5 WWE Superstars who could give Roman Reigns his first 2019 loss

Shane McMahon attacked Roman Reigns with Elias
Shane McMahon attacked Roman Reigns with Elias

Less than one month after announcing that his leukemia was in remission, Roman Reigns returned to WWE in-ring action at the Fastlane pay-per-view in March to defeat Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre in a six-man tag match alongside fellow Shield members Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose.

Since then, “The Big Dog” has started competing at untelevised live events again, while he defeated McIntyre in a one-on-one match at WrestleMania 35 before teaming with Rollins and AJ Styles in a victory against Corbin, Lashley and McIntyre on Raw.

We recently highlighted five WWE Superstars who are still undefeated in televised matches in 2019, with the likes of WALTER and Toni Storm included, but the biggest name on the list was Reigns.

Granted, he has only participated in three matches on television so far this year (four if you include The Shield's Final Chapter), but it is a record that will be worth bearing in mind as the weeks progress, especially when you consider that only one person has defeated the four-time WrestleMania main-eventer in a singles match in the last year (Bobby Lashley, Extreme Rules 2018).

In this article, let’s take a look at five Superstars who are most likely to give Reigns his first loss in 2019.


#5 Shane McMahon

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Baron Corbin defeated the retiring Kurt Angle to produce one of the biggest shocks of WrestleMania 35, sending the WWE Universe into meltdown in the process.

Looking at the number of heels on SmackDown Live following the 2019 Superstar Shake-Up, there are not many bad guys who are consistently receiving negative crowd reactions as much as Shane McMahon right now.

The self-proclaimed “Best In The World” has been at his gloating best (or worst, depending on how you look at it) since defeating The Miz at WrestleMania, and it looks as though Roman Reigns will be his next target after he joined forces with Elias last week to attack “The Big Dog”.

If this rivalry results in a match between McMahon and Reigns further down the line, then we would be foolish to rule out Shane O’Mac picking up a shenanigan-filled victory over SmackDown Live’s biggest star.

#4 Lars Sullivan

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Ever since Lars Sullivan arrived on WWE’s main roster after WrestleMania 35, he has looked destined to collide with Roman Reigns one day.

Why? Well, look at the list of names that “The Freak” has decimated so far: Kurt Angle, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, R-Truth, Sunil Singh, Samir Singh, Chad Gable.

With the exception of The Singh Brothers (sorry, Singh Brothers), those are some pretty big names that the former NXT Superstar has attacked during his first three weeks on Raw and SmackDown Live.

Now that he is officially part of the SmackDown Live roster, Sullivan’s list of victims are only going to get more and more high-profile in the weeks and months to come, and a showdown with Reigns at some point in 2019 seems inevitable.

The question is whether Sullivan’s rise to the top of the card will come in the next couple of months, much like Brock Lesnar when he debuted in 2002, or whether WWE will take the Braun Strowman approach and allow him to gradually work his way to the main-event scene.

#3 Kevin Owens

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If this article was published a week ago, there is no way that Kevin Owens would have been included on this list. However, following his latest betrayal of someone who he previously classed as an ally, this time Kofi Kingston, it looks as though KO will be one of the most prominent heels on SmackDown Live in the weeks to come.

For now, the former Universal champion will feud with Kingston over the WWE Championship, while Roman Reigns will battle it out with Elias in a singles match at Money In The Bank.

Once those rivalries are settled, it would not be at all surprising if Owens cemented his status as the blue brand’s top heel and began feuding with Reigns, who is likely to remain one of the top babyfaces on Tuesday nights along with Kingston and Finn Balor.

Let’s not forget that Owens is one of the few Superstars who has won a rivalry against Reigns in recent years, having retained his Universal Championship against “The Big Dog” at back-to-back pay-per-views in 2016-17, so perhaps that could be worked into a potential storyline.

#2 Daniel Bryan

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Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan’s most famous encounter came at Fastlane 2015 when the Shield member emerged with the victory in the main event to book his ticket to WrestleMania 31, where he faced Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

At the time, Reigns was a polarising babyface with a lot to prove, while Bryan was the fans’ favourite who the WWE Universe desperately wanted to headline WrestleMania for the second year in a row.

Four years on, Reigns has gained a ton of support from fans following his battle with leukemia, while Bryan is respected by crowds for his in-ring ability but his current heel character is the polar opposite of the man who faced “The Big Dog” in 2015.

Provided that Bryan is healthy, these two seem destined to meet as part of the SmackDown Live brand in 2019, and it would not be a surprise if “The Planet’s Champion” were to become the first man to defeat Reigns this year.

#1 Elias

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Elias established himself as one of the most prominent Superstars on Monday Night Raw over the last two years, and he now looks set to continue his momentum as a member of the SmackDown Live roster after back-to-back segments with McMahon family members – first Vince, then Shane – and Roman Reigns.

It has already been confirmed that WWE’s resident guitarist will face Reigns at the Money In The Bank pay-per-view on May 19, hence why he is in the #1 spot on this list.

The two men have previously met on three occasions on television, with Reigns winning twice and Elias surprisingly winning the most recent encounter when he teamed up with Jinder Mahal to pick up a tag team victory over Reigns and Seth Rollins on Raw in June 2018.

“The Big Dog” will likely be the favourite heading into the match at Money In The Bank, but we often see Superstars defeating rivals in relatively meaningless tag matches on Raw and SmackDown Live, so perhaps Elias could gain the upper hand by pinning his upcoming opponent prior to the PPV.

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