As the new year began, Roman Reigns made a prevailing return to SmackDown in an epic New Year’s Revolution program. The main event was a match between three potential champions—Randy Orton, AJ Styles, and LA Knight—to decide who would challenge for the Undisputed Universal Championship.
Although Randy Orton won, the SmackDown manager called a match in which Roman Reigns had to protect his title against all three challengers. Roman was enraged by the unforeseen decision and ordered the wise man to clean up the situation so he wouldn’t lose the title.
Roman Reigns urges Paul Heyman to fix his Royal Rumble title match
When Roman Reigns returned to SmackDown on January 5th, he encountered unforeseen obstacles. The planned opponent for Reigns’ Royal Rumble opponent was to be decided in the main event Triple Threat Match between AJ Styles, Randy Orton, and LA Knight. But Paul Heyman’s plotting got in the way, as Reigns and The Bloodline attacked all three contenders.
The situation got so out of hand that SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis decided to flip the script and set up a Fatal Four-Way match for the Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble. This meant that Reigns would now have to face off against not one but three challengers.
Reigns was furious at the sudden turn of events, and Heyman had the difficult job of telling the Tribal Chief the disappointing news backstage. While Reigns was demanding that Heyman “fix this,” the Wise man seemed to be in a state of fear.
Reigns, who hasn’t defended his championship in over two years, will face a Fatal Four-Way on Royal Rumble Day—a difficult situation that Heyman set up when his scheme backfired. This might prove to be a terrible challenge for the head of The Bloodline.
Roman Reigns has held the title for the longest since 1988
As a champion—and the current record holder for the longest-reigning champion, for more than 30 years—Roman Reigns has accomplished what every WWE wrestler dreams of. Reigns has defeated strong opponents like Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Sami Zayn to become the Universal Champion since August 30, 2020. He is in a prime position to join the top four longest reigns in WWE history, with his current one being 1,225 days and counting.
In a Fatal Four-Way match at the Royal Rumble, announced on January 5, 2024, Reigns is expected to confront a formidable opponent, leading many to speculate that his title streak may come to an end.
Curiously, some fans would want to see Reigns lose the title. It’s not because they dislike him personally, but rather because they are unhappy with how little he appears in the ring compared to the regular champions in the men’s and women’s divisions.
As Roman instructed, do you believe Paul Heyman can get the Smackdown general manager to alter his mind? Let us know in the comments how much you’re looking forward to seeing the Big Dog at Royal Rumble.
