Next WWE World Heavyweight Champion After Roman Reigns

WWE

SmackDown reminded us that anything can happen in WWE, with Sami Zayn defeating CM Punk to win back the Undisputed WWE Championship.

With the blue brand’s top title recently changing hands, there has been a lot of speculation about who will succeed Roman Reigns as the next World Heavyweight Champion on Raw.

From family members to rising stars, these competitors would all make sense as potential World Heavyweight Champions who could defeat the OTC for the gold.

Here are five potential next World Heavyweight Champions after Roman Reigns.

Penta

Penta is the most immediate threat to Roman Reigns’ World Heavyweight Championship reign, with the luchador set to challenge for the gold on Monday.

Reigns will defend his gold against Penta on the September 14 Raw episode in Mexico City, following Penta winning the World Heavyweight Championship #1 contender’s tournament.

While many fans are expecting the Tribal Chief to be victorious Rey Mysterio emphasised following the announcement of the tournament that “anything can happen”, teasing a potential title change.

Following the Undisputed WWE Championship changing hands on Raw, a new World Heavyweight Champion being crowned would make WWE’s visit to Mexico one to remember.

LA Knight

If Roman Reigns gets through Penta, it appears that LA Knight will be his next World Heavyweight Championship challenger.

Knight has confronted Reigns on numerous occasions since SummerSlam, reminding the OTC that he has a target on his back.

The duo appear set to clash in a championship rematch, with Knight previously unsuccessfully challenging for Roman Reigns’ WWE Undisputed Universal Championship at Crown Jewel 2023, and in four-way action at Royal Rumble 2024.

There has been a lot of online debate recently as to whether we will ever see LA Knight hold a world title in WWE. With Knight recently stepping up to Reigns, it feels like a “now or never” situation.

CM Punk

At WrestleMania 42, Roman Reigns defeated CM Punk to win the World Heavyweight Championship.

The duo have been kept apart since then, with Punk immediately winning the Undisputed WWE Championship upon his return in July.

Now that Sami Zayn has won back the Undisputed Title, we could soon see Punk vie for his previous championship, aiming to win it back from Roman Reigns.

WWE keeping Reigns and Punk as world champions through the summer shows that they see both stars as their top main eventers, so a rematch would be treated as a major event.

Jacob Fatu

With Jacob Fatu unsuccessfully challenging for the World Heavyweight Championship twice this year, it could be a case of “third time lucky”.

Fatu first faced Roman Reigns at Backlash, and attacked the OTC following the match. The rematch took place at Clash In Italy under Tribal Combat, with Jacob Fatu forced to fall in line after that defeat.

With recent teases of dissension between Fatu and Reigns, it appears that the company is setting up for a third match in the future.

With Reigns previously indicating that he’s at the tail end of his WWE career, a Jacob Fatu title victory could also be a passing of the torch moment, crowning the next Tribal Chief.

Oba Femi

A Roman Reigns vs Oba Femi clash has been teased since WrestleMania 42 in April, with Femi calling out Reigns following the OTC’s World Heavyweight Championship win.

The two stars have deliberately been kept apart since then, with Femi even giving up his guaranteed title match after winning the King of the Ring tournament to instead retire Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.

Per Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the belief is that WWE is building Roman Reigns vs Oba Femi for the main event of WrestleMania 43.

A match a year in the making, we could see Oba Femi win this match to fully assert himself as WWE’s next superstar.

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• wwe
• Roman Reigns
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