There was a period in WWE where it felt like the tradition of one wrestler becoming more significant than the company had been left in the past. Hulk Hogan began that practice, Stone Cold and The Rock continued it, and then John Cena appeared to lay it to rest.
However, Roman Reigns may have revived it, and if he hasn’t, he’s as close to being more significant than his employers as you possibly can be in 2023.
The Tribal Chief’s current run as Universal champion began on the night of Aug. 30, 2020. He pinned Braun Strowman at Payback to win the title from The Fiend. Strowman and Bray Wyatt have both been fired and rehired by WWE since that time, while Roman continues marching along as the unbeatable top champion in the company.
Roman added the WWE championship to his mantle last year at WrestleMania 38 and remained a double champion. Regarding the Universal title, Roman Reigns holds the record for the longest reign at 968 days and counting as on April 25, 2023.
If his impressive undefeated streak continues, he will reach the milestone of 1000 days as champion on May 27th this year. In the aftermath of his rivalry with Rhoades, it remains to be seen who will step up next to the Tribal Chief at Backlash and King and Queen of the Ring.
Both events are set for May 7 and 27, respectively.
Who could be Roman Reigns’ next challenger after Cody Rhoades?
Most of the wrestling world was rooting for Cody Rhodes to dethrone Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39. He ended up being added to the list of feats going up against The Tribal Chief.
Over the past month, tension has been brewing among The Bloodline. While Solo Sikoa assisted Reigns in getting the win, the champion was still seemingly displeased with him.
On an edition of RAW a few weeks ago, The American Nightmare confronted Reigns. As the champion walked away, an impatient Sikoa wanted to teach Rhodes a lesson for taunting The Bloodline, but Reigns prevented him from doing so.
The American Nightmare was also responsible for ending Sikoa’s undefeated streak.
There have been speculations about Sikoa possibly turning on Reigns. A few days before ‘Mania,’ he seemingly hinted at ‘being ready to take on anyone.’
We saw the Usos lose their undisputed WWE Tag Team titles to Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn on Night One. They held the SmackDown tag team titles for 620+ days before it ended at WrestleMania 39.
With Roman Reigns being the only one from The Bloodline to be successful, what is in store for the faction remains to be seen.
These are the three other stars who could dethrone one of the most dominant champions of our generation.
I. Shinsuke Nakamura
Shinsuke Nakamura could be an excellent choice for the next world champion. The Japanese star is one of those wrestlers who inexplicably remains popular no matter how long he has been off the television or how poorly WWE books him. Fans still love his entrance, and The King of Strong Style still has unmatched charisma.
On the latest episode of SmackDown, Nakamura came back “recharged and rebooted” and set his sights on winning a world title. Although WWE missed the opportunity to capitalize on his Royal Rumble win in 2018, there is still time to crown its first Japanese world champion.
II. Jey Uso
From a storytelling perspective, Jey Uso makes the most sense as the man to unseat The Head of the Table finally.
After all, it all started with the Samoan star in 2020. He was the Reign’s first challenger and has been his right-hand man since the end of their program at Hell in a Cell.
Uso is also in the best shape of his career and has experienced the most character development throughout his time with The Bloodline. One could argue that no one else has benefited more from working with The Tribal Chief during his reign of terror.
It may be hard to buy into him as a long-term champion because viewers have only seen him as a tag team wrestler for so long. Nevertheless, defeating his cousin and having a good run before he succumbs to the pressure that turned Reigns into a monster is a riveting story.
III. Seth Rollins
The 36-year-old is one of the most popular superstars in the company. It’s time to give him another shot as the top babyface and reignite his rivalry with Roman Reigns.
The Visionary has the most legitimate claim to a rematch because The Tribal Chief technically never beat him. Instead, Reigns won via disqualification at Royal Rumble in 2022, and his Shield stablemate didn’t get another chance to humble him.
It would be more exciting to see someone new like Cody Rhodes or Gunther defeat The Head of the Table. Still, Rollins is arguably more in-demand than he has been in a long time, and there is plenty of interest in another showdown with Reigns.
About WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., doing business as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and various other business ventures.
WWE shows are sports entertainment, featuring story line-driven, scripted, and partially choreographed matches; though including moves that can put performers at risk of injury, even death, if not performed correctly. It was founded in 1953 as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation and is the largest wrestling promotion in the world. It is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.
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