As we are all by now aware, Cody Rhodes fell to a crushing, almost upsetting defeat at the hands of Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39. Cody winning the bout – capturing the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship in the process – was written in the stars. For whatever reason, though, WWE creative felt the time to put the belts on Cody was not last night. Therefore, the story for of a Rhodes capturing a world championship within the WWE continues, just as Reigns’ historic title reign goes on.
Whereas this writer believes Rhodes will still be the one to eventually unseat Reigns from the Head of the Table, the time is clearly not now and Reigns will need to complete some side quests between now and then. The question is simple: who is going to face Roman next? Here are five potential opponents for Roman Reigns in the coming months.
Sheamus
Roman Reigns has defeated just about everyone who is someone within the WWE throughout the length of his historic, near 1,000 day title reign. Yet, he has not met Sheamus in the ring during this time. In fact, it has been a good few years since we have had a one on one match between the two brutes and, therefore, this match is long overdue. Sheamus is currently a babyface who most recently failed to defeat Gunther for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 39. Whereas he failed to defeat the Austrian Ring General, Reigns is a different kind of wrestler whose style may benefit Sheamus more. Sheamus also has his friends in the Brawling Brutes to back him up against The Bloodline, so he is not alone. This match needs to happen sooner rather than later.
LA Knight
LA Knight is a peculiar wrestler. Despite seemingly losing all the time in recent months, he remains largely popular – no doubt a result of his clear charisma and talent on the microphone. It is this exact talent combined with his sound in-ring ability (plus the added bonus of him being someone Reigns is yet to face) which makes him such a unique prospect for Reigns. Knight is a loner within the WWE and does not have any friends to back him up against The Bloodline, but that’s how he’d like it. Yeah!
Gunther
Like LA Knight, Gunther is someone to never have faced Reigns. It is also interesting that, while Reigns is embarking on this historic, dominant title reign, so too is Gunther – with the Austrian establishing himself as arguably the best wrestler on the planet, whilst also the most dominant WWE Intercontinental Champion in decades. He also has friends in Imperium to back him against The Bloodline, so he would not go into a feud with Reigns alone. However, this match is probably the least likely. Gunther, like Reigns, is a dominant heel – it is rare to see two heels of this nature collide. Additionally, with Reigns already possessing two titles, it makes little sense for either of these men to consolidate all the belts during a time when the talent roster is so bloated. Those hoping to see this match may need to wait a while.
Sami Zayn
There is the possibility of returning to the storyline between Sami Zayn and Roman Reigns. Zayn, more than anybody else, has history with Reigns. With Cody Rhodes (temporarily) being out of the way, it makes sense for Zayn to step back into the spotlight. With the Canadian former Honorary Uce having just captured the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship with partner Kevin Owens, though, he might be busy elsewhere on the card. This feud will definitely be revisited sometime in 2023.
Seth Rollins
This is the interesting one. If Cody Rhodes truly is not the man destined to beat Roman Reigns, then who else is better than Reigns’ former Shield Brother, Seth Rollins? In fact, Rollins is the only man to have faced Reigns over the course of his title reign to have not been defeated – with their Royal Rumble 2022 match having ended in disqualification. Could it be, then, that this has been Rollins’ destiny all along? Seth is currently a babyface and remains one of the most popular superstars within the WWE. Having defeated Logan Paul at WrestleMania 39 this past weekend, Rollins is now free to challenge his former brother. No doubt, we will get some indication on tonight’s post-WrestleMania episode of Monday Night Raw.
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