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Credit: WWE.com
The third time was a charm for Roman Reigns as he finally defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 38 to win the WWE and Universal Championships. But now that he’s holding both belts, he has an even bigger target on his back.
Assuming WWE wishes to keep Reigns’ matches to a minimum to maximize the box-office draw, he should only defend the titles on pay-per-views, with SummerSlam being the goal for the next big-attraction match.
That means he needs someone to work with for Backlash, Hell in a Cell and Money in the Bank, too. While WWE could well stretch out one Superstar to challenge him for several months, there’s room for several opponents to keep things fresh.
Let’s take a look at five possible candidates to feud with The Tribal Chief from now until The Biggest Party of the Summer on July 30.
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There is no one better suited to be Reigns’ next challenger than Drew McIntyre, who deserved far better for WrestleMania 38 than a lackluster feud with Happy Corbin and Madcap Moss.
As a former WWE champion who wants to get back on top and was screwed out of the Black Friday Battle Royal No. 1 Contender’s match in November, it’s time for some course correction and focus.
McIntyre and Reigns have history dating back to WrestleMania 35 and Survivor Series in 2020, so let’s see what can happen when The Scottish Warrior swings his sword at The Head of the Table.
Realistically, this is a feud that has legs. They can have a regular match at WrestleMania Backlash that leads into a Hell in a Cell bout that ups the ante for an epic conclusion before a new contender is established.
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For the foreseeable future, Bobby Lashley will have his hands full with Omos. Their WrestleMania 38 match could have been a one-and-done, but MVP turned on The All Mighty on Monday’s Raw and has now partnered up with the giant, making this issue personal.
Once Lashley puts the rivalry with Omos to bed, he will have the momentum of beating the largest athlete on the roster with him. That, plus his two world title reigns would easily qualify him for title contention.
Few can stand toe-to-toe with Reigns and look just as intimidating, if not more so. The All Mighty is one of those rare Superstars you could immediately buy as being a major threat.
And now that he’s a babyface, it would be nice to ride that wave into a title feud. Ideally, this would be something around Money in the Bank on July 2.
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Another perfect name to slot in for a rivalry with Reigns would be AJ Styles.
The Phenomenal One has had some great matches with the double champion far enough in the past that the feud would feel fresh. Their last true singles encounter was at Extreme Rules in May 2016.
Working under the assumption Styles will keep his feud with Edge going until Hell in a Cell, he would make for a great MITB opponent, particularly if he gets the big win over The Rated-R Superstar inside the infamous cage.
Since it has been done before, it would even excuse a one-off quick feud before Reigns moves on to something bigger for SummerSlam.
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Credit: WWE.com
For the sake of keeping things fresh and exciting, you can’t get much more interesting than for an NXT call-up to get a title shot. With Bron Breakker still holding the NXT Championship, the most logical option would be Tommaso Ciampa.
Granted, The Blackheart’s supposed final match in NXT at Stand & Deliver on Saturday was a sendoff without any indication he is coming to the main roster. For all we know, he’s leaving WWE entirely.
However, since he’s wrestled so many matches on Main Event, Raw and in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on SmackDown, it seems to be a possibility worth considering.
WWE could give him a solid push for the next few months so when Money in the Bank comes around in June, he’s ready to fight for the title.
Even coming up short wouldn’t derail his momentum too much, as losing to someone with the magnitude of Reigns carries plenty of credibility. It could also prove that Ciampa is a great candidate for the Intercontinental Championship to follow.
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Credit: WWE.com
With those four out of the way, the best-case scenario for Reigns at SummerSlam would be a match against Cody Rhodes, ideally for the WWE Championship.
No matter how much WWE might want to, it is not feasible Reigns can hold and defend two titles for more than a few months at most. Sooner or later, the belts would need to be split again.
It’s already been established that Rhodes has returned primarily to win the WWE Championship, not the universal title. Since the latter is the belt Reigns has held since August 2020, it is more important for him to keep that run going.
The setup writes itself. Rhodes wants a title match. Reigns denies him, in part because he left the company and that means he doesn’t deserve it. The American Nightmare then has to earn his way to being the contender, but once he does, The Tribal Chief says he’ll only put one title on the line. Rhodes picks the WWE Championship.
Rhodes would win the title, bringing it to Raw so that red brand can have its own world champion again. He can hold it until at least WrestleMania 39, while Reigns remains the top dog on SmackDown.
They can fight again at Survivor Series in a champion vs. champion match, where The Tribal Chief can get his win back and ride the momentum into a match against The Rock at WrestleMania 39 in 2023.
Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
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