It was confirmed on this week’s episode of Talking Smack that Rey Mysterio will challenge for the Universal Championship inside of the Hell In a Cell. Mysterio suggested the stipulation and ‘The Special Council To The Tribal Chief’ Paul Heyman confirmed that the match will take place inside of the structure.
Roman Reigns has now taken to social media to issue a stark warning to his opponent on June 20. “For a man whose legend looms so large in our industry, he sunk to the lowest depths to try to take me down” Roman Reigns began.
Roman Reigns on Rey Mysterio
“Next week, you will #AcknowledgeMe properly. #HIAC”
There are now two matches on the Hell In a Cell card that will be taking place inside of the structure at the ThunderDome. Bobby Lashley vs Drew McIntyre will also be a Cell match, where Drew McIntyre will never get to challenge for the title again if he loses.
Here’s the current confirmed card for Hell In a Cell 2021:
WWE Championship: Hell in a CellMatch – Bobby Lashley (c) with MVP vs. Drew McIntyre
Universal Championship: Hell in a CellMatch – Roman Reigns (c) with Paul Heyman vs. Rey Mysterio
WWE RAW Women’s ChampionshipMatch – Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Charlotte
WWE SmackDown Women’s ChampionshipMatch – Bianca Belair (c) vs. Bayley
Rey Mysterio will be challenging for the Universal Championship at the Hell In a Cell PPV next Sunday. Interestingly, that’s also Father’s Day, so the ongoing story involving Rey’s son Dominik having been attacked by Roman adds an extra layer to the narrative.
Mysterio challenged Reigns on this week’s episode of SmackDown to make it a Hell In a Cell match. During Talking Smack, the ‘Special Council To The Tribal Chief’ Paul Heyman would accept the challenge from the Luchador legend.
“I get this story, I want to see it go down,” Heyman began on Talking Smack. “As special counsel to the Tribal Chief, the Universal Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns. I, Paul Heyman, hereby inform the public that I’m authorized to accept Rey Mysterio’s challenge against Roman Reigns inside Hell in a Cell. And that’s bad news for Rey Mysterio.”
Paul Heyman on Mysterio’s Challenge
“Because you are not stepping into Hell in a Cell with just a defending champion. You’re stepping into Hell in a Cell against the monarch of the mat” Heyman added. “The gracious God of the grappling game. The taste-maker of the island of relevancy. The savage Samoan sadist. The devil himself — inside Hell in a Cell. You’re stepping into the demonic structure with Roman Reigns.”
Here’s the full card for Hell In a Cell on Sunday June 20:
WWE Championship: Hell in a CellMatch – Bobby Lashley (c) with MVP vs. Drew McIntyre
Universal Championship: Hell in a CellMatch – Roman Reigns (c) with Paul Heyman vs. Rey Mysterio
WWE RAW Women’s ChampionshipMatch – Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Charlotte
WWE SmackDown Women’s ChampionshipMatch – Bianca Belair (c) vs. Bayley
The Undertaker recently had an interview with Sports Illustrated. The dead man focused the talk on a specific topic and offered high praise to one of his biggest rivals – Roman Reigns.
The universal champion is currently in the middle of one of the most impressive runs of his career. His character work since his heel turn last year has won him major praise from not only fans but from many industry veterans as well.
The Undertaker also joined this list during his latest interview. The last outlaw revealed that he was so impressed by Reigns’ performance that he actually went up to the big dog during his last WWE appearance:
“I’m so proud of where he is, the night of Survivor Series [in November], I went up to Roman and Jey and said, ‘This is the most compelling story that we’ve done in a while.’ And where he’s been able to take it, it’s so good. It’s not forced. Roman is hitting on all cylinders.”
The former world champion approved his pairing with Paul Heyman as well. He said that the advocate of Brock Lesnar is the perfect mouthpiece and this pairing works very well together.
The Undertaker Wishes For A Feud With Roman Reigns
Taker mentioned how there is a compelling backstory behind Roman Reigns’ heel turn. He said that Reigns is a great villain before expressing the desire to have a program with the Tribal Chief if he could:
“I think he’s a great heel—coldhearted, calculated, There is a compelling backstory and you still feel the tension when Roman appears. Like I said, I’m really proud of him. I wish I had the gas in the tank to work a program with him now. It would definitely be something special.”
After being on the top of the business for over 30 years, The Undertaker retired from wrestling last year. He had his final farewell at the Survivor Series PPV last November which was his final WWE appearance.
The dead man then did not make an appearance at WrestleMania 37. He seems to have eased into the post-WWE life but you can never say never in wrestling.
Would you like to see The Undertaker returning to the company for one final program against a heel Roman Reigns? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
In January Adam Pearce was preparing to lace up his books for the first time in seven years. Gearing up for a fight with the Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. Sadly for AP, WWE creative pulled the plug on the storyline at the last minute.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEdKlYBpeI9/
Talking in a recent interview with Give Me Sport, Adam Pearce admitted that while he was no longer an active competitor, he would still very much relish the chance to face Roman Reigns in the ring.
“If you come to me tomorrow and say ‘Hey, let’s rewind to the Royal Rumble’. If that match was actually going to happen, there is no chance I’d turn that down. That would have been incredible.”
As they spoke, Piece mentioned the rapport he had with Reigns, and how easy it felt to work with WWE’s biggest name.
“I was happy to be a part of it. Roman and I have certain chemistry on camera, he’s really taken to this mob boss mentality and does it so well. You can’t teach on-screen chemistry, I think he and I have enough of a personal relationship that the conversations always felt real. It was naturally fun and really easy to play off him and Paul Heyman.”
While the match never happened, Adam Pearce has no plans to get back into the ring, despite keeping in shape. His wrestling days are a part of his past, and he is focused on the future.
“I’m still wearing my size 13s if needs be, if the occasion calls for it, I’m capable. But I’d much rather wear my suit and tie than my tights and boots!”
WWE NXT Superstar and the North American Champion Bronson Reed recently appeared on WWE After the Bell. The Australian powerhouse discussed a number of topics on the podcast with Corey Graves, including his dream match in WWE.
Interestingly, the man that his picked as his dream bout in the company was also on the podcast just a few weeks ago. “For me, there’s so many great heavyweights at the moment that there’s so many matches I would like to do,” Reed began on the podcast.
“I think one that would be arranged and hopefully done sooner than later is Bronson Reed vs. WALTER” Reed would continue, revealing his dream match against the WWE United Kingdom Champion. “That’s the one I want to tip off first and then we can talk about the other people.”
Bronson Reed vs WALTER
Bronson Reed would also put out another name of someone that he wants to face in a WWE ring. “Another dream match for me at the moment is Roman Reigns. That’s someone I want to be able to step in the ring with.”
Roman Reigns is arguably a name that most WWE Superstars currently on the NXT brand would put out there as an opponent that they would want. The idea of two gargantuan performers like WALTER and Bronson Reed going at it in NXT however is a very intriguing prospect.
Would you like to see Bronson Reed vs WALTER? Let us know in the comments
Roman Reigns is a wrestler in his prime right now. After a long period in the creative doldrums, stagnating as a face nobody could like, WWE creative finally pulled the trigger on a heel turn.
Now, undefeated since December 2019, Reigns is arguably the most dominant wrestler around. He is leaner and meaner than ever. The addition of Paul Heyman as his spokesperson was a great stroke. Even if Roman has improved immeasurably on the mic in the same period of time. The journey to becoming a dominant heel was a remarkably simple one for Roman Reigns. Now, as Heavyweight champion, he rightly sits at the head of the table. Eleven consecutive defences of his title have only added to the tribal chief’s confidence.
Roman Reigns is riding high these days and doesn’t waste a moment in making sure everybody knows it. Taking to Twitter recently, Reigns penned a response to a WWE post asking fans about their favourite Backlash fight.
“I don’t need stunts or gimmicks.” Reigns began, referring to the evenings undead attack that has gained such derision from the WWE universe.
Reign’s went the distance with Cesaro at Backlash, in a fight lasting over thirty minutes. Cesaro was arguably the toughest competitor Roman Reign’s has faced as champion. In emerging victories, Reigns further clarified his status as the man to beat in WWE. The only question remaining is, who out there has what it takes to beat him.
I don’t need stunts or gimmicks. I am every bit of this art form. 30 min inside the ropes.. No crowd, no problem. Head and shoulders above everyone else and that’s being generous!!
Roman Reigns defeated Cesaro to retain the Universal Championship at WrestleMania Backlash last night. Following his victory, WWE correspondents attempted to speak with Reigns and Paul Heyman.
“Roman Reigns is the end all be all, he’s the head of the table, he’s the Tribal Chief, he’s the Reigns-ing, defending, undisputed, incontrovertible, Universal Heavyweight Champion,” Heyman said. “Cesaro was a qualified opponent but he’s not a champion. That distinction belongs to Roman Reigns.”
The interview with Paul Heyman can be viewed below:
The win over Cesaro was Reigns’ 11th successful title defense since winning the Universal title on August 30th, 2020 at Payback. No other holder of the title has defended it more than 6 times. Brock Lesnar held the title for a 504-day stretch from April 2017 until August 2018 but only defended the title 6x before losing it to Reigns at SummerSlam 2018.
Reigns holds the record for the most defenses of the Universal title in one reign (11) and across all reigns (13). Lesnar holds the record for most reigns with the belt (3x) and total days spent with the title (688) as well as the longest single-reign (504).
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns made his latest title defense against Cesaro.
It happened at Sunday’s (May 16, 2021) WWE WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view event. The match had a slow start but built over time like any other main event.
Throughout the match, Cesaro would have a moment of offense only to be cut down by Reigns, who worked over the right arm of Cesaro and at one point, he noted that was “DB style” (Daniel Bryan reference). Reigns won it with the guillotine choke.
Post-match, Seth Rollins came out to the ring and had a staredown with Reigns before he attacked Cesaro. Rollins has been feuding with Cesaro over the last few months.
Reigns previous title defenses came at WrestleMania 37 where he beat Daniel Bryan and Edge in a triple threat match. Then, earlier this month on an edition of SmackDown, Reigns beat Bryan in a match that had Bryan’s SmackDown career on the line. With him losing, Bryan was banished from SmackDown only for it to be revealed later that Bryan’s contract had expired with WWE.
Cesaro had interrupted Reigns, The Usos, and Paul Heyman in the opening segment of the throwback edition of SmackDown which led to Seth Rollins attacking him from behind. Cesaro defeated Rollins when they faced off at WrestleMania 37 last month and did so yet again on this throwback SmackDown.
Cesaro has been wanting a title match with Reigns for quite some time. Thus, Teddy Long announced if he defeated Rollins on this show then he would get a title shot.
Paul Heyman recently spoke to DAZN. The Special Council To The Tribal Chief discussed a wide variety of topics during the interview, however his answering of a question regarding Brock Lesnar returning to face WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns as particularly intriguing.
Although Reigns and Lesnar have already fought on multiple occasions, including WrestleMania main events, a meeting between the two now would be arguably the one that draws the most intrigue from the audience. With Heyman now aligned with Roman, and Reigns portraying his Head of The Table character, it means that Lesnar has a different reason to go after the Samoan Champion.
“The problem that I have with your question is that it’s based on a hypothetical” Heyman said to DAZN during the interview. “My father was a far smarter man than I will ever be, which is a testament to my father. My father used to have a saying, ‘If your aunt had balls, she’d be your uncle.’ She doesn’t. So she’s not.”
“If Brock Lesnar were to return, ‘if’ is a hypothetical. Brock Lesnar does what Brock Lesnar wants to do” the former ECW owner continued. “How you can be cognizant of the fact that Brock Lesnar does not want to challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal championship, or at least not yet, is because he hasn’t done it.”
Paul Heyman on Brock Lesnar
“Because if Brock Lesnar wanted to it, it would have happened already” Heyman noted, in an extremely telling manner. “And it hasn’t happened already because he doesn’t want to.”
“Now, there may be reasons why he doesn’t want to” Heyman added. “And that’s for Brock Lesnar to reveal if Brock Lesnar ever decides to reveal it. Man doesn’t tweet. He doesn’t post pictures on Instagram. He’s not a public persona. He’s a very private beast. He does enjoy being on his tractor and on his combine, and the man loves the farm.”
“If Brock Lesnar ever decides to appear in public, it’ll be when Brock Lesnar wants to appear in public because Brock Lesnar does what Brock Lesnar wants to do” Paul Heyman concluded, leaving the door open to a potential mega match down the line.
Universal Champion Roman Reigns is the top dog in WWE. After years of fans rejecting him as the next face of the company, his current Tribal Chief persona has finally resonated.
WWE veteran Tamina recently spoke with ViBe & Wrestling and was asked who she feels is the ‘Roman Reigns’ of the Women’s Division.
She first said that if we’re talking only women of Polynesian culture, it’s gotta be her, not Nia Jax. “It’s not Nia for sure, definitely not Nia,” she joked.
Tamina then named Charlotte Flair as the Roman Reigns of the WWE women’s locker room. “I would say probably Charlotte at this point. She came back and she definitely got something on her head. She is coming back for something and definitely wants to prove who she is. She came out and put everybody on the spot and she addressed all the locker room, so I would have to say maybe Charlotte right now.”
Charlotte Flair is a logical pick. Both are second generation competitors who have racked up more world title accolades than you can count.
WWE has a deep women’s division that includes other prominent stars such as of Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Bayley and Alexa Bliss.
Check out ViBe & Wrestling’s interview with Tamina:
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns defeated Daniel Bryan on this week’s episode of WWE SmackDown. With that win, Roman has ‘banished’ Bryan from the blue brand of WWE.
Following the win Reigns posted a video online, saying that the former WWE Champion Bryan should ‘thank him’ for giving him the ability to go home and ‘be a dad.’
“Already putting in the work, just a few hours removed on Saturday morning” Reigns began during the mid workout video. “Last night, I achieved greatness once again. As I’m hitting this cardio, I’m sitting here thinking, the whole world should be thanking me.”
Roman Reigns on Daniel Bryan
“Daniel Bryan, you should be thanking me” Reigns added. “I’m a man of my word, I did what I said I was going to do. Not only did I give the audience what they need, I got rid of you and I’m driving us forward, taking care of the future, getting rid of the old.”
“I gave you what you wanted. You made it clear; you were looking for a new door” Roman Reigns continued, alluding to Daniel Bryan saying that he potentially wants to wrestle elsewhere. “What better way to go through the new one when the old one hits you in the ass? That’s what I did, I closed this door on you.”
“We’re going to live the ‘Show up and Win’ mantra and keep putting work in” Reigns added. “Next Friday on SmackDown, not only do I expect you to acknowledge me — we’re not talking about you Daniel Bryan, we’re done with you. Go have fun, be a dad, save the world, hug a tree, whatever you want to do — To the WWE Universe.”
“Some of them call you that, but to me you’re mine. You’re my audience and my people” Reigns concluded. “Not only are you going to acknowledge me on Friday, you’re going to thank me.”
Do you want to see Daniel Bryan leave WWE and look for a ‘new door?’ Let us know in the comments
Roman Reigns defended his Universal Championship against Daniel Bryan on Friday’s episode of WWE SmackDown. The stipulation to go along with this match was if Bryan lost then he would be banished from SmackDown.
The match saw Bryan work over the right arm of Reigns. It was a battle between the supreme bigger champion against the hungry underdog. The back and forth match saw Reigns lock in the guillotine choke for the win to retain the title. Bryan’s SmackDown career is over, but he never tapped. Instead, he passed out.
WWE did a show-long storyline last week that was about Reigns responding to Cesaro’s challenge for a Universal Championship match, which Bryan advocated for Cesaro to get the title shot. It turned out that Bryan teamed with Cesaro to defeat Seth Rollins & Jey Uso.
Paul Heyman later promised that at the end of the show Reigns would give an answer to Cesaro’s challenge. Fast forward to the main event segment, Reigns told Cesaro that his answer is no and will always be no because he doesn’t think Cesaro deserves it and isn’t on his level.
Reigns said the Universal Champion issues the challenges around here before turning his attention to Bryan. Reigns gave Bryan one more shot at the title, which Cesaro sided with Bryan. Reigns said he doesn’t want to see Bryan on his show again after Bryan loses and thus the match was made official.
The ‘Special Council To The Tribal Chief’ Paul Heyman recently sent a warning to Daniel Bryan ahead of next week’s episode of WWE SmackDown. Daniel Bryan will be facing Roman Reigns in the main event of the show for the Universal Championship.
Should Bryan lose, he will be ‘banished’ from SmackDown.
“If Roman Reigns wins, and I assure you he will win, that’s it for Daniel Bryan” Paul Heyman began on Talking Smack. “He’s out of here, he’s not coming back, like the Midnight Rider. He’s out. O-U-T. Gone! Banished from SmackDown.”
Paul Heyman on Daniel Bryan vs Roman Reigns
“No more Daniel Bryan. No more Bryan Danielson, no more ‘American Dragon,’ no more Brie Bella’s baby daddy around here” Heyman added. “Gone! Finished! Kaput! Out the damn window!”
“If you’re a fan of Daniel Bryan, I encourage you, I implore you to watch next Friday night, live on SmackDown” Paul Heyman continued. “It’s the last chance you’re going to get to see Daniel Bryan in action.”
“You [Daniel Bryan] pushed the Tribal Chief too far. Now, as you should have learned at WrestleMania, now come the consequences” Heyman concluded.
Do you think that we’ll see Daniel Bryan end up on RAW, or maybe even NXT? Let us know in the comments
2021 Men’s Royal Rumble winner Edge recently took part in a WWE media call. The Rated R Superstar discussed a number of topics during the call, including his ‘tweener’ character he portrayed heading into WrestleMania 37.
Main eventing Night 2 of WrestleMania 37, Edge and Daniel Bryan both lost in a Triple Threat match with Roman Reigns defending his Universal Championship.
“When you find out it’s a triple threat, you go, okay, we both can’t play the underdog hero” Edge began during the call, discussing how Daniel Bryan was added to the match. “[You can’t have] that Rocky vibe and both pull that off. If you look at the both of us, well, that’s Bryan. That’s his thing. No one does that better than him.”
“I’d like to think if I could come at it with that little ‘Rated R’ vibe back, that gives me an edge that I think our audience was ready to see” The ‘Ultimate Opportunist’ continued.
Edge on Character Development
“I think we’re past, and here’s what’s difficult because we don’t have the audience to really know, but I think they were past this veteran who’s coming back” Edge added.
“Can he do it? He’s questioning” Edge continued. “They saw that with Randy [Orton], and that worked there. I thought it could continue to work, but I saw that it wasn’t, and then you throw Bryan into the mix, okay, he’s going to corner that market. Roman [Reigns] is cornering his market.”
“I have to find a direction to come from here, and to me, it’s neither heel nor babyface” The Rated R Superstar stated. “It’s not hero. It’s not a villain it’s Edge. And he wants back what he never lost, and the character of Edge was always driven by the championship. Nothing else.”
“It was so simple. Edge wants the title” the former World Champion concluded. “That’s it. Doesn’t matter who has it. It could have been Batista. It could have been JBL. That’s what Edge wants.”
Do you think that Edge should keep this character going forward in WWE? Let us know in the comments
As expected, Edge, Daniel Bryan, and Roman Reigns battled in the main event of WrestleMania 37 – Night 2 for the Universal Title.
The match was a fight as they brawled around ringside. Reigns powerbombed Bryan through the announce table. Bryan and Edge did a double submission hold on Edge. Edge hit a spear to Reigns only for Bryan to pull out the referee to break it up. Edge hit a conchairto to Bryan then Reigns hit a spear to Edge and did a conchairto to Edge for the win and to retain the title.
The WWE Hall of Famer worked the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event by entering the Men’s Royal Rumble Match at number one and lasted more than 58 minutes to eliminate Randy Orton to win the match.
At the time of his return, Edge had been sidelined since last year when he suffered an injury during a match with Randy Orton at the WWE Backlash pay-per-view event.
WWE decided to change plans when they had Bryan feud with Reigns for the title as “The Big Dog” first beat the fan favorite star at the Elimination Champion pay-per-view event only for them to do a rematch at Fastlane the following month.
Edge was the special guest enforcer for the contest. The finish of that match led to Bryan being added to the Mania headliner as he actually tapped out Reigns after the referee was knocked out. However, Edge hit a spear to both Reigns and Bryan, which led to Reigns pinning Bryan.
Roman Reigns has been portraying a new heel persona since returning to WWE at SummerSlam 2020. At WrestleMania, he’ll face both Edge and Daniel Bryan with the Universal title at stake. Reigns was recently interviewed by PEOPLE and spoke about the character he has been portraying since last summer.
“It feels good,” Reigns said of his current persona. “There’s a lot of truth to what we put into the Tribal Chief character, the burden of the crown, of being the face of the company. I think everybody would like to be Superman, but to be able to have some of those Superman qualities, then also display the emotions, the mentality that comes into it, and the way it can affect a man. People connect to that.”
“People understand the struggle, people understand these different battles, these emotional battles that my character kind of displays on a weekly basis,” he continued. “I think it allows for a different connection, and that’s why it’s been received so well.”
Family Man
Roman also spoke about how the last year has impacted him and his family. The father of 5 is enjoying having more time with his loved ones.
“Due to having the availability and the lack of travel, I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to just invest so much more time in my relationship with my wife and my family,” he said. “It’s going to make you a better individual if your team is untouchable and is extremely strong.”
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns has been going back and forth on Twitter with former UFC 2-division Champion Daniel Cormier.
Cormier is a massive pro wrestling fan, and he has expressed interest in switching over to WWE in the past.
During a conversation with Ariel Helwani, Roman Reigns said that he is able to ‘smash anyone.’ “I’ll smash anybody one-on-one, whether it’s Daniel Bryan, Edge one-on-one. DC one-on-one, I’ll smash ’em all one-on-one, it don’t matter.”
“Get him (Daniel Cormier) from behind the table” Reigns continued. “Get him in the gym, maybe. Maybe he could have a chance, I dunno. It’d be a short story, I’ll tell DC.”
Daniel Cormier vs Roman Reigns
Cormier responded to Reigns on Twitter, saying “Watch your mouth @RomanReignsWWE! I’ll dance with the big dog! @arielhelwani @espnmma @wwe.”
After Reigns replied saying “that announce table has made him soft,” Daniel Cormier seemingly sent out an ‘official’ challenge to the Big Dog.
“My advisor @arielhelwani is waiting by the phone” Cormier wrote. “It’s time to stop talking and let’s make this real! I’m 42 years old with a bad back and I’m whippin’ you any day of the week. Your move @VinceMcMahon, @HHH this my yard , I’m the big dog!”
The former Shield member is once again scheduled to be a part of the Universal Championship match at WrestleMania this year. Though this time, he is the one who is defending the title. During a recent interview with TMZ Sports, Reigns was asked if he is worried about coronavirus with fans being allowed back at the show this year and he replied negatively:
“No, I think with all the safety protocols that we’ve established since I came back, with all the precautions that we take to make sure I’m isolated to where I’m not heavily interacting with anyone outside of the people that I’m actually in the ring with, all the way to the weekly testing, I don’t think WrestleMania is going to be any different. You know, our safety precautions are second to none.”
Roman Reigns Explains WrestleMania Security Protocols
Roman Reigns then talked all the different security protocols that have been established to ensure the safety of the talent and fans. He mentioned how fans will be in pods and masks would be mandatory for the people in attendance, before claiming that they are trying to create the safest environment for everybody:
“We’ll have the pods to create the social distancing, and masks will be required. We will be giving out masks for those who are forgetful. We’ll have, I believe, cashless concessions, so we’re going to create an opportunity where everybody’s gonna be as safe as they could be… all the way from going to the grocery store to sitting on their couch at home, we’re trying to create that level of safety for everybody. We’re also trying to create an atmosphere and an experience that they’ll never forget.”
Roman Reigns was also asked if he still gets excited for WrestleMania after competing in a number of Manias in the past decade and he said that he enjoys every performance. The Universal champion claimed that it is going to be really cool to get some normalcy back with fans in attendance. The Tribal Chief will be defending his championship against Daniel Bryan and Edge in the main event of WrestleMania 37 on night two of the show.
WWE Hall of Famer and one third of the WrestleMania 37 main event Edge recently spoke to app.com. The ‘Ultimate Opportunist’ discussed a number of topics during the interview, including fans finally being back in attendance for a major PPV at WrestleMania 37.
“Our audience, it’s our phantom limb” Edge began. “Without them there, it doesn’t feel quite the same yet. It’s not going to feel the way it’s supposed to until we get there that night and you actually hear a rumble and a roar out there from an audience. Then it will become fully real to me, I think.”
“Right now, as a company, we’re all kind of flying blind” Edge continued. “Because we have these stories and we have this creative but we don’t know what the actual reaction is going to be. When we walk out there, who knows how they’re going to react?”
Edge on Roman Reigns
Edge also talked about how the heel version of Roman Reigns will be affected by fans being there live. Reigns has not yet had the opportunity to unleash his ‘Tribal Chief’ persona on a live crowd since making the turn last year.
“An audience has never seen this (version of) Roman Reigns, and I think this is the Roman Reigns they’ve wanted to see for a long time” Edge claimed. “So how are they going to react? We don’t know. How are they going to react to me at this stage and kind of flipping the switch on finding the old Rated-R Superstar? Who knows.”
“I think the bottom line is you’ve just got to hope they react” The Rated R Superstar concluded. “And I’d like to think, as starved as we all are just for entertainment and a walk back into whatever our new normal is, I’d like to think that’s going to be a pretty ravenous crowd, reaction-wise.”
Roman Reigns’ upcoming match at WrestleMania 37 saw a major change a couple of days ago at Friday Night SmackDown as it was announced that the Universal Championship bout has been changed to a triple threat match involving Reigns, Edge, and Daniel Bryan. It was also confirmed that the match would take place at Night Two of the event, making it a main event match.
Some WWE fans have been rallying for making Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair’s SmackDown Women’s Championship match to be made the main event of Night One at WrestleMania 37. As soon as it was confirmed that the Roman Reigns’ match will take place on Night Two, fans began trending the hashtag “MainEventBanksvsBelair” in order to show support for the match to be a main event. Many from the wrestling industries also joined in and showed support for the campaign. During this, the Universal Champion decided that it needs to be made clear who’s actually main eventing WrestleMania. Writing in a Twitter post, Reigns simply said, “2 weeks. 14 days. The 1 and ONLY Main Event.”
The opening segment of this week’s episode of SmackDown saw Daniel Bryan demanding another shot at Roman Reigns’ Universal title, only to be taken out by Edge. It was finally confirmed after some building up towards the announcement that Bryan would be added to the main to the main event of WrestleMania. The segment would end in chaos as the three would try taking each other out. The episode ended with Edge standing in the ring.
WrestleMania 37 Card
WrestleMania 37 will air on Saturday, April 10th and Sunday, April 11, 2021 from the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Here is the card of the event:
Night 1
WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair
Bad Bunny vs. The Miz
WWE Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. AJ Styles and Omos
Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon
Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins
Night 2
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan
WWE has officially confirmed a major change to the WrestleMania main event and announced that the Universal Championship bout will now be a triple threat match involving Roman Reigns, Edge, and Daniel Bryan.
The opening segment of this week’s episode of SmackDown followed up from the events of Fastlane and it saw Daniel Bryan demanding another shot at the Universal title before being taken out by Edge.
After building towards the big announcement throughout the episode, Adam Pearce finally confirmed Bryan’s addition to the match in the main event segment featuring all three of the match participants.
The segment ended in chaos as all three tried to take out each other after the big announcement. The show ended with Edge standing tall in the ring.
WWE has now announced 11 matches for both nights of WrestleMania and the company has assigned the nights for most of these bouts except for the match between Shane McMahon and Braun Strowman.
The company is expected to announce a stipulation for the match and it’s likely that they will confirm the date for the fight then. You can check out the updated match card for the show here.
WWE is reportedly planning to make a major change to the announced WrestleMania 37 main event between the Universal Champion Roman Reigns and the 2021 Royal Rumble winner Edge.
The Universal Championship match at tonight’s Fastlane saw a chaotic ending. Daniel Bryan accidently hit the special guest enforcer Edge with a chair while trying to take out Roman Reigns.
Edge replied to this attack by taking out Bryan with a chair. He then put Reigns out with a chair shot as well. The Rated R Superstar hit Bryan once again after this and yelled that it was all his fault.
The Hall Of Famer then exited the ring. The chaos allowed Reigns to cover his opponent and retain the Universal Championship to end the show.
While the company showed a Roman Reigns vs. Edge graphic for WrestleMania 37 before the ending, latest report suggests that this match will be altered.
According to reports from F4wonline, the company has decided to make the Universal Championship match a triple threat involving Daniel Bryan and the Fastlane finish was a setup for the same.
There is no word yet on when WWE will officially announce the changes in the bout but they are likely to follow up on the situation on SmackDown this Friday and it’s possible that the triple threat will be made official then.
Roman Reigns put his WWE Universal Title up for grabs against Daniel Bryan at the Fastlane pay-per-view event on Sunday night.
The match had Edge as the Special Guest Enforcer. It featured Bryan going for quick takedowns in the early going and submission attempts while Reigns had a more brawling style. Reigns dominated the majority of the match while Bryan continued to make comebacks that were mostly failures. Minutes passed by and Bryan made his comeback that started by sending Reigns into the ring post and connecting with some flying knee strikes.
Near the end, Bryan knocked out the referee with a running knee, which allowed Edge to be inserted in the match and counted the pin attempt, but it was at two. Jey Uso took out Edge and Bryan with superkicks. Bryan eventually took out Jey with some chair shots.
Bryan accidentally hit Edge with a chair so when Bryan later had Reigns in the Yes Lock, Edge took them both out with a chair and yelled ‘this is his.’ Reigns pinned Bryan right away for the win.
Last month at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event, Bryan beat Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, King Corbin, and Sami Zayn in the gimmick match to earn the right to become the #1 contender for the title. Reigns quickly beat him immediately after the match.
WWE then had Bryan feud with Jey where they worked a singles match then a Steel Cage match with Bryan ultimately being given his rematch against “The Big Dog.”
Edge beat Jey Uso on the March 19th edition of SmackDown to become the Special Guest Enforcer, which marked the first match on the blue brand for the WWE Hall of Famer in over a decade. Edge will defend the Universal Title against Edge at WrestleMania 37.
The Rock vs. Roman Reigns for WrestleMania 37 has been in the talks for a long time, but unfortunately it isn’t going to materialize, at least this year. The dream match has been teased for over a year now and fans had hoped to see the match at the Grandest Stage Of Them All. While there doesn’t seem to be any indication of the match happening anytime soon, Paul Heyman said in an interview that negotiations for the match are taking place.
“If I could show you one day’s worth of text messages, emails and calls that come into my phone from some of the biggest superstars in sports and entertainment on this planet, it would blow your mind,” Paul Heyman told GiveMeSport in a recent interview. “Crossover celebrities in their prime would love to step into a WrestleMania ring with Roman Reigns. It’s not just Dwayne Johnson. The Rock is just one of many. Top stars in many sports are yearning for the publicity, the notoriety, fame, legacy and money of main eventing WrestleMania with Roman Reigns.”
Roman Reigns vs. The Rock is a match that both men themselves are interested in. It would be one of the biggest marquee matches that the company could assemble. Rock being one of the biggest movie stars right now with a demanding schedule could make it tricky to actually take place. Triple H has said that if Rock wants to do it then WWE will do “everything” to make sure it happens. “If fans want to see it, we will make it happen. But it really comes down to does The Rock want to it and does he have the time to do it.”
If not now, then later. Roman Reigns has said that it would make sense for him to face The Rock when WrestleMania returns to Hollywood. “We’ll go to Hollywood for WrestleMania 39, and I think it just makes sense, he’s the biggest box office attraction for the big screen. So, to be able to take that and match it up with the biggest box office attraction in sports entertainment, I think some magic would be made,” Reigns said regarding the matchup.
The match has been in discussions for a few years now and The Rock has discussed what the potential match could be like multiple times before. “The People’s Champ” said that he’d be honored to wrestle his cousin at a future WrestleMania. He even relayed that not only would he be honored to face him in the ring, he’d be also more than glad to put Reigns over on that stage.
Big E was who his ideal opponent for WrestleMania 38 would be, and he named one of the top guys in the company. He suggested that he would like to face Roman Reigns at the “Grandest Stage Of Them All” next year at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Intercontinental Champion said that it is his objective to be on Reigns’ level, adding that he has done an outstanding job as the top performer.
“That’s the goal, you know? To be in that tier, to be at the very top, Big E told Adam Wilbourn of WhatCulture. I think Roman’s done a stellar job. ‘Stellar’ isn’t even a good enough superlative to describe how much he’s elevated himself, even though he was already at the top. And I think his presentation, the promos, the character stuff, all that stuff has been really cool to see, and he’s been killing it. Much respect to him.”
Roman Reigns has become the face of SmackDown after his return at SummerSlam as a heel, and captured the Universal Championship from Bray Wyatt at Payback last year. Reigns has held the title since, and has consistently delivered good in-ring work and promos. While the Head of the Table is on the top of his game right now, Big E hopes that he can be a touch challenger for him.
While it’s completely possible that Roman Reigns could lose the title by next year over the 400 days, Big E hopes he’s still got the title and that would be his dream match at WrestleMania. “I think that would be as far as if I could pick any opponent, that would be the one. So hopefully by next year he’s still got the title – and that’d be over 400 days. We’ll see, there’s a lot that can happen from now until then, but that would be it.”
