3 potential feuds for Roman Reigns heading into Payback 2023
For well over 1,000 days, Roman Reigns has stood tall over the WWE roster. The list of superstars he’s beaten in his record-setting reign has almost become too long to transcribe. So much so that he’s having to run laps around the roster and face superstars he’s already beaten, including his own family members.
At SummerSlam, The Tribal Chief retained his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in a prestigious Tribal Combat against his cousin Jey Uso. As with most Roman Reigns matches, outside interference would come to his aid as Jimmy Uso made a shocking turn to help The Tribal Chief retain.
With Reigns now set to appear this Friday night on SmackDown, we must look ahead to WWE Payback and see what’s next for The Head of the Table.
Here are three potential feuds for Roman Reigns heading into Payback 2023.
#3. Sheamus
The Celtic Warrior is one of the most recognizable faces on the blue brand. His constant presence in WWE for well over a decade has made him a respected figure in the locker room. Despite all his accomplishments, the 45-year-old is still hungry to achieve more.
Recently, the Brawling Brute has allowed that hunger to almost spill into jealousy, as he’s taken several shots at The Tribal Chief. In an interview with the Daily Mail, Sheamus stated that he believed The Bloodline's storyline is receiving way too much TV time – time that could have been allocated to other feuds.
“Obviously there’s the luxury of getting all the storyline time and everything. I feel like he’s made the most of the opportunity he’s had, but I feel like there’s guys on the roster begging for that amount of time to tell their own stories and that’s one of the only things that’s going."
In the same article, he also alluded to the fact that no one cared about Roman Reigns before he got sick with COVID.
"That makes a big star… let’s be honest, before he went away with COVID, people didn’t give a s**t about him. He was the big baby face who was wrestling Goldberg and nobody really cared."
With all these shots, surely Sheamus is planting the seeds for the renewal of a storied rivalry.
#2. Solo Sikoa
The only chink in The Tribal Chief’s armor is his family. Through his narcissism, Roman Reigns has almost alienated every member of his bloodline, and Solo Sikoa may have finally reached his wits’ end with his cousin.
Near the climax of the Tribal Combat, Reigns and Sikoa got into a mishap that led to the champion spearing The Enforcer. Solo didn’t take too kindly to this and ended up staring down the champion in a tense finish to the match.
ROMAN SPEARS SOLO LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OMG
#Summerslam pic.twitter.com/5EhFFXSZt6
Having already faced every other member in his faction, Solo Sikoa is the next logical step for Reigns as he looks to solidify his place as the head of the Anoa’i family.
#1. Bobby Lashley vs. Roman Reigns
The All Mighty recently made his return to WWE programming through several backstage segments with The Street Profits. Lashley is seemingly creating his own faction, perhaps one strong enough to rival The Bloodline. Even though Roman Reigns has beaten a plethora of future Hall of Famers, Bobby Lashley is one of the biggest names missing from that list.
Turning Street Profits heel & aligning them with Bobby Lashley was a great decision.
This has money written all over it. pic.twitter.com/eCeZPCT84p
With the help of his new faction, the numbers game wouldn’t be an issue here. Instead, we’d get an all-out war both inside the ring and out of it.
At this point, WWE is running out of credible opponents for the champion. Bobby Lashley is not only a fresh feud for Roman, but it gives us a MEGA match as he poses a legitimate threat to Roman's reign.