Wrestling legend says he can't see record-breaking 8-time Champion dethroning Roman Reigns (Exclusive)

The Tribal Chief is touching three years as Universal Champion
The Tribal Chief has been the Universal Champion for almost three years.

Roman Reigns is about to reach three full years as Universal Champion. He's less than a month away from achieving the feat, but he has to go through record-breaking eight-time Tag Team Champion Jey Uso first. Dutch Mantell, a wrestling legend, gave his thoughts on the match.

On the latest episode of Smack Talk, wrestling legend Dutch Mantell gave his predictions for SummerSlam 2023. The main event will be a Tribal Combat match as the Undisputed Universal Champion faces his cousin Jey Uso for the first time since Hell in a Cell 2020.

Ahead of the match, Dutch Mantell said that he can't see Reigns losing at SummerSlam 2023:

"They put three years into Roman Reigns and I don't think the first chance they get, they're going to roll that belt off him. Roman Reigns is the type of heel [with whom] you can get a babyface over right off the bat. And after they put so much time and so much effort into Roman, I don't see Jey walking out here with the title."

He spoke from a booking perspective and said that he believes Reigns will 100% walk out with the title intact:

"A hot heel can get a babyface over. A hot babyface cannot get a heel over. He might get some heat on him but he won't get him over, just by the nature of the game. This is a no-DQ, I think we're going to see a multi-layered finish. We're going to see some participants in-and-out and back-and-forth and some of these people coming in will be sectioned off by their opponents later on. But I expect Roman Reigns 100% to come out with that belt. And if he doesn't, then guess what? I'm wrong. I do expect him to retain on SummerSlam." [From 01:44 to 03:14]

You can watch the full video below:

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Wrestling legend Bill Apter thinks there could be another superstar who is a major threat to Roman Reigns

One superstar who has been out of action is the man who Reigns beat at Survivor Series 2021; Big E.

On a recent edition of The Wrestling Time Machine, Bill Apter told host Mac Davis and WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long that The Powerhouse of Positivity could be a big threat to Roman Reigns' title:

"What I think is Big E needs to come back as a top contender for one of the titles. He's got such a great look, such a good attitude. Even his interview skills are fabulous. He needs to be in there with the top-tier guys. He was always into comedy with The New Day, but I think it should be a new day for him. I think he should be in a serious singles competition going after either Gunther, Seth Rollins or Roman Reigns. I think he'll be a real threat to Roman Reigns' title," said Bill Apter. [From 08:37 to 09:18]

Can Big E return on time to pose a threat to The Tribal Chief? Let us know what you think in the comments below.


If you use any quotes from the article, please embed the YouTube video and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling.

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