WWE News: Roman Reigns plans to challenge for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam
What’s the story?
Roman Reigns kicked off Monday Night Raw to announce his plans for SummerSlam and they involve getting championship gold back around his waist. Reigns came out and claimed that he would be challenging for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam.
"At @SummerSlam, I'M the #1Contender for the #UniversalChampionship...because THIS IS MY YARD!" - @WWERomanReigns #RAW #SummerSlam pic.twitter.com/J68brnDcpU
— WWE (@WWE) June 20, 2017
In case you didn’t know...
Reigns did not appear on last week’s episode of Raw, but the WWE informed the fans that The Big Dog would be making a big announcement this week regarding his plans for the Biggest Party of the Summer.
There was a multitude of rumours and fans speculation as to what would occur once Reigns made his announcement. In the wake of his free agent status, John Cena was rumoured to be called out by Reigns during the announcement, but the Wrestling Observer stated that would not be the case.
The other opponents rumoured to face Reigns at SummerSlam were Braun Strowman and The Undertaker.
The heart of the matter
If Reigns does challenge the winner of the Universal Championship match at Great Balls of Fire, he will receive his first world championship match since the 2017 Royal Rumble.
Despite competing for world championships, Reigns has not held a world title since his reign as WWE Champion came to an end at the 2016 Money in the Bank pay-per-view.
Reigns is rumoured to be facing Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 34, but the announcement of this match could result in a change of plans.
What’s next?
Lesnar will defend his Championship against Samoa Joe at Great Balls of Fire on July 9th, 2017, and the circumstances surrounding that match are still unclear. It was originally reported that Joe’s program with Lesnar would be a one-off, but now the rumour is the WWE are considering extending their program if the ratings and fan interest prove to be strong enough.
This means that Reigns could end up facing both men at SummerSlam in a triple threat match.
Author’s take
Many fans can see a match between Reigns and Lesnar coming from a mile away, so including Reigns in the Universal title picture could mean a variety of things. On one hand, the WWE may be listening to the fans regarding the Reigns-Lesnar match and want to have the match sooner than later.
However, there is a chance that Reigns may be added to the match only to further the narrative between Reigns and Lesnar and build towards their rumoured match at WrestleMania 34.
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