"Absolutely not" - Veteran thinks former WWE Champion is the wrong person to dethrone Roman Reigns (Exclusive)
Vince Russo believes WWE could make a big mistake with Roman Reigns at the upcoming Clash at the Castle premium live event.
Drew McIntyre will challenge Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in Cardiff, Wales, on September 3. The event is set to be the first major WWE spectacle in the United Kingdom since SummerSlam 1992.
Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling’s “Writing With Russo” show, Russo gave an abrupt response when asked if McIntyre is the right person to dethrone Reigns. The former WWE writer also compared The Tribal Chief’s dominance to The Undertaker’s 21-match WrestleMania winning streak.
“Absolutely not,” Russo said. “You know what I’m starting to relate this to a little bit? Honestly, ‘Taker’s streak. Listen, I’m the biggest Drew fan on the planet. I like Drew, seems like a heck of a nice guy. I think he did my show once. Great guy, deserving all those things [WWE accomplishments]. This has nothing to do with any of that. This goes back to the booking.” [3:04-3:40]
McIntyre defeated Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton to capture the WWE Championship on two occasions in 2020. The following year, The Scottish Warrior suffered televised defeats in one-on-one matches against Big E, Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman, The Miz, Riddle, and Sheamus.
Russo thinks the two-time WWE Champion still has a lot of work to do to regain the momentum he lost in 2021.
“There was a period there where Drew McIntyre went through the 50-50 [win/loss ratio],” Russo continued. “And I’m sorry, man, you lost a little lustre there. Drew ain’t writing this stuff. Drew’s doing what they tell him to do, but in my opinion he lost a little lustre there, and that does not warrant him beating Roman Reigns.” [3:41-4:07]
Watch the video above to hear Russo’s in-depth analysis ahead of McIntyre’s match against Reigns next month.
Vince Russo explains why Roman Reigns should keep his titles
For over 700 days, you’ve sat at MY table and enjoyed MY body of work. It’s not over, I’m not finished, but if you’ve waited until this point to do so… #AcknowledgeME https://t.co/HIIwLdGvFc
Nobody in WWE has been more dominant than Roman Reigns over the last two years. The Bloodline leader has held the WWE and Universal Championships for more than 120 and 700 days, respectively. Last weekend, he retained both titles in a Last Man Standing match against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.
Although Clash at the Castle will take place in the United Kingdom, Vince Russo still thinks WWE should book UK fan favorite McIntyre to lose.
“I think it makes Reigns even bigger and better and stronger to defeat him [McIntyre] in his hometown in front of his people, because now you’re going to start asking, ‘Who’s going to beat him?’” Russo said. “Because I’ll tell you right now, Chris [host Dr. Chris Featherstone], whoever’s going to beat him, the person’s not there now.” [4:08-4:30]
Over 50 athletes participated in a WWE tryout over SummerSlam weekend, including NBA star Dwight Howard. Russo joked that the company might view Howard as the person to finally capture Reigns’ titles.
“I don’t know if they’re developing them at NXT or it’s one of these athletes that just signed up. Dwight Howard? I don’t know who it is. They’re not there. There is nobody I am seeing on either roster that is there [at Reigns’ level]. So, I’m sorry, until that person shows up, they should not take this belt off him.” [4:31-4:54]
McIntyre and Reigns have faced each other in four previous televised singles matches, with the latter winning every time.
Should Drew McIntyre defeat Roman Reigns at Clash at the Castle? Let us know in the comments section.
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling’s “Writing With Russo” and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.