reigns-Rock match.”

It was further stated that a matchup between The Rock and Reigns has been on WWE’s radar before, with The Great One previously turning down an offer to lay the smackdown on The Tribal Chief at WrestleMania 38 in Arlington, TX. Meltzer said,

“I remember they were gonna do the Dallas show [WrestleMania 38] and then it was gonna be Los Angeles [WrestleMania 39]. He turned down the first one to do the second one, which would have been Los Angeles. Then Los Angeles ended up being canceled, kind of in December, I think.”

During an appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay this past September, The Rock confirmed that his dream match with Reigns was in the works for WrestleMania 39, but plans later fell through.

Only time will tell if The Rock vs. Roman Reigns finally happens at WrestleMania XL this year.

Source: eWn

Roman Reigns Reportedly Injured During Match At SummerSlam

According to F4WOnline, Roman Reigns worked through the main event of last Saturday’s WWE SummerSlam after getting hurt early on in the Tribal Combat Match.

The report did not indicate the nature of the injury or what point in the match Reigns was injured.

Reigns defeated Jey Uso in the Tribal Combat Match to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, after Jimmy Uso returned and turned on Jey.

As of now, Reigns’ injury doesn’t appear serious enough to affect immediate plans. While Reigns’ status thus far remains unaltered as far as appearances go, a lot of questions still remain regarding the nature of the injury. As of now, it has yet to be revealed what injury Reigns suffered, and there is no word on the severity of it, and whether it will prevent him from wrestling for the foreseeable future.

Reigns and Jimmy are scheduled for a “Hail to the Chief” segment on this Friday night’s WWE SmackDown.

As of this writing it is not known when Reigns’ next title defense will be.

Sources: eWn and Wrestling Inc.

Roman Reigns Was Presented A New Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Belt

The Undisputed WWE Universal Championship is finally unified in the form of a singular physical title belt. On the June 2 episode of “SmackDown,” Roman Reigns was presented with a new belt by Triple H as a part of the festivities to mark him reaching 1,000 days as Universal Champion.

Although the new belt doesn’t have a radically different design from the two pre-existing belts, its introduction does appear to mark the retirement of both the WWE Championship belt and the Universal Championship belt. The reveal of a new world championship belt had previously been reported to be in the plans for Friday night’s “SmackDown.”

Though celebrations were held Friday night, Reigns hit his 1,000th day as Universal Champion this past Saturday, on May 27. His run with the belt started in 2020 when he defeated “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman in a Triple Threat Match at the Payback premium live event. Since then, Reigns has defended against a cavalcade of WWE stars and picked up the WWE Championship to go with the Universal Title at WrestleMania 38.

Though Reigns’ days with two belts have apparently come to an end, he came close to holding four title belts this past Saturday at the Night of Champions PLE. Reigns and Solo Sikoa challenged Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship but came up short after Reigns was struck with a superkick from Jimmy Uso. The turn from both Usos was reiterated on Friday night’s “SmackDown,” when the pair interrupted Reigns’ celebrations with his new championship belt only to be betrayed by their brother, Sikoa.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Roman Reigns Upset With Kevin Owens After Survivor Series WarGames

Roman Reigns was reportedly not happy following the Survivor Series WarGames main event. 

According to a report from Fightful Select, Reigns was said to be visibly upset backstage regarding what he perceived as an “unplanned spot” involving him and Kevin Owens. Reigns was overheard saying he may have a ruptured ear drum, and it was clear to those who witnessed the scene that he was not happy with what happened. 

Reigns did not take part in the post-event press conference as he was originally scheduled to. 

Talent spoken with by Fightful indicated they did not believe there would be any extended heat from what happened and that Reigns’ reaction was likely due to the heat of the moment. 

It is not clear what spot was the catalyst for Reigns becoming upset. The only spots Owens and Reigns worked with each other during the match came close to the end. Owens slapped Reigns, and then they exchanged strikes for a period. Roman hit a Superman Punch, and Owens hit a superkick, a pop-up powerbomb, and a stunner. Sami Zayn then broke up the pin leading to the finish, where Zayn hit a low blow and Helluva Kick on Owens. 

Sources: WrestleView and Fightful

Backstage News Regarding WWE Creative Frustrations Around Roman Reigns As Double Champion

According to WrestleVotes, the situation with Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns is “complex,” as WWE wants to go into WrestleMania with two champions, but also doesn’t want Roman Reigns to lose “at all” between now and WrestleMania, with “at all” emphasized. Citing a source, WrestleVotes said that WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H and his team are “open to all things creatively here.”

Reigns has been WWE Universal Champion since August 2020, an unprecedented 741-day reign. Reigns unified that title with the WWE Championship in April by defeating then-WWE Champion Brock Lesnar in the main event of the second night of WrestleMania 38.

There has been speculation that Reigns will be facing his cousin Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson at WrestleMania 39. The match has even been teased on Johnson’s NBC sitcom “Young Rock,” but Johnson’s schedule continues to fill up between his acting career and being a co-owner of the third iteration of the XFL. Johnson has been so busy that he even turned down hosting The Emmy Awards, which aired on Monday.

There had been speculation that Cody Rhodes could be the one to challenge and eventually dethrone Reigns. Rhodes suffered a torn pectoral muscle in June but could be back in time for the 2023 Royal Rumble in January.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On WWE’s Post-Title Unification Plans

WWE is set to unify the WWE and Universal Championship at WrestleMania 38 when Roman Reigns battles Brock Lesnar.

However, on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer noted that the deal will be similar to when WWE reunited the titles in the past. This is because the company still wants two champions, one for each brand.

Meltzer was told that it is not feasible in the modern wrestling environment for each show not to have a champion, given that they are on separate networks. But the match in April is still very much planned to be a unification bout after the contract signing took place on SmackDown last week.

Of course, there is still a chance that this particular bout may not happen at all. That is because Brock Lesnar is set to defend his WWE Championship at Madison Square Garden this weekend. Should the Beast get through that test, then he is on a collision course to face Roman.

Their match has been confirmed for night two of WrestleMania 38. On night one the Raw Women’s Championship match between Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair will take place. Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey’s contest for the SmackDown Women’s Title is also set for night one.

It has recently been reported that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon could also end up stepping into the ring to compete at ‘Mania this year. He is set to appear on The Pat McAfee Show this week, which could be done to set up a storyline, with the former NFL star being rumored to be Vince’s opponent.

WrestleMania 38 will take place on Saturday, April 2, and Sunday, April 3 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Below is the current announced card:

Night One: SmackDown Women’s Title Match

Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair (c)

Night Two: Winner Takes All Match

WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns

Night One: RAW Women’s Title Match

Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch (c)

Logan Paul and The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio

WWE Hall of Famer Edge vs. TBA

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Brock Lesnar Vs. Roman Reigns Set For WWE Crown Jewel

Brock Lesnar vs. WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns has been announced for the 2021 Crown Jewel event in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

WWE just announced Lesnar vs. Reigns for their return to Crown Jewel on Thursday, October 21. Paul Heyman is advertised to be in Reigns’ corner.

The WWE Universal Title will be on the line for Lesnar vs. Reigns if Reigns retains over “The Demon” Finn Balor at WWE Extreme Rules on September 26. Regardless of what happens at Extreme Rules, Lesnar vs. Reigns will still happen in Saudi Arabia.

WWE has also announced that Crown Jewel will air at 1pm ET on October 21. The event will air live via Peacock and the WWE Network.

WWE Crown Jewel will reportedly feature the finals of the 2021 King of the Ring tournament and the finals of the first-ever Queen of the Ring tournament, but that has not been announced as of this writing.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1438634223909449733

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Finn Balor’s Demon Alter Ego Returns To WWE And Confronted WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns

Finn Balor revived his Demon King alter ego and confronted WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns in Madison Square Garden on SmackDown.

The devilishly demonic alter ego of WWE Superstar Finn Balor made its long-awaited return on this week’s edition of SmackDown when it confronted Univeral Champion Roman Reigns as the show went off the air.

It all went down inside New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Friday, September 10. Roman’s cousins and Bloodline stablemates The Usos were defending their WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship against The Street Profits in the show’s main event when Roman decided to interfere.

To prevent his cousins from losing their titles, Reigns by locking Montez Ford in the Guillotine and initiating a disqualification in the process. The Usos lost the match but kept the championship, much to the chagrin of the New York City crowd. But despite being disappointed with the result of the main event, the crowd would go home happy because “The Demon” Finn Balor emerged and confronted Roman Reigns as SmackDown drew to a close.

As you might recall, The Demon’s return was teased during last week’s SmackDown.

The last time Balor wore his Demon King body paint was for a match with Andrade at Super ShowDown back in July of 2019. Since then, the Irishman has admitted that he believed the character had been overexposed and that he wanted to retire it for a while.

“The ‘Demon’ was designed as something special,” Balor said in a 2020 interview with ViBe & Wrestling. “It was one of those things that should have been saved for breathtaking occasions, but it ended up being advertised in the media and that was one of the main reasons why it didn’t work. The surprise factor was completely gone and the ‘Demon’ became Finn Balor’s savior, which was also to my detriment because I could not develop my own character separate from the ‘Demon’. I think it hurt both of us – Finn Balor and the ‘Demon’.”

Source: TheSportster