When Roman Reigns announced on WWE RAW in October 2018 that he had been diagnosed with leukemia, he also relinquished the Universal Championship that he had only just won from Brock Lesnar.
Four months later, the former Shield member returned to WWE television and immediately became involved in a rivalry with Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre, but he did not target the Universal Championship.
Speaking in a video on GQ Sports’ ‘Actually Me’ YouTube series, Reigns explained that he has a different perspective on his WWE goals following his leukemia battle and he is happy to compete in non-title matches for the time being.
"This is something that a lot of people complain about – me being in title matches. For me, just coming back, different perspective. For me, participation is somewhat cool enough for now, I guess.
"I just enjoy being out there. Whether there’s a title on the line or not, I just enjoy being in that ring and being able to be healthy enough to do my thing. So when the time’s right, we’ll get back in the title picture, but right now I’m just enjoying myself. Don’t rush me, man!"
Universal Championship rematch history
Interestingly, Roman Reigns is not the only Superstar who has not received a rematch for the Universal Championship after losing or relinquishing the title.
In August 2016, Finn Balor was forced to give up RAW’s top male title due to a shoulder injury. Despite returning in April 2017, he did not challenge for the title again until August 2018 (vs. Reigns) and January 2019 (vs. Brock Lesnar).
The second holder of the Universal Championship, Kevin Owens, was defeated by Goldberg at Fastlane in March 2017. Following the event, he targeted the United States Championship and he has never attempted to reclaim the Universal title.
Goldberg, meanwhile, had a one-month reign with the title in the build-up to WrestleMania 33, where he lost to Lesnar, and his two matches since then have both been non-title encounters.
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