Highlights
- WWE has more potential opponents for Roman Reigns, including The Rock and CM Punk.
- Reigns is close to breaking Hulk Hogan's record for the second-longest WWE title reign.
- WWE is confident that Reigns retaining the title won't affect business due to the success of the rest of the product.
Following what was a devastating and frustrating result in the main event of WrestleMania 39, fans have been desperate to see Roman Reigns lose the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. It has been fairly obvious that, after Cody Rhodes’ loss at the show, at WrestleMania 40 one year later, he would be back in contention, looking for redemption and taking on Reigns in a rematch. The logical option for many is Rhodes overcoming adversity and winning the match this time around, celebrating a huge milestone 40th WrestleMania with an iconic title victory. However, there is a high chance that this doesn’t take place, and there are reasons to suggest that Reigns will in fact successfully retain.
WWE Has More Potential Opponents For Roman Reigns
CM Punk’s Debut May Have Changed Plans For Roman Reigns
Over the last three years and more, Roman Reigns has been world champion in WWE, undertaking a record-breaking reign that has now surpassed 1200 days as of this writing. He has made a lot of history in that time, and he has defeated a whole manner of legends on his way including John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Edge, Rey Mysterio, Goldberg, and many full-time stars in Sami Zayn, Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, and countless others. His list of opponents is iconic, but with just a few months before WrestleMania, there are some that he hasn’t yet faced.
Roman Reigns 2023 Title Defenses | Event | Length |
|---|---|---|
Roman Reigns defeats Kevin Owens | Royal Rumble 2023 | 19:15 |
Roman Reigns defeats Sami Zayn | Elimination Chamber 2023 | 32:19 |
Roman Reigns defeats Cody Rhodes | WrestleMania 39 | 34:29 |
Roman Reigns defeats Jey Uso | SummerSlam 2023 | 36:04 |
Roman Reigns defeats LA Knight | Crown Jewel 2023 | 20:03 |
For instance, WWE have clearly wanted The Rock involved to put over Reigns and to make this title run even more legendary, but his schedule hasn’t freed up. WWE were holding out hope for WrestleMania, but that seems unlikely. There is a chance they once again hold out for another year. Additionally, the return of CM Punk has opened the door to perhaps the biggest money match possible right now between he and Reigns. In fact, it was reported by Sports Illustrated that WWE does in fact have “plans” for a Reigns vs. Punk at some point. With Punk set for a showdown with Seth Rollins, this match won’t be able to happen before WrestleMania though. Names such as Randy Orton, Damian Priest, Gunther, AJ Styles, Bobby Lashley, Solo Sikoa, and Sheamus are all also possible challengers that haven’t been explored.
Roman Reigns' 10 Most Shocking Losses
Roman Reigns has suffered a handful of losses throughout his WWE career that shocked wrestling fans.This gives WWE the opportunity, if they so wished, to keep the title on Reigns and continue giving him fresh opponents for the foreseeable future, especially when you consider his status as a part-timer. This then opens the question of whether this is what WWE wants to do.
Roman Reigns Is Close To A Hulk Hogan Milestone
Roman Reigns Has To Go Through Cody Rhodes To Get There
WWE and Triple H in particular love making history, especially in the form of long title reigns. Bianca Belair, Gunther, The Usos, Austin Theory, and Reigns have all broken records in some way, shape, or form under Triple H’s creative control. By the time WrestleMania rolls around, Reigns will be only 100 or so days away from overtaking Hulk Hogan’s 1474 day reign as WWE Champion, which is the second-longest in history. With Reigns being so close, it is hard to see WWE resisting the temptation to make this happen.
Longest Reigning World Champions | Length (as of writing) |
|---|---|
Bruno Sammartino | 2803 |
Bib Backlund (WWE is no longer recognizing this full reign) | 2135 |
Hulk Hogan | 1474 |
Bruno Sammartino | 1237 |
Roman Reigns (present) | 1200+ |
Roman Reigns' Definitive 15 Best WWE Matches, Ranked
Roman Reigns is the greatest WWE Superstar of this generation, with a long list of classic matches.Even though it would mean another loss for Cody Rhodes, WWE have their minds set on making Roman Reigns a living legend, and pushing him ahead of Hogan would be yet another step towards that. Of course, the ask for him to surpass Bruno Sammartino would be too much as it would mean another four years or so of Reigns as champion, but at this point would anyone be truly surprised?
WWE Doesn’t Need Roman Reigns To Drop The Undisputed WWE Universal Title
Business Is Booming For WWE With Roman Reigns As Champion
WWE is making a lot of money right now, they are creating a whole load of new stars, and business is looking pretty good. Although there may be a chance of some fans tuning out if Reigns retains at WrestleMania 40 for the fourth year in a row, WWE will be confident enough that it won’t affect business going forwards due to how well the rest of the product is currently performing. They may have the belief that Rhodes can just win the title at SummerSlam or some other point down the line, or even just the World Heavyweight Championship.
Every Roman Reigns' WWE Universal Title Defense, Ranked Worst To Best
Nobody is more synonymous with the WWE Universal Championship than Roman Reigns. Here are all his title defenses ranked worst to best.Of course, for fans the perfect scenario would be WrestleMania, and it would be another missed opportunity to squander this moment, but during Reigns’ title run, the likes of Sami Zayn, Drew McIntrye, and Rhodes himself have missed out on the perfect fairytale moments to win the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, and it hasn’t changed WWE’s mind on any occasion to stop Reigns’ lengthy stint as champion so far, so is there really much chance that the mindset changes now? Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns is inevitable, and last year, following WrestleMania 39, fans thought it 100% sure that if Rhodes got another shot it would lead to a win, but as time draws closer to the big event, more and more doubt has continued to seep in.
