"It's a sort of Damocles over the head of Roman Reigns" – Paul Heyman on tense competition for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title
Paul Heyman recently compared the intense competition for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship to the ancient Grecian myth of Damocles.
Roman Reigns is the longest-reigning Universal Champion, spanning over 670 days. He defeated the then WWE Champion Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 38 to become the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. A few weeks ago, Reigns put his titles on the line against Riddle on SmackDown for the first time since 'Mania.
The Tribal Chief will face Lesnar at SummerSlam in a Last Man Standing Match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. It will be the first time since 'Mania that both men will face each other. According to Reigns' renewed WWE contract, he'll be making reduced appearances across episodic shows & premium live events.
In a recent interaction with Pop Culture, Heyman spoke about superstars participating in the Men's Money in the Bank ladder match. He said it was a dicey situation, with the MITB winner getting the opportunity to cash in at any time or place. Heyman compared this uncertainty to the classic myth of The Sword of Damocles:
"It's a very dicey situation because it's a 24/7 cash-in situation. Anytime that that holder of the agreement, of the contract, wants to cash it in, they can. So, it's a sort of Damocles over the head of Roman Reigns, on the Island of Relevancy. So it's something we have to keep our eyes on at all times." (H/T: Pop Culture)
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Paul Heyman cites MITB ladder match participants to be a big threat to Roman Reigns
In the same interaction with Pop Culture, Paul Heyman said no superstar could be trusted during the MITB ladder match, and there are no favorites:
"Everybody is truly against you. So, one big spill can wipe out everyone else in the match, leaving a dark horse, an underdog, to climb the ladder and retrieve the briefcase that holds the contract. There are no favorites in this match. It's a field of competitors, all trying to break away from each other, to put themselves in a position to where they are truly the biggest threat to Roman Reigns." (H/T: Pop Culture)
Even without being on the show, @WWERomanReigns is the star of @WWE #MITB !
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Roman Reigns didn't appear at the latest premium live event. His cousins, The Usos, successfully defended their Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles against The Street Profits.
Former United States Champion Theory was a last-minute addition to the Men's MITB ladder match, which he won. However, it remains to be seen which title Theory will go after.