Roman Reigns’ dominance in WWE seemingly has no end in sight. The Undisputed WWE Universal Champion has become unstoppable with The Bloodline by his side and it would take the right set of circumstances for The Tribal Chief to be defeated.
Reigns successfully defended the title against Logan Paul, Drew McIntyre, Riddle, Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, and Seth Rollins this year. The Head of the Table has gone through the best of the best to stay on top of the company.
Here are five superstars that could potentially become Undisputed WWE Universal Champion in 2023:
#5. Solo Sikoa
Solo Sikoa is The Enforcer of The Bloodline and a man of few words. However, he recently showed what he is capable of with a brutal attack on Matt Riddle on WWE RAW. It will take someone special to topple The Tribal Chief and perhaps Sikoa is equipped to do.
He mainly uses the Spinning Solo (Uranage) as his finisher but has recently introduced the Samoan Spike to his moveset. His uncle, Umaga, used the move and Solo paid tribute to him several times during his attack on Riddle. Roman Reigns seems to like having Solo by his side and will make for an easy target if Sikoa ever decides to go after the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
#4. The Rock
The Rock has been rumored to return to WWE for some time now and challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
WrestleMania 39 is in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium, a perfect venue for the match as The Rock has become one of the most popular actors on the planet following his wrestling career.
The Great One could return to try and humble his cousin, while The Tribal Chief may view The Rock as inferior at this point. A match of this magnitude may not need the title due to the star power involved, but it would make the match even bigger Roman’s historic title reign was on the line as well.
Roman has the power to tell WWE Official Adam Pearce that The Rock doesn’t deserve a title shot based on his name. It would make for a great story if The People’s Champion won the Royal Rumble to earn a title shot and conquered The Tribal Chief at WrestleMania 39.
#3. Austin Theory
Austin Theory has had a bizarre 2022, and it looked like it was going to be back to square one for the 26-year-old. He won the Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder match as a surprise entrant and fans immediately rejected it. Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon gave Theory his stamp of approval but it didn’t resonate with fans.
Vince and Theory had a series of awkward backstage conversations, including the former chairman just taking away his first name because he didn’t like Stone Cold Steve Austin. After Vince McMahon resigned in July, it appeared that Triple H and the new regime were not sold on Austin Theory at all.
He couldn’t buy a win on television, and his cash-in attempt at Clash at the Castle was foiled by Tyson Theory punching him from the crowd. Theory then decided to cash in on the United States Championship and it backfired. He is one of the few superstars that have a failed cash-in attempt on his resume but has quickly overcome it. Austin captured the US Title for the 2nd time at Survivor Series and time will tell if he goes after the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship next year.
#2. Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes has made it known that he has returned to WWE to go after “the big one”. The former AEW EVP boxed himself into a corner in All Elite Wrestling by saying he will never challenge for the AEW World Championship if he lost to Chris Jericho at Double or Nothing 2020.
The American Nightmare wound up losing the match after MJF threw in the towel for him. Maxwell showed his true colors and hit Rhodes with a low blow after the match as well. There are two things keeping Cody Rhodes from going after Roman Reigns at the moment, injury and his rivalry with Seth Rollins.
Cody returned to WWE as Vince McMahon’s handpicked opponent for Rollins at WrestleMania 38. Rhodes defeated Rollins at the biggest event of the year, and went on to defeat him two more times in 2022. Unfortunately, Cody tore his pectoral muscle training for their third bout at WWE Hell in a Cell 2022.
He wrestled the match anyway with the injury, and revealed his severely bruised chest at the premium live event. The American Nightmare will likely have to finish his feud with Seth Rollins when he returns, as Seth attacked him with a sledgehammer on the RAW after HIAC to write Cody off TV. If Rhodes is able to get the fans as invested in him as they were in June, he should be in line to challenge Roman Reigns next year.
#1. Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn has spent the majority of 2022 trying to earn the respect of Roman Reigns and the rest of The Bloodline. Roman has quickly grown found of The Honorary Uce but it took some time for Jey Uso to come around.
At WWE Survivor Series WarGames, Sami proved his worth to The Bloodline. On the SmackDown before the premium live event, Kevin Owens attempted to warn Sami that The Bloodline will eventually turn their back on him and he should betray them first. The Honorary Uce was unaware that Jey Uso was listening in on the conversation and lied to his face when he was asked if he had spoken to anyone.
Roman Reigns confronted Sami Zayn about the lie during Survivor Series and Sami admitted everything. He claimed he was simply trying to protect The Usos because they had a big match in the main event to determine which team got the advantage at WarGames.
Zayn went on to guide The Bloodline to victory at WWE Survivor Series. He booted his old pal Kevin Owens in the groin and followed it up with the Helluva Kick. In a selfless act, The Honorary Uce stepped aside to allow Jey Uso to hit KO with a Frog Splash for the pinfall victory. Sami is now set to team up with Roman Reigns against Kevin Owens and John Cena on the final episode of SmackDown of the year.
If Sami continues to earn the trust of The Tribal Chief, he can perhaps finally begin to destroy The Bloodline from within. Zayn’s plan to reach the top of the company may come to fruition in 2023.
