What’s the story?
According to Cagesideseats, Roman Reigns is “pencilled in” to win the WWE Universal Championship at some point but it “may not happen” at the Royal Rumble. As a part of their rumours coverage, the website insinuates that Kevin Owens might just go on to retain his title at the PPV.
In case you didn’t know
Roman Reigns recently lost his United States Championship to Chris Jericho on an episode of Raw. Prior to the match, Roman Reigns was already scheduled to face off against Kevin Owens in a Universal Championship match at the Royal Rumble.
In order to reduce the probability of Kevin Owens’ best friend Chris Jericho interfering in the match, Raw General Manager Mick Foley had added a stipulation to the match which will see Chris Jericho being locked inside a Shark cage that will be suspended above the ring.
Roman Reigns will be looking to win the WWE Universal Championship for the first time in his career.
The heart of the matter
Roman Reigns has gained a lot of notoriety from the WWE Universe for allegedly being shoved down fans’ throats by WWE Creative at the behest of Vince McMahon.
If history is anything to go by, the Royal Rumble as an event has always been more or less of a curse to Roman Reigns' career. If these rumours are to be believed, then regardless of WWE wanting to put the Universal Championship on Roman Reigns at some point, it might not be time yet.
The reason for WWE not wanting to put the title on Roman Reigns yet could be due to a potential feud between him and The Undertaker leading up to Wrestlemania.
As we’ve previously reported, plans for The Undertaker vs. John Cena match at Wrestlemania have been reportedly called off and this could very well pave the way for the Deadman to have a showdown with The Big Dog instead.
Kevin Owens might himself go on to have a Wrestlemania match with either Chris Jericho or The Undertaker and he might thus need to hold on to the title, in order to help solidify his position as a formidable opponent for the legends.
What’s next?
If these rumours are true, then Roman Reigns might lose to Kevin Owens at the Royal Rumble, but we don’t think it will be a clean victory for KO.
Kevin Owens has time and again faced off against Roman Reigns and has usually only been able to secure victories using cowardly heel tactics or when he has had the help of his best friend Chris Jericho.
With Jericho being suspended above the ring, chances of him helping out Owens are slim, but they still exist. The master of the List might just have a few tricks up his sleeve to assist his best friend to a favourable outcome.
If Roman Reigns loses this match, the next step for him would probably be to pursue a different opponent on the road to Wrestlemania. His possible opponents after the Royal Rumble include The Undertaker, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor and Braun Strowman, all of whom would make for interesting matches and storylines.
Sportskeeda’s take
Roman Reigns is one of the most physically gifted Superstars in the WWE. He certainly has the look that has been a staple requirement for all the biggest Superstars of any era. While he’s not the greatest in-ring technician, Reigns can certainly pull his weight in the ring and has been able to produce several quality matches.
Also, despite what the WWE Universe might think of him, Roman Reigns is certainly one of the most polarising figures in Wrestling today and is an icon of the company. His popularity amongst the younger audiences is second to only John Cena.
Kevin Owens, on the other hand, deserves to have some credible accolades added to his run as the WWE Universal Champion and a clean win over Roman Reigns would certainly be a good starting point.
We’re looking forward to this match and hope that the WWE Creative make decisions that propel the careers of both of these gifted wrestlers in a positive direction, regardless of the outcome of their match.
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