WWE Day 1: Why did Roman Reigns not wrestle at this year's event?

WWE Day 1 2022 did not feature Roman Reigns in any capacity at the start of the year. The Trible Chief was scheduled to defend his Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar at the premium live event.

As the WWE Universe was building up to a mega-match at the start of the year, Roman Reigns tested positive for COVID-19 and had to pull out of the event. The Tribal Chief took to Twitter to break this announcement.

While this was a difficult day in the life of Roman Reigns, for Brock Lesnar it didn't matter at all. The Beast was soon shifted to a WWE Championship match against Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, Kevin Owens and defending champion Big E, now making it a Fatal Five-Way Match.

The night ended with Brock Lesnar coming out on top. He defeated all four superstars to become WWE Champion. The Beast would hold the title until WrestleMania 38 before losing it to Roman Reigns.

WWE Day 1 2023 has reportedly been canceled

The Day 1 2022 Premium Live Event was a huge success and was loved by the fans. Unfortunately, the 2023 event that was advertised to take place has been canceled.

According to Brandon Thurston, WWE Day 1 2023 will not take place due to clashes with other sporting events in the United States. The Atlanta Falcons will take on the Arizona Cardinals on New Year's Day, and the Sugar Bowl will take place a day earlier.

Thurston also reported that WWE's relationship with NBC Universal might have played a huge part in the event not moving forward. The company advertised this year's WWE Day 1 to take place at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

Last year’s WWE Day 1 was well received by the WWE Universe. Other than the main event mentioned in the story above, there were also some brilliant matches like RK-Bro vs. the Street Profits, Becky Lynch vs. Liv Morgan, and Edge vs. the Miz.