Roman Reigns’ WWE journey over these past few years has been pretty remarkable.
From a man who was massively overpushed and booed by legions of fans at every opportunity, since late-2020 he’s instead become… okay well he’s still pretty overpushed. And he does get booed a lot. But now it’s for the right reasons.
The Tribal Chief has had an incredible run, holding both of the company’s top belts and beating all comers in a reign that is nothing short of legacy-defining.
That being said, it’s felt for a long time now that WrestleMania 39 could signal a real turning point for the Big Dog, the likes of which we haven’t seen since the pre-Covid era.
No matter what the scenario of who the opponent, his marquee match in this year’s show of shows could very well be the end of this chapter of Roman Reigns’ career.
Which begs the question: what comes next? Here are seven potential post-WrestleMania plans for Roman Reigns:
He Leaves For Hollywood
Wrestling occupied a really weird place in the hierarchy of entertainment.
On the one hand many people – including wrestling fans – view it as a niche hobby that lost its mainstream appeal some time around the early-aughts.
On the other, a number of wrestlers have gone on to have some of the biggest acting careers in Hollywood off the back of their success in the squared circle.
While we haven’t had a really big name break into Hollywood since Batista, who shocked the world by revealing he was secretly the greatest actor in the history of cinema back in 2014, it feels like if there’s anybody who could make that leap in the modern day it’s Roman (or Becky Lynch, but that’s a different list).
Ever since he slipped into his heel persona, Reigns has been churning out a performance that may surpass that of any other wrestler (in terms of sheer line delivery and ability to emote), perhaps ever.
If he drops the belt to Cody on the grandest stage of them all, don’t be surprised if the Head of the Table uses it as an opportunity to take some time away from wrestling, as he heads out into the world to earn the only star rating that really matters – the one on Hollywood Boulevard.
He Turns Face
Okay don’t panic – this could be a good thing.
There are very few wrestlers who spend their entire careers stuck in one alignment or another; most switch back and forth with a regularity that can only be described as “sociopathic” (looking at you, Tall Paul).
While Reigns has found a huge amount of success as a heel after years of failing to connect with fans as a white meat babyface, a turn back to the light side wouldn’t necessarily be the end of the world.
After all, Reigns’ inability to connect as a good was more a result of Vince McMahon’s skewed notion of what constitutes “good” than anything else.
With Triple H in charge, it isn’t beyond the realm of possibility that Reigns could find himself defending local sports teams and giving away free t-shirts by the end of the year – but, you know, in a way that doesn’t fill us with rage.
As for how to turn him face? Well… what’s Baron Corbin up to right now?
He Retains Both Belts
I think at this point it’s fair to say that most people expect Roman to lose one or both of his titles at WrestleMania, if only to get one of them back on Raw and keep the USA network from replacing WWE’s flagship show with reruns of Psych.
But you have to remember: this isn’t the first time it made total, incontrovertible sense for WWE to wrestle the Big Dog’s favorite chew toy out of his mouth.
WrestleMania 37. Clash At The Castle. Remember when you thought to yourself “Surely this is the one? What else are they going to do? Just let him carry them around forever?”
And then he won, and you remembered: “Oh yeah. He’s Roman Reigns”.
If there’s anybody who’s going to do it, it’s probably Cody (or… dare I dream… Sami?), but that doesn’t make the outcome of this year’s ‘Mania a sure thing.
It’s entirely possible that WWE will want their biggest star to keep his pants tightly cinched for just a little while longer.
And sure, that sounds bad – none of us want Roman’s reign to go back to being stale – but you have to take into account what it could mean down the line…
He Finishes His Story With Sami
While it currently looks like Sami Zayn and Roman’s Oscar-worthy feud will come to an end at Elimination Chamber, the story they’ve been telling over the past few months really feels like it could have legs well beyond that point.
WWE have booked themselves into an impossible position, whereby they’ve created a story that is absolutely worthy of main eventing WrestleMania, starring a lead character who… isn’t (I’m sorry Sami, that hurt me to type).
All-American apple pie enjoyer Cody Rhodes looks better on a poster, and is way more likely to draw eyes to a product that sometimes struggles to attract casual viewers, so of course he’s going to have the brightest spotlight shone on him.
But that doesn’t mean we have to have a total wrap on Roman/Sami by April.
If Roman were to retain both of his belts – or even one – it’s possible that he and Sami could have their rematch post-’Mania, allowing a true end to their story in which Zayn overcomes the impossible to finally secure the big one (or two, depending on how they resolve the duo-belt situation).
It’s not a perfect fix, but it’s one of very few ways WWE could have their big money match at ‘Mania, while still allowing Sami the satisfaction of ending Roman’s reign of terror.
A Feud With Gunther
Roman has really tore through the roster these past few years, taking out virtually every big name in the company to establish himself as the head of wrestling’s longest table.
Paradoxically, Roman is currently so big that he hasn’t really had a chance to engage with some of WWE’s more recent additions who have been working their way up through the midcard this past year.
Gunther, as the current – and extremely dominant – Intercontinental Champion would be the perfect foil for Roman, were it not for the fact that he’s firmly in the midcard.
Assuming Roman drops the belts at ‘Mania, it would really offer him a chance to take on some of the names who currently feel like they aren’t necessarily serious contenders for the big black and blue, but are still incredible prospects in their own right.
And there’s no prospect more incredible than the former WALTER, whose indie credentials and hard-hitting style make him a perfect foil for a post-WrestleMania Roman.
Really you could put any of that midcard new blood in this list – Johnny Gargano, Bronson Reed – but Gunther stands out as somebody who has managed to establish himself as a credible contender to somebody of Roman’s caliber.
Also: Imperium vs the Bloodline? Why yes, yes please, I’ll take several.
A Feud With Bray Wyatt
Here’s how long Roman Reigns has been Universal Champion: he won the title from the Fiend at Payback 2020.
The Fiend! That means that Bray Wyatt was released and then rehired in the time Roman has held one continuous title. The fact that we aren’t sick of him is a miracle.
With that in mind, it’s actually kind of crazy that Bray didn’t immediately come for Roman after being hired back to the company last year. He was, after all, the one to cause Bray to lose his most recent belt.
I know Wyatt gets a lot of flak for being a bit too up his own hole when it comes to feuds, but one of his patented spooky bulls**t runs could really pop if you threw Roman in the mix.
After the way Roman has psychologically manipulated people these past three years, it could be really gratifying seeing him get a little taste of his own medicine as Wyatt takes him on a whistle stop tour of his own heelish transgressions. Dare I say, Firefly Funhouse match: Redux?
Sponsored by Mountain Dew, of course.
He Leaves For AEW
Put your pitchforks away! Stop DMing me pictures of my kids’ school on Twitter! This is a safe space for bad takes, and I’m about to bust out the worst take of them all.
So.
I think we can all agree that AEW has been stuck in a bit of a rut ever since Brawl Out torpedoed the company’s momentum and took out one of its biggest signings (wrestling fans are, of course, famous for agreeing on matters of subjective quality).
But Tony “the Kid” Khan isn’t out yet, and a big signing like Reigns could breathe new life into his passion project, while also dealing a huge blow to his competition.
Sure, it isn’t likely – WWE probably has Reigns under contract until like 2060 at this point – but Khan has been very open about wanting to acquire WWE’s assets of late, even going so far as to put out feelers about buying the company.
Assuming that doesn’t work out, it wouldn’t be crazy to assume he’d be willing to drop a significant amount of money on something equally valuable, emulating his beloved WCW by poaching one of the biggest names in the business and repurposing him for his own ends.
With a sale on the horizon, the future of WWE isn’t set in stone, so this isn’t as wild a suggestion as it may first appear.
Who knows what the future will hold for the company, and whose contracts the new owners will be willing to negotiate on? If Tony asks for an advance on his pocket money, he might just be able to turn some heads with an offer they can’t refuse.
And besides, it’s not like I’m suggesting something completely insane, like Reigns heading to IMPACT or something.
… Actually, let me get back to you on that.
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