The current WWE Undisputed Champion Roman Reigns has been tenacious with the WWE Universal title for over 850 days and is still going strong. The Tribal Chief defeated Brock Lesnar at last year’s WrestleMania in a winner take all match and unified his title with the WWE Championship. Since then, many have tried to dethrone the Head of the Table but have been unsuccessful. Top talents such as Brock Lesnar, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, Goldberg, and more have attempted to capture the titles in a losing effort. Roman Reigns’ last title defense was against Logan Paul at Crowl Jewels PLE in Saudi Arabia.
At this point, WWE has been successful in pushing Reigns to John Cena’s status in WWE. However, because of his long-running reign as champion, Raw and SmackDown have been devoid of independent champions since Reigns is the holder of both top titles of leading brands. For the longest time, Reigns’ appearance has not been exclusive to one brand and this may change after WrestleMania 39.
Roman Reigns may drop the WWE Championship in the draft following WrestleMania 39
It is reported that Roman Reigns will most likely hold on to his WWE Undisputed Championship as WWE does not want him to lose either of his titles on the road to WrestleMania 39. However, his title reign has supplanted the idea of each brand having a separate champion for a long time.
According to Xero News, WWE will reportedly have Reigns drop the WWE title in the Draft followed by WrestleMania 39. WWE Draft or Superstar Shakeup is when the company refreshes its roster swapping them between Raw and SmackDown.
A pitch but not confirmed
Is for Roman to drop the WWE title in the draft after Mania
Then a Tournament to crown a new champ to be held
— Xero News (@NewsXero) December 12, 2022
Although it is not confirmed, there is a high chance of it taking place as both brands need their own Championship titles. The idea pitched is that after Reigns drops one the WWE Championship, a tournament will be held to crown a new Champion for the brand with the vacant Championship.
It is unclear how WWE is planning to go about this because if Reigns were to lose his Championship to someone, there won’t be a tournament to crown a new Champion.
Kevin Owens gets his receipt from Roman Reigns at SmackDown
For the unversed, a receipt in wrestling is when a superstar is allowed to take a free shot at another wrestler if they were hit harder than planned.
During the WarGames match at Survivor Series, Kevin Owens pulled an unplanned spot and slapped Roman Reigns so hard that the impact ended up rupturing the Champion’s left eardrum.
Roman Reigns was reportedly upset with Owens backstage. Well, he finally got his revenge during his tag team match alongside Sami Zayn against Kevin Owens and John Cena.
Has to be where Kevin Owens eye got messed up. #wwesmackdown #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/5lVVSs5tIO
— How many Gucci Mane clones are there? (@vonbtrippin) December 31, 2022
Although the latter team picked up the win, Owens found himself at the receiving end of a beatdown at the hands of Roman Reigns mid-match. After being pummeled by Reigns, Owens’ left eye showed the wound he sustained. Although it was not personal, it is an unwritten rule in wrestling that entitles the wrestlers to give a receipt if they were hit hard.
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