5 reasons why Triple H made a major mistake with Roman Reigns, ruining a huge WWE match
Instead of a face-to-face after WWE Survivor Series: WarGames, Roman Reigns, and Solo Sikoa have essentially played the telephone game with promos on SmackDown. Sikoa rampaged on the episode after losing WarGames.
He claimed to be The Tribal Chief since he still possessed the Ula Fala necklace. Instead of appearing live during SmackDown, The Head of the Table responded via a pre-taped promo as if he was at a movie set.
The former Undisputed WWE Universal Champion explained that the control the necklace bestowed was actually more important than the family it leads, The Wiseman, or the Undisputed Title. The Original Tribal Chief then challenged Solo to a Tribal Combat on the Netflix premiere of RAW.
Triple H and his bookers have made the big mistake of having Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa's epic showdown happen too early and ruining the match for the next five reasons:
#5. Reigns probably won't be on Smackdown until the week before the match
Roman Reigns has been a part-time performer for the last four years. He made minimal title defenses while the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. Cody Rhodes already surpassed his match total in less than a year with the belt.
While it ups the ante of those title matches, it doesn't help the rest of the time he doesn't appear. Not showing up makes it feel like he's above the day-to-day while his contemporaries appear weekly on programming.
Since he didn't appear live on the latest SmackDown, Roman Reigns will probably only pop up once before the actual match on RAW. LA Knight will do the heavy lifting until Reigns decides to grace the WWE Universe with his presence again.
#4. Having it in January leads to another Roman Reigns WrestleMania main event
Roman Reigns has main-evented WrestleMania five times in the last four years. He closed both nights of WrestleMania 40, meaning Bayley, the other Royal Rumble winner, didn't receive the honor.
Commentators make a huge deal about Rumble winners earning the right to main event The Show of Shows. If Reigns emerges as The Tribal Chief on Netflix, it likely means he'll be in the main event of WrestleMania 41 regardless of opponent.
Bookers need to shuffle other names in and out of the spot to help build and create more than one star. Things have changed and many other names like CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Gunther, Bianca Belair, and Rhea Ripley are worthy of the honor.
#3. Tribal Combat will overshadow other huge moments at RAW debut
WWE is loading up for RAW's Netflix debut. Several legends could appear and many big matches will go down. There also need to be a few surprises with debuts or returns to sell the huge show.
By booking a Tribal Combat Match with one of the company's biggest stars, it will likely overshadow those moments. The final of the Women's Intercontinental Championship Tournament will also likely take place on the show.
A "Loser Leaves RAW" match between Finn Balor and Damian Priest would have been better suited since they're stars on the red brand and it would end their feud.
The debut of Penta El Zero Miedo would be a huge moment. If those things do happen, they'll be overshadowed by a match better suited for a bigger stage.
#2. It's a perfect match for WrestleMania 41
Most of Roman Reigns' matches follow one of two formulae. He either defended the title and won with outside help or battled in no-disqualification action. Tribal Combat falls into those categories again but wouldn't have a title attached.
That would make the showdown perfect for WrestleMania 41. It's a specialty match different enough from the usual one-on-one showdowns in title contests. The card has had little variety over the last few years.
It would also give other stars a chance at titles and the main event slot. Solo Sikoa still isn't on the level of Reigns, Rollins, Gunther, Punk, or even Drew McIntyre. A singles spotlight on a huge stage would greatly help his profile, even though he'd likely lose.
#1. Having the match sooner greatly telegraphs a massive return
WWE set up a convoluted course for WrestleMania 40 by having The Rock appear at RAW Day 1. Instead of having Cody Rhodes rightfully challenge Roman Reigns and beat him, the veteran's involvement caused a lot of tweaking on the run.
Announcing the huge showdown two to three weeks before the red brand's debut massively telegraphs The Rock's return. A true Tribal Chief will finally be decided, but The Final Boss hasn't had his say since the RAW after WrestleMania 40.
Showing up and gesturing just for the sake of it at Bad Blood didn't do anything. Many fans would be fine if The Final Boss squares off with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 41. However, should that be the case the pairing would take a main event spot away from a full-time champion.