Backstage details on Roman Reigns and John Cena's WWE SummerSlam feud - Reports

At WWE SummerSlam 2021, Roman Reigns will defend the Universal Championship against John Cena. While there seems to be a lot of excitement surrounding the match, barely any of it has come from its buildup on SmackDown.

WWE announced that Roman Reigns and John Cena will meet face-to-face on tonight's episode of SmackDown, to heat the rivalry between the two stars. The match has been made official, but they have barely interacted on-screen in the past few weeks.

WrestleVotes has now reported on Twitter that heating up Reigns and Cena's story is a key objective for tonight's SmackDown. Also, some backstage personnel feel that the build for their SummerSlam match has been lackluster, despite the star power involved.

Source in creative said an objective for tonight’s SmackDown was to really amp up the rivalry between Reigns & Cena. The match will sell itself on names alone, but some feel the build has been lackluster.

— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) August 13, 2021

Finn Balor has recently crossed paths with Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns vs. John Cena is the perfect match to headline SummerSlam, which can be classed as one of WWE's biggest pay-per-views in 2021. However, their feud has not taken off due to a variety of factors, including the aforementioned lack of interaction so far.

Since Cena returned to WWE at the end of Money in the Bank, he has appeared on multiple shows. The 16-time world champion cut promos on Reigns on RAW and SmackDown, but the company has focused more on a potential rivalry between The Tribal Chief and Finn Balor.

#TheBloodline send a message to @FinnBalor on #SmackDown. @WWERomanReigns @WWEUsos pic.twitter.com/JiJmeOIiU7

— WWE (@WWE) August 7, 2021

Roman Reigns accepted the Irishman's challenge for a title match after rejecting one from John Cena. However, Cena ended up signing the contract for the Universal Championship match at SummerSlam after Balor was attacked by Baron Corbin.

The Hollywood star did not even appear on television for SmackDown last week. But based on the report from WrestleVotes, and with SummerSlam only eight days away, we can expect an intense segment between Cena and Reigns tonight. How Finn Balor factors into it remains to be seen, though.

Do you feel the build to Roman Reigns vs. John Cena for WWE SummerSlam has been lackluster? Let us know in the comments section below.