Roman Reigns was one of the most polarizing figures in the wrestling world for the longest time. Avid supporters believed in WWE’s decision to make him the next face of the company but there were many who refused to accept him as the leading star. Such people targeted him relentlessly through various social platforms for a long time.

The Tribal Chief opened up about this hate while appearing on the Impaulsive podcast. He first discussed how, unlike old times, he never had to deal with haters in real life:

“I’ve been fortunate. The hate, we talked about earlier where it can get crazy. Even when it was at its worse, nothing ever happened in real life. It’s all respect and love in real life but on that Internet, boy they will spew some [shit]. They’ll come in with some negativity on the internet. But in real life, never.”

‘Waste Of Breath’: Roman Reigns

Speaking about the criticism on the internet and how he deals with it, Roman Reigns mentioned that he used to lose his cool back in the day but it’s not the case anymore:

“Early on I had, I think I had like a elevated way of thinking about it, but as a human, you’re like I’m gonna clap back on this guy and then you get a little pop from a few thousand people that are with you.

You make someone famous for 15 minutes on the internet and then it’s like, Well, I’m kind of a jerk for doing that. So now it’s just character stuff only. Yeah, I’m not responding to haters or trying to clap back. It’s funny for a second but at the same time it’s just a waste of breath.”

You can check out Roman Reigns’ full interview below:

If you use any quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

In wrestling, fewer chants have stood the test of time quite like the simple word ‘What.’

While most synonymous with WWE Hall of Famer ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin fans have used the chant over the years, often disrupting promos from faces and heels.

The Tribal Chief

Roman Reigns knows all about the ‘What’ chant, having heard it both during his time as a babyface and since turning heel.

Speaking on Logan Paul’s ‘Impaulsive‘ podcast, the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion gave his advice for Superstars (via Sportskeeda.)

“It’s an old Stone Cold Steve Austin gimmick and they still hold on to it. So they’ll hit you with those and that’s when you can hear the more experienced performers and talkers where they’ll change their cadence.

“I have to machine gun then I’ll machine gun them but as soon as I know I’ve stopped that or I have a gauge on what’s happening I don’t mind sitting and letting them chant.”

Origins of the What

Speaking on the Pat McAfee Show in December 2020, Austin recalled how arguably his most iconic catchphrase began.

Austin said that the chant began when he was traveling on the road and rang Chrisitan, who didn’t pick up the phone.

The Texas Rattlesnake decided to prank call Christian, leaving a series of lengthy voicemails, in which he would list several points with the term ‘What’ repeated throughout the message.

Paul Heyman is one of the most successful managers in the history of the wrestling business. He has worked with some of the top talents the industry has seen. Heyman’s pairing with Roman Reigns helped take the Tribal Chief character to a level that very few performers have been able to reach in their careers.

The Head of The Table opened up about this pairing on the Impaulsive podcast. Explaining how the partnership came together in August 2020, Reigns revealed that Heyman was free at the time since Brock Lesnar was in between contracts. However, he stressed that Paul wouldn’t have joined in if it was anyone else:

“Brock was in between contracts. So Paul was kind of wide open and it just fit. He had that opening creatively. He was still just working behind the scenes from a creative standpoint. When you’re working with someone like Brock for as long as he did with the success that they had, you need to have something that’s legitimate come through to make that move. I think I was really the only one that he wanted to work with.

Otherwise, I think he would just stay kind of plugged in and be helping from overall directive standpoint. Once he knew ‘Oh I’m going to be with Joe, it’s all good. I’m gonna be with Roman, it’s all good.’ Then we knew it was on.”

‘It’s Hard Not To Learn’: Roman Reigns

Paul Heyman has been on the top of the wrestling business for decades. Anyone who wants to be successful in the industry can learn a lot from the former ECW owner. When asked what he has learned from the Mad Scientist of Wrestling, Roman Reigns noted that he has been learning things from Heyman even before he joined the wrestling business:

“I was learning from Paul before I was with Paul. He was with my family for decades before I even got in the business. So I’m always learning from Paul. It’s not even just wrestling stuff like business stuff. I pick up stuff just talking father to father.

There’s a lot of different things you can learn from a Paul Heyman because there’s the life experience. Especially within our business, he’s just been at the very top of that mountain for so long as a promoter, as a talent, as a manager. There’s just been so many roles that he’s fulfilled, and he does it at an elite level that it’s hard not to learn from someone like him.”

You can watch Roman Reigns’ full interview below:

If you use any quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns joined Logan Paul on the latest edition of the Impaulsive podcast.

He discussed the rumored matchup against The Rock at WrestleMania 39 in Hollywood during the podcast and many other topics. During the conversation, The Tribal Chief discussed his battle with cancer that forced him to step away from WWE for some time.

Roman was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia in 2007 and he had to take a hiatus for treament in 2018. Reigns made the announcement in October 2018 and returned to the company on RAW in February 2019.

Roman Reigns Discusses His Leukemia Diagnosis

The Head of the Table recalled being diagnosed with Leukemia during his brief stint in the NFL and said it was a shock to hear the word “cancer” at such a young age. Roman noted that the health issue put an asterisk next to his NFL career and it was an uphill battle following his diagnosis.

Technically we weren’t quite sure, this is where we saw the blood lapse that showed the elevated white blood cells which clearly says your body is attacking something, it’s fighting off something. So they were like yeah it could be anything Venereal disease, infection, cancer and all I heard was cancer, I’m like ‘Woah,’ it got super heavy.

So I compartmentalize emotions sometimes so I think it was just so overwhelming that it wasn’t even believable and even then it was like this was back in ’07 so this was years ago. So you hear about younger people with blood cancers more often now but back then a 21-year-old come straight out of college, a division one football player supposed to be kinda peak health right?

You never would expect that. So it put a huge asterisk next to my name when it came to the NFL. So it was just an uphill battle from there man.

H/T: Sportskeeda

Roman Reigns has commented on the possibility of facing The Rock at WWE WrestleMania 39 next year. 

It’s a match that fans and the company want to see happen, but it will come down to whether The Rock can break away from his busy schedule with commitments in Hollywood and relaunching the XFL. 

While appearing on Logan Paul’s IMPAULSIVE podcast, Reigns was asked about the possibility of this bout. 

Roman Reigns is Open to The Match

“They keep trying. Everybody keeps trying on this one,” said Reigns. “I don’t book the show, bro. I’m up for anybody. If it works out, then I’m ready.”

Reigns noted that he seizes whatever opportunities are put in front of him. 

 “It seems like it’s been that way. All the big names, all the big stars, whether they’re from our business, the movies, to the internet now, I’ve been in a really cool groove where these things have kinda just come to me, so I hope they’ll just continue to do that. 

Reigns also commented on his social media use by stating he doesn’t fire back at trolls but just uses it to advance his WWE character. 

The Undisputed WWE Universal Champion also discussed working with John Cena, his family life, his battles with leukemia, and more. Click below for the entire interview: 

Transcription courtesy of F4Wonline.com

Roman Reigns currently holds both the WWE Championship and WWE Universal Title – a situation reportedly being described as “complex.”

While Reigns holds both of WWE’s World Titles, that means he occupies duties as “top guy” on both Monday Night RAW and SmackDown Live. However, Reigns is “officially” a member of the SmackDown Live roster.

Not to mention he’s working on a reduced schedule these days. Therefore, the champion’s presence is absent from both brands for a good amount of time – but mostly RAW.

This certainly poses some questions heading into WrestleMania season, as fans begin to wonder if the titles will be separated, kept together, or officially unified to one singular belt.

According to a report from WrestleVotes on Twitter, the current situation with Reigns and the dual titles is described as “complex.” The report suggests WWE wants to go into WrestleMania with two champions.

The trouble is, WWE also doesn’t want Reigns to lose “AT ALL” prior to “The Show Of Shows.” Triple H and other creative heads are open to all ideas in this regard.

Roman Reigns has certainly been built up as one of WWE’s most dominant stars and champions of all time. He’s now gone over 1,000 days without having been pinned.

As the months pass and we approach WrestleMania season, it’s likely his opponent at the event could be tapped with the responsibility of dethroning “The Tribal Chief.”

The question remains, however, if it will be for one title, or two?

Roman Reigns has dominated WWE for over two years as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.

Reigns’ tenure as the Tribal Chief has seen him defeat plenty of WWE’s biggest stars, including Bray Wyatt, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Edge to name just a few.

Now, the leader of the Bloodline has another impressive accolade.

Pinfall

Reigns has retained against every opponent he’s faced so far, and it’s been a very long time since the Tribal Chief suffered defeat.

This week, Reigns reached 1,000 days since being pinned, which took place at the WWE: Tables Ladders and Chairs event in December 2019.

At the show, Reigns, then a babyface, loss to Baron Corbin in a TLC match.

It’s worth mentioning that Corbin had significant help in the match, with Dolph Ziggler and the Revival (now FTR in AEW) helping him get the win.

Who’s Next?

Reigns has gone 1,000 days since last being pinned, but this streak will have to end eventually.

It was recently reported that the Tribal Chief won’t be competing at next month’s Extreme Rules, and his next title defense will be at the Crown Jewel show in November.

Despite Kevin Owens teasing confronting Reigns, it’s also been noted that he won’t be facing Reigns, nor will long-time rival Seth Rollins.

Braun Strowman has been rumored by fans to be next to step up to the Head of the Table, given his return to WWE earlier this month.

There has also been speculation that Cody Rhodes could be the one to break Reigns’ tenure as Champion, as well as reports of Roman facing his cousin The Rock at WrestleMania 39.

Roman Reigns Walks Out of WWE Clash at the Castle Press Conference

WWE will be waiting again to see Roman Reigns back in action as Reigns is next scheduled to defend his WWE Universal Title at Crown Jewel on November 5. 

In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that The Tribal Chief will not be wrestling at WWE’s next premium live event, Extreme Rules, on October 8th. 

Meltzer was told the next challenger was neither Seth Rollins nor Kevin Owens, even though both matches have been teased in recent times. With both stars mentioned above being ruled out as Reigns’ opponent at the Saudi Arabia show, it would favor Karrion Kross or Drew McIntyre being the next challenger. 

This is unless WWE decides to bring back a big name such as Brock Lesnar or Goldberg, two opponents who have wrestled Reigns in the past. Lesnar’s most recent match was against Reigns at SummerSlam. 

Reigns most recently worked a match when he successfully defended the title against McIntyre in the main event of last weekend’s Clash At The Castle pay-per-view. 

Roman is currently in the middle of a record-setting run as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, as his reign is up to 740 days and counting.

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns defeated Drew McIntyre in the main event of Clash at the Castle.

The Tribal Chief connected with a Superman Punch but Drew kicked out at one. He leveled Drew with two Spears but couldn’t keep him down for a count of three. The crowd at the Principality Stadium was heavily behind Drew and it appeared that he had the title within his grasp after connecting with a Claymore.

However, Solo Sikoa, The Usos’ younger brother, arrived as the newest addition to The Bloodline and broke up the pinfall. Roman then hit the third Spear of the match for the pinfall victory and retained the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

Tyson Fury was a factor in the main event as well. Austin Theory tried to cash in his Money in the Bank contract but never got the opportunity because Tyson knocked him out with a right hand. After Roman’s victory, Tyson got into the ring and shook his hand. Fury stuck around to sing a song with Drew McIntyre and shake his hand as well.

After Clash at the Castle went off the air, Roman Reigns was interviewed by the media in a press conference. Roman was the first WWE Superstar that Triple H announced but The Tribal Chief wasn’t interested in answering too many questions. The Tribal Chief was asked about the UK crowd and sat in silence for a bit.

He then requested that the media acknowledge him because the 62,000+ fans in Cardiff did not during Clash at the Castle. The Undisputed WWE Universal Champion then walked away without taking any more questions. You can check out Roman’s entire press conference below.

The highly anticipated match between Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre headlined the Clash at the Castle event in Cardiff, Wales. 

A video for McIntyre played at the start of his entrance to his old “Broken Dreams” music, and then he came to the ring with his current theme. 

The Main Event

The match started off slow and intensified as it went on. Reigns got the microphone and when Reigns turned around, McIntyre caught him with the claymore kick. Reigns hit a rock bottom. McIntyre attempted the claymore, but Reigns hit him with a superman punch. There was a referee bump.

Austin Theory ran out and was going to try to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase, but Tyson Fury knocked him out. McIntyre with the claymore kick for the near fall as Solo Sikoa pulled out the referee, and Reigns hit the spear for the win.

Post-match, Fury shook hands with Reigns and then cut a promo about how McIntyre shouldn’t stay down. Fury started singing American Pie.

McIntyre said he should’ve known better, and the fans showed the world what they’re made of. McIntyre said that he will keep fighting and he won’t stop until he gets the titles. 

On the July 29th edition of SmackDown, McIntyre became the #1 contender for the title when he defeated Sheamus in a Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook match. 

WWE will be presenting the Clash At The Castle PPV from the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales in a few hours from now.

Fightful Select recently provided some backstage updates on the show including some interesting details about the main event.

According to the site, Ludwig Kaiser, Butch, Ridge Holland, Dominik Mysterio, and Rhea Ripley are all scheduled to be in the building for the show.

The main PPV will start with the 6 women’s tag match between the teams of Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss & Asuka vs. Bayley, Dakota Kai and IYO Sky.

The main event between Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre is scheduled to get the most time of all the matches, and it’s listed as the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match.

• Check Out the WWE Clash at the Castle Stage & Production Setup

Both Paul Heyman and The Usos are curiously not listed for the event internally which means we might see a fair one on one match between the two competitors.

With Drew McIntyre being the crowd favorite to win the bout, the absence of Heyman and The Usos will only strengthen his chances of defeating Reigns and walking out of the show as the new champion.

Roman Reigns has officially been a champion in WWE for two consecutive years.

He defeated The Fiend and Braun Strowman at WWE Payback 2020 to win the Universal Championship. Two years later, he’s not only still the Universal Champion but has captured the WWE Championship as well. Roman defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 38 to unify the titles and become the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. The Tribal Chief will have a celebration with The Bloodline and Honorary Uce Sami Zayn this Friday on SmackDown.

The last wrestler to hold the title for two years was Hulk Hogan in 1986. The 37-year-old took to Twitter to comment on his historic title reign.

“A run like never before. Success in every single measure and in every category. This is what the top of the mountain looks like so Acknowledge and appreciate it.”

Drew McIntyre Warns Roman Reigns

Roman has his hands full this Saturday night when he defends the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Drew McIntyre at Clash at the Castle. The show will take place in Cardiff, Wales, and is WWE’s first stadium show in the United Kingdom in over thirty years.

Drew was a guest on Sky Sports to promote the premium live event and spoke about his upcoming match against The Tribal Chief. McIntyre noted that Roman has had an incredible past two years but things are changing.

“He’s had an incredible past two years. An incredible 10 years, multiple WrestleMania Main events, and he is everything he says he is. Things have changed about recently, Drew McIntyre is rising up the card. Roman’s situation has changed where he is not as featured on television shows or weekend shows.”

The two-time WWE Champion vowed to crush Roman this weekend at the premium live event.

So as far as I’m concerned, he’s taking a step back, which has allowed me to take two steps forward. Which is going to allow me to crush him at Clash at The Castle.

Drew McIntyre on his match against Roman Reigns this Saturday

H/T to Sportskeeda for the quotes

For the past two years, Roman Reigns has dominated WWE like never before, holding an iron grip on the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

Winning the Universal title in August 2020, a week after returning to TV, Reigns unified the title with Brock Lesnar’s WWE Championship at WrestleMania 38. 

The list of names who have lost to Reigns is a who’s-who of WWE, including Lesnar, John Cena, Edge, Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt, and others. 

The End is Near?

This Saturday, Reigns will defend the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship at Clash at the Castle against Drew McIntyre. 

The two faced off one-on-one at Survivor Series 2020, where Reigns got the win, but the result could be much different this time. 

WrestleVotes reports that for the first time in a long time, there have been discussions about Reigns losing at this weekend’s event.

It’s reported that “multiple ideas” have intrigued those who will decide the finish for Reigns Vs. McIntyre, which will headline Clash at the Castle. 

Today marks Day 729 since Reigns became Universal Champion. 

McIntyre: Why it makes sense

While Reigns has been virtually untouchable since turning heel and becoming the Tribal Chief, a McIntyre win makes sense. 

McIntyre is yet to have a World Championship win in front of a live crowd, with his first coming at the empty-arena WrestleMania 36, and his second in the Thunderdome. 

McIntyre has also been kept protected in recent years and is arguably the only Superstar active at this time who would make sense as the one to defeat Reigns. 

With reports of WWE considering more international stadium shows (depending on whether Clash at the Castle is a success) a World Title change this weekend would go a long way in proving stadium shows outside the U.S. are important.

WWE taped the September 2 episode of SmackDown from Detroit alongside tonight’s episode of the show. It featured the final build for the Roman Reigns vs Drew McIntyre Clash at The Castle match and more.

You can check out the full spoilers for the show below:

• Karrion Kross wrestles first match since his WWE return and defeats Drew Gulak.
• Ronda Rousey cuts an in-ring promo calling out Adam Pearce. They talk about her suspension and how it was lifted because she paid her fine. Her arrest was unwarranted as it was not a criminal act and she is reinstated immediately. Pearce tells Ronda that he would fire her if it was in his hands. The WWE producer calls her “The single biggest bitch he’s ever met,” leading to Rousey locking him in an armbar.
• Hit Row defeats Maximum Male Models in a tag match. Humberto and Garza attack Hit Row after the bout and The Street Profits make the save.
• Happy Corbin comes out for a promo. He trash talks Detroit and issues and open challenge. Shinsuke Nakamura accepts the challenge and defeats him via pinfall.
• Butch defeats Ludwig Kaiser in a singles match. Gunther and Sheamus come face to face but Ludwig breaks it up and leads Gunther away. Butch apparently had his Bruiserweight gear back for this bout.

• Viking Raiders face The New Day in a Viking Rules match. Raiders win the match after putting Kofi through double-stacked tables.
• The Usos and Sami Zayn hosted a Championship Celebration for Roman Reigns. Reigns pulls up in the arena but gets taken down with a Claymore as soon as he gets out of the car. Drew McIntyre then heads to the ring and clears it of the rest of the Bloodline. He puts Jimmy Uso through the announce table and Jay through the Barricade. McIntyre emphasizes WWE as ‘World WRESTLING Entertainment.’

Roman Reigns has provided an update on a potential WrestleMania matchup with The Rock down the line.

Many have been hyping up a meeting inside the ring between the cousins, preferably at “The Grandest Stage Of Them All” WrestleMania. While both men have teased the potential match, nothing has been made official just yet.

Speaking to Sports Illustrated recently, Reigns was asked about the status of the much discussed dream match.

Reigns claims he things things are looking “better” in regards to the match happening. Especially with The Rock teasing the match on an episode of his sitcom, “Young Rock.”

“Update is Dwyane’s dropping it within his own project so it’s gotta be pretty good, it’s gotta be pretty special,” said Reigns. “I think that just goes to show the clamoring, the buzz for it, the chatter for it, the wishful thinking.

“So it’s something he definitely played into within Young Rock. As you know with him everything is highly strategic, lotta synergy with everything he does, with the projects that he’s guiding and has in mind.

“I would say just based off of that alone it looks better than the last time we spoke.”

Roman Reigns currently reigns as the Undisputed WWE Champion, appearing on both RAW and SmackDown from time to time. He leads at the forefront of The Bloodline, accompanied by The Usos, who also dominate the Tag Team Divisions on both RAW and SmackDown as champions.

With Reigns declaring himself the “Tribal Chief” of his family, many would love to see The Rock challenge such a notion in the ring.

Of course, Dwayne Johnson is one of the busiest men in Hollywood and is very much in demand. Making a match happen would be difficult, however, crazier things have happened in WWE.

Roman Reigns finds it “hard to believe” that Vince McMahon is gone from WWE.

“The Tribal Chief” was recently a guest on the Sports Illustrated Media podcast, where he gave his thoughts on the longtime WWE frontman finally retiring.

Reigns said he, like most people, found it hard to believe when he first heard the news.

“You know, it’s just hard to believe [that Vince McMahon is no longer CEO and Chairman of WWE], because I think along with anyone who has followed this business or been in this business that just, Vince is gonna be running this,” Roman Reigns said.

“I’m gonna be long gone. I’ll be 20 years retired and Vince is still running the show, you know what I mean? So I think that was just kind of, ah, okay, we’ll see.

“We’ll see him in six months or something like that I think was kind of the mindset that I initially took and then I think we received, you know, the Talent Relations text message and then obviously, a personal message from him and we talked a little bit and yeah.”

McMahon was forced to step down as WWE CEO after several allegations of sexual misconduct were made against him. As a result, the duo of Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan stepped up to fill the void as co-CEOs.

Although McMahon had stepped down as CEO, he still served as the head of creative for WWE, heading production of television backstage. However, that all changed when several investigations into the sexual misconduct allegations began.

Shortly after, McMahon took to Twitter where he officially announced his retirement, leaving WWE altogether as day-to-day head of creative. That job then fell into the lap of his son-in-law and former WWE Champion Triple H.

Although the longtime regime of McMahon has seemingly come to a close, there is a ton of optimism for the new direction the company is headed in the aftermath.

Quotes via Post Wrestling

Roman Reigns has revealed some details of his new WWE contract.

Reigns inked a new deal with WWE back in May, which would see the current Undisputed WWE Champion work less days. Now, Reigns only appears every other week or so on WWE television, and even misses out on some of the lesser priority Premium Events.

Recently, “The Tribal Chief” appeared on the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast, where he divulged a bit more about his WWE deal, explaining his new schedule.

“So the main thing is, no, we’re not gonna be on every single pay-per-view but anything that I am on which of course will be all the major ones and then a couple of the other ones, you know, that kind of fall in between the big four and the Saudis.

“I’ll always support those with TVs to build the story and the rivalry going forward so, it’s not like — compared to what I did, I guess, yeah, you could say technically, that’s, compared to a full-time, taking on everything, you only get a day-and-a-half-a-week.

“Yeah, I guess it’s a part-time compared to what I usually run but, I’m an annual character on WWE television.”

Currently, Reigns is enjoying a prosperous run as the head of The Bloodline alongside Paul Heyman and The Usos. The Usos hold both the RAW and SmackDown Tag Team Titles, while Reigns is the WWE and Universal Champion.

At the moment, Reigns is locked in a feud with Drew McIntyre, who he’ll put his titles up for grabs against next. The pair will headline the Clash At The Castle event on September 3 from Cardiff, Wales.

Quotes via Post Wrestling

Roman Reigns portrays the most dominant villain in WWE, but the Tribal Chief still goes out of his way to create special moments for young fans.

Reigns was back in action this past weekend during WWE’s weekend tour of Canada. He does not appear at many non-televised live events these days. However, he did compete at Saturday Night’s Main Event from the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Canada.

Reigns successfully retained the Undisputed Universal Championship against Drew McIntyre and Sheamus in a triple threat match.

After the match, he was making his way backstage when a fan got his attention.

Reigns Breaks Character for a Good Cause

As seen below, a father told Roman Reigns that his son loves him and it’s his birthday. Reigns stopped in his tracks, embraced the child, shook his hand and wished him a happy birthday. The father couldn’t contain himself and screamed, “holy sh*t” in excitement.

pic.twitter.com/EVM35eOGCj

— Sarah (@SarahMG1987) August 21, 2022

The Reigns vs. McIntyre vs. Sheamus bout was a tune-up for Reigns’ upcoming showdown with McIntyre at WWE Clash at the Castle.

The heavyweight Superstars are scheduled to headline the upcoming Clash At The Castle premium live event from Cardiff, Wales on September 3rd. This will be WWE’s first UK stadium show in thirty years.

WWE Saturday Night Slam Results

August 20, 2022, Ottawa, Canada, Canadian Tire Centre

• Los Lotharios defeated Butch & Ridge Holland
• Natalya defeated Shotzi
• Gunther retained the Intercontinental championship against Shinsuke Nakamura
• Ricochet defeated Happy Corbin in a No DQ Match
• Sami Zayn defeated Madcap Moss
• Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler defeated Smackdown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan & Aliyah
• Roman Reigns defended the Undisputed Universal Championship against Drew McIntyre and Sheamus

WWE has a busy weekend ahead, with the Raw and SmackDown crews touring Canada, while NXT has two shows in Florida.

Here are a few interesting notes for what’s ahead:

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns will be making a rare live event appearance at Saturday’s SmackDown house show from Ottawa. He’ll be wrestling in the main event against his Clash at the Castle opponent, Drew McIntyre.

Reigns has been working a greatly reduced schedule over the past several months. He’s been kept off a few premium live events and does not work many non-televised shows.

• Roman Reigns Teases Retirement At WWE Live Event

Ronda Rousey, who is currently serving ‘suspended’ due to her attacking a referee at SummerSlam, is also back on the road for SmackDown She’ll be competing in 3-way matches with SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan and Natalya.

On the Raw side, WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus will be hosting the events from Kingston, Ontario and London, Ontario. This weekend’s Raw brand main events will see Theory vs. Dolph Ziggler in a Street Fight. Rollins vs. Riddle is also advertised.

WWE Weekend Schedule

Friday, August 19

• Friday Night SmackDown (Montreal, QC)
• NXT Live (Lakeland, FL)

Saturday, August 20

• NXT Live (Venice, FL)
• Saturday Night’s Main Event – SmackDown (Ottowa, ON)
• Saturday Night’s Main Event – RAW (Kingston, ON)

Sunday, August 21

• Sunday Stunner – SmackDown (Quebec City, QC)
• Sunday Stunner – RAW (London, ON)

Steve Austin has kept a close eye on the WWE product and realizes the amazing work that Roman Reigns has been doing since returning to WWE television in the summer of 2020. 

For years, Vince McMahon pushed Reigns as a top star, but he never got over to the degree the former WWE boss wanted. It wasn’t until Reigns returned at SummerSlam that year with a new gimmick that was more like the true personality that made him the star McMahon knew he could be. 

During a recent interview with Bill Apter for Sportskeeda, Austin formally “acknowledged” the great work being done by the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. 

Steve Austin Acknowledges Roman Reigns

Stone Cold Steve Austin is one of the biggest stars in WWE history. An endorsement from him goes a long way. During his chat with Bill Apter, Austin gave Reigns his official stamp of approval.

“I’ll acknowledge that he’s doing some amazing work,” he said. “It took a while for him to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, and they didn’t book him in the greatest fashion at certain points of his career, but when he walked through the door, he was one of those guys that had that look and had that it factor.”

Austin said that Roman Reigns always had the potential to be the top guy in WWE. He just needed for the company to “do the right thing” with him.

“They finally started doing the right thing. He got to a mindset of where he’s at right now, and he’s just crushing it, and I couldn’t be prouder.”

Steve Austin on The Usos

In addition to praising Roman Reigns, Austin had glowing things to say about The Usos.

Austin exclaimed, “All those Samoans can work their asses off!” He never wrestled Roman Reigns or The Usos, but did work with several members of the great Anoa’i wrestling family, including Yokozuna, Rikishi and The Rock.

“The Usos are just killing it,” he said. “Jimmy and Jey, they were kind of like just a tag team, but now they’re a tag team with an identity and character, The Bloodline. So they’re great as a unit, and they’re all related, but Jimmy and Jey just in and of themselves as The Usos, they are a thing now. They are a force to be reckoned with. They’re one of the best tag teams on planet Earth right now.” 

Roman Reigns defends the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Drew McIntyre at Clash at the Castle on Saturday, September 3rd.

Watch Steve Austin’s full interview with Bill Apter here:

H/T to WrestlingNews.co

Since debuting on WWE’s main roster, Roman Reigns has faced, and defeated some of the company’s biggest stars.

Triple H, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and AJ Styles are just some of the names to fall to Reigns, and that’s before his heel turn in August 2020.

Since adopting the moniker as the ‘Tribal Chief,’ Reigns has kept an iron grip on the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship which he holds to this day.

For the First Time Ever

Reigns has defeated some of WWE’s biggest names, but there are a select few that the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion is yet to take on one-on-one.

During last Friday’s SmackDown, Karrion Kross returned to WWE attacking Drew McIntyre, and made it clear that he has Roman Reigns in his sights.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has reported that a plan between Kross and Reigns is in the works, and could be at this November’s Survivor Series Premium Live Event (via Sportskeeda.)

“Reigns is not booked on Extreme Rules in Philadelphia at this point. If they go with Reigns vs. Kross, as things stand right now, it would either be TV or the earliest would be Survivor Series barring the weekly circumstances involved in wrestling.”

Survivor Series will mark a decade of Reigns on the main roster, as he debuted at the event in 2012 as part of The Shield.

Before Survivor Series, Reigns will defend the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Drew McIntyre at next month’s Clash at the Castle event.

On September 3, WWE will host their Clash at the Castle Premium Live Event from Principality Stadium, in Cardiff, Wales.

The show will be WWE’s biggest event in the UK in over 30 years, with the last major event on British soil being Summerslam 1992 from London, England.

Something Special

WWE Clash at the Castle will be headlined by Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns defending his title against Drew McIntyre.

McIntyre earned a title match by defeating Sheamus on the go-home SmackDown before Summerslam 2022.

On Twitter, the Scottish Superstar promised that he has been working on something extremely special in the run-up to the show.

Is Drew the One?

Roman Reigns has dominated as Champion for over 700 days, but some have suggested that McIntyre will be the one to dethrone the Tribal Chief.

Not only is McIntyre one of the few Superstars WWE has pushed as on a similar level to Reigns, but many fans have said that WWE’s desire for a big moment at their first UK Premium Live Event since 1992, will see a new champion be crowned.

Others have suggested that Reigns most lose the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship ahead of WrestleMania 39, if the plan is for him to face his cousin The Rock.

The belief is that a Reigns-Rock match would not need a title involved, and it would only spoil that Reigns would win, as Rock’s busy movie schedule would keep him away from the ring.

No Triple Threat

On last week’s SmackDown, Karrion Kross returned to WWE, attacking Drew McIntyre.

After the attack, Kross stared down Reigns, making it clear he desires the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

Despite speculation that this will lead to a Triple Threat at Clash at the Castle, it’s been reported that WWE remains focussed on a singles match to headline the Cardiff show.

Tickets for WWE WrestleMania 39 at Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles go on sale this week, and WWE is still moving forward with their plans for a massive main event.

As has long been rumored, the working plan is Roman Reigns vs. The Rock. Of course, Dwayne Johnson is still one of the most in demand actors in Hollywood, and his schedule could change on a moments notice. Therefore, there’s no guarantee that the match will take place, but WWE is working with the assumption that they’ll be able to make it happen.

“It’s the plan. It’s 100% the plan for this year (WrestleMania 39),” Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestleTalk). “But the idea is, it’s the plan if he can do it. We’re still months away, months and months away. So many opportunities and things like that may come up.”

The Reigns vs. Rock match has been rumored now for a couple of years, with it seeming to be a logical destination given the two men’s family history and Reigns’ massive, unbeatable push. Taking on a returning legend like The Rock would draw enormous interest, and Rock is one of the few people out there who people could buy as a legitimate threat to Reigns at this point.

• Did WWE Find a WrestleMania Headliner at SummerSlam Try-Outs?

How do we get to The Rock vs. Roman Reigns?

One of the interesting wrinkles in this story is how television will play out to get us there. Will the match involve the WWE’s current undisputed world championship, will the belts be split up before then, and how does Cody Rhodes play into the picture?

Prior to Rhodes’ pectoral injury that occurred just before the Hell In A Cell PLE, the working plan was for a Reigns vs. Rhodes match in the near future. The injury changed all of that, but many expect for Cody to return and immediately enter the title picture early next year (potentially following a Royal Rumble victory).

Is it possible that Cody could become champion, taking the belt (or belts) off of Reigns before his match with The Rock?

A Rock vs. Reigns match would not need a championship as it would already be the biggest bout on the card, with or without a title. In fact, involving the world championship might complicate things as virtually nobody would expect The Rock to become champion again given his Hollywood schedule. That would mean that a Reigns victory would be a foregone conclusion and potentially take away from the intrigue of the match.

However, if the match is not for a championship, a Rock victory would actually seem like a possibility to the live audience and potentially make the match more interesting.

There’s a lot of creative directions they could go with this. We discussed a few more of the possibilities recently on my podcast, Top Rope Nation, and you can check out that discussion at this link.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below!

The days of one “Undisputed WWE Universal Champion” are numbered.

At WrestleMania 38, Universal Champion Roman Reigns defeated WWE Champion Brock Lesnar to unify the company’s top World Championships.

Called ‘the biggest main event in WrestleMania’ history, the win saw Reigns be crowned the ‘Undisputed WWE Universal Champion,’ a title he holds to this day.

Since unifying the two championships at WrestleMania, Reigns has been carrying the two title belts to symbolize being the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.

That could all change very soon however, following Karrion Kross’ return to WWE during last night’s SmackDown.

Undisputed No More?

Fightful Select reports that Kross’ impactful return, attacking Drew McIntyre and having a face-off with Reigns, is the sign of a big push for the two-time former WWE NXT Champion.

An idea suggested backstage is for Kross to be inserted into the current feud between Reigns and McIntyre.

There has also been a pitch for Kross to challenge Reigns, but for one of his championships, effectively ending the title unification.

De-Unifying the Titles

It was Vince McMahon who made the decision for the WWE and Universal Championships to be unified, but its the USA Network who are in support of the titles being split.

USA Network executives are said to be unhappy with how few appearances Reigns makes on Raw and wants a World Championship of their own.

Per Fightful, the network has also pitched the idea of having an interim World Champion, similar to Jon Moxley being the interim AEW World Champion due to CM Punk’s injury.

The report notes that it’s unclear how seriously WWE considered the idea, as Reigns is not injured, and having an interim Undisputed WWE Universal Champion would make little sense.

Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns once again defended the title against Brock Lesnar, but this time it was in a Last Man Standing Match in the main event of this year’s SummerSlam event. 

The match started when Lesnar jumped off a tractor. They brawled into the crowd.  After a distraction by Paul Heyman, Reigns put Lesnar through a table. Lesnar was bleeding from his back. Reigns with a series of superman punches and a spear for a near fall. Lesnar put Reigns in the front loader of the tractor and then dropped Reigns out of it.

Lesnar started moving the ring with a tractor and lifted it up. Brock hit an F5 to Heyman through the announce table. Reigns with a spear to Lesnar. Theory ran out to the ring and hit Reigns with the MITB briefcase. Lesnar took him out with an F5. Reigns with two belt shots then buried Lesnar with various things for the win. 

The last time the two stars shared the squared circle was at WrestleMania 38 earlier this year where Reigns went over on Lesnar to unify the WWE and Universal Championships. 

Lesnar took time off after this match and returned on the June 17th edition of SmackDown after Reigns retained the title over Riddle in the main event. Reigns said after there is no one left and he wrecked Riddle then he’s leaving. Lesnar walked out to have a face-to-face with Reigns before hitting an F5. 

Reigns will make his next title defense at the Clash at the Castle event on September 3 in the UK against Drew McIntyre. 

What are your thoughts on Roman Reigns retaining the Undisputed WWE Universal Title over Brock Lesnar? Was this the right call by WWE officials? Sound off in the comment section.