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Roman Reigns has been one of the most prominent WWE Superstars on SmackDown Live since he was drafted to the brand in the 2019 Superstar Shake-Up, so it came as a surprise when he tweeted on Saturday that he plans to appear on the May 6 episode of Monday Night Raw.
The four-time WrestleMania main-eventer wrote on Twitter:
“I’m back on #SDLive, but I still have some business on #Raw. I’ll see y’all Monday. #ProtectTheYard”
Within 38 minutes, WWE fired back by announcing that he will not be granted permission to show up on a brand that he is not currently assigned to:
"WWE officials have learned of Roman Reigns' desire to appear on Monday Night Raw, but as of now, and due to his obligations as a Smackdown Live Superstar, he will not be appearing on Monday Night Raw."
Given that Monday’s SmackDown-exclusive live event in Corbin, Kentucky has been postponed, there is still a strong possibility that “The Big Dog” will appear on Raw. But, as far as WWE’s storyline goes, he is being prevented from doing so by the company’s decision-makers.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at four theories on why WWE has blocked Reigns’ return to Raw.
#4 Continue the storyline with the McMahons
Roman Reigns made an immediate impression as a member of the SmackDown Live roster by taking out Vince McMahon, as well as Elias, with a Superman Punch on the second night of the Superstar Shake-Up.
Since then, Shane McMahon has tried to exact revenge for what Reigns did to his father by forming an alliance on SmackDown Live with Elias, who will go one-on-one with “The Big Dog” at the Money In The Bank pay-per-view on May 19.
Shane is also likely to appear on Monday’s episode of Raw to continue his storyline with The Miz ahead of their Steel Cage match at MITB, so it is possible that Reigns was referring to the former SmackDown Commissioner when he mentioned that he has “business” to attend to on Raw.
If that is the case, then perhaps the kayfabe reasoning behind WWE’s stance against Reigns could be down to Shane, who wants to avoid another confrontation with the former Shield member on Monday’s episode.
#3 Increase TV ratings
In 2019, YouTube and other on-demand services will be many viewers’ go-to way to catch up on the latest WWE matches and storylines from Raw and SmackDown Live, so it is no surprise that there has been a significant decrease in television ratings over the last few years.
That said, it is still alarming that last week’s episode of Raw drew just 2.15 million viewers – a non-holiday record low – and it was down from the previous week’s 2.37 million.
Regardless of whether or not WWE follows through with its intention to block Roman Reigns’ return on the upcoming episode of Raw, the mere fact that we are discussing the possibility means that more people are likely to tune in to see what “The Big Dog” does on Monday.
The presence of the former Universal champion on Raw is unlikely to make a monumental difference to the TV ratings, but the prospect of him appearing will certainly give the company a better chance of increasing last week’s 2.15 million viewership.
#2 Respect the Superstar Shake-Up rules
The 2019 Superstar Shake-Up has been widely mocked by fans since the two-night roster changes took place across the April 15-16 episodes of Raw and SmackDown Live.
Why? Because not only did WWE decide to rename War Raiders “The Viking Experience” (later changed to “The Viking Raiders”), but they continued the Shake-Up beyond the initial two nights and Superstars have been randomly showing up on opposing brands, with no explanation given, for the last three weeks.
WWE's response to Roman Reigns' tweet mentioned how he will not be allowed to feature on Raw due to his status as a SmackDown Live Superstar, so that appears to be the storyline reason behind the company preventing him from showing up on Monday.
There are obviously inconsistencies here – SmackDown Live duo The Club suddenly appeared on Raw last week and became new members of the red brand’s roster – but let's assume that, from WWE's perspective, the Shake-Up was officially finalised last week.
#1 Get fans talking on social media
There is often a lack of buzz around WWE’s storylines after WrestleMania. This year, for example, three of the company’s top babyfaces – Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins and Kofi Kingston – brought an end to lengthy storylines to win major titles at “The Show of Shows”.
Throughout the build-up to ‘Mania, you only had to scroll down your social media timelines a couple of times to see somebody giving their opinion on how Lynch, Rollins or Kingston had to win at MetLife Stadium.
Now, four weeks on from WWE’s biggest show of the year, there appears to be a lack of interest in the current Raw and SmackDown Live storylines heading into the Money In The Bank pay-per-view on May 19.
Perhaps this Twitter development in the Roman Reigns vs. the McMahons story was simply done to get people talking again ahead of another week of WWE programming.
