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Roman Reigns is among the high-profile absentees ahead of the 2019 WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view in Toronto, Ontario on August 11.
The four-time WrestleMania main-eventer had initially been expected to face Samoa Joe in a one-on-one match at the event. However, he now finds himself in a storyline where the identity of his mystery attacker is still unknown, leaving him without an opponent heading into the next ‘Big 4’ PPV on the WWE calendar.
On the July 30 episode of SmackDown Live, Reigns was due to make a SummerSlam announcement in an interview with Kayla Braxton when, all of a sudden, scaffold and metal fell down upon him in the backstage area.
Six days later, the former Shield member narrowly avoided injury again when he was forced to jump back into his car after another vehicle drove towards him in an attempted hit-and-run in the parking lot.
The go-home episode of SmackDown Live before SummerSlam ended with Buddy Murphy revealing that Rowan was responsible for the incidents, but Daniel Bryan has since claimed that his tag team partner has nothing to do with the situation.
Given Reigns’ star power, it is inevitable that he will feature at SummerSlam in some capacity, despite not currently being booked in a match, so let’s take a look at five roles he could play at the PPV.
#5 Roman Reigns vs. Buddy Murphy
Buddy Murphy has hardly appeared on WWE programming since being drafted to SmackDown Live in the 2019 Superstar Shake-Up, but it looks like that is all about to change following his shocking revelation last week.
If he is telling the truth about Rowan, then we can expect him to feud with the former Wyatt Family member, as well as Daniel Bryan, in the coming weeks. If he is lying, as Bryan suggested, then the Aussie has a ready-made rivalry in place with Roman Reigns.
Long-term, WWE appears to be building towards a match between Bryan and Reigns, so it is far too early for them to have a one-on-one encounter against each other at SummerSlam.
Short-term, perhaps we could see “The Big Dog” take on Murphy in an impromptu match on Sunday to keep this storyline going before next week’s Raw and SmackDown Live.
#4 Another attack on Roman Reigns
When Roman Reigns was the victim of the forklift attack on SmackDown Live on July 30, the initial expectation was that Samoa Joe tried to injure his rival ahead of a match between the two men at SummerSlam.
However, with Joe claiming to be innocent, it has become apparent that the first incident was merely the start of a long-term ‘Whodunnit?’ storyline, with fans left to wonder which WWE Superstar is responsible for the attacks.
The latest episode of SmackDown Live ended with Reigns attacking Buddy Murphy backstage, so “The Big Dog” is bound to be fired-up again when he makes his next televised appearance in Toronto on Sunday.
Perhaps we could see the former Universal Champion reveal in an interview that he is going to the ring to demand answers, only to find himself on the receiving end of yet another attack in the backstage area.
#3 Daniel Bryan is revealed as the culprit
As nice as it would be for this mystery attacker storyline to play out over a series of weeks and months, it has already been announced that Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan will take place at various live events between SummerSlam and Clash of Champions.
Samoa Joe, Buddy Murphy, Drew McIntyre, Baron Corbin, Elias and Rowan have been in the frame as possible culprits over the last 10 days, but the overwhelming favourite to be revealed as Reigns’ attacker is clearly Bryan.
“The Planet’s Champion” defiantly claimed in an interview after SmackDown Live that Rowan has nothing to do with the incidents with “The Big Dog”. However, he did not say anything about himself being responsible (or not being responsible) for the attacks.
With Reigns vs. Bryan matches already lined up, there is a chance that this mystery could soon be solved, with Bryan revealing himself to be the attacker at SummerSlam.
#2 Roman Reigns attacks Rowan
Roman Reigns reacted to Buddy Murphy’s revelation about Rowan by taking to Twitter to claim that he will have no problem “beating an explanation and apology” out of the former Wyatt Family member.
So, regardless of what Daniel Bryan is saying about his tag team partner's innocence, it appears that Reigns has decided that he will target Rowan when he next appears on WWE television, which will presumably be at SummerSlam.
Rowan has hardly said a word since being introduced in January 2019 as Bryan’s “intellectual peer”, so it is highly unlikely that he will provide Reigns with the explanation and apology that he is looking for.
Instead, it is much more likely that “The Big Dog” will hand out a severe punishment to his apparent attacker, just like he did to Murphy on SmackDown Live, in an attempt to exact revenge for the attacks in recent weeks.
#1 Roman Reigns & Samoa Joe vs. Daniel Bryan & Rowan
One of the most intriguing storyline developments in this ‘Whodunnit?’ saga took place on the August 5 episode of Raw when Samoa Joe came to Roman Reigns’ aid following the hit-and-run incident in the parking lot.
Moments earlier, Joe had called Reigns out to meet him in the middle of the ring. However, after witnessing a car almost hit his rival, “The Samoan Submission Machine” shouted for medics to help assist with the situation.
The following day, talkSPORT’s Alex McCarthy reported that Reigns & Joe vs. Daniel Bryan & Rowan was being planned for SummerSlam.
Although the match has not been announced, it would certainly make sense from a storyline perspective for Reigns’ enemy-turned-ally to join forces with him against the two men who are in the frame as possible attackers.
It is also worth noting that Joe said after the hit-and-run that he “hopes somebody finds who’s doing this before I find them”.
