WWE News Roundup: Real-life tension between best friends over unscripted comment, Roman Reigns to leave the company?
Welcome to another edition of the daily WWE News Roundup, where we aim to bring you the most exciting stories from the world of sports entertainment. Today's version revolves around top names like Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns, and Stone Cold.
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens became the tag team champions by beating The Usos at WWE WrestleMania 39. The two successfully defended those titles against Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa at Night of Champions. However, a top RAW Superstar is unhappy with their reign and wants a change. Apart from that, we will take a look at what the future might hold for Roman Reigns:
3) Giovanni Vinci takes a shot at Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens
Imperium member Giovanni Vinci spoke to Byron Saxton and said he wants a change in the tag team division and doesn't think that Zayn and Owens deserve to be the champions. Vinci emphatically expressed his opinion that Sami and Owens holding the titles was nothing short of a mockery, believing that the Undisputed Tag Team Championships were worthy of greater recognition:
"You know, for somebody with the passion for this sport that Ludwig and I have, it's been really hard to see Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn walk around with those Tag Team titles for the last two months.''
Vinci confidently declared that he and his partner Ludwig Kaiser had their sights firmly fixed on the coveted gold. He vowed to bring back the honor and prestige befitting such prestigious titles by defeating the current champions and claiming the belts for themselves.
2) Is Roman Reigns going to leave WWE in five years?
As speculation surrounding Reigns' long-term future persists, WWE legend Kurt Angle expressed his belief that Reigns might not even remain with the company for the next five years. He envisions him as a future superstar in the world of movies, given his prominent role as the leader of the Bloodline. Here is what he said on The Kurt Angle Show:
"Roman Reigns is not going to be in the company in the next five years. That kid is going to be a huge movie star. It's going to happen. There is no doubt. He has got an incredible look. He is talented. He is smart! The kid is going to be a movie star," said Kurt Angle.
Roman Reigns has held the WWE Universal Championship for over 1000 days, becoming the longest-reigning champion of the modern era. During the period of his title reign, he's moved from becoming a full-time superstar to a part-timer who is not present on all the shows and live events.
1) Backstage tensions between Jim Ross and Stone Cold
During an episode of Something to Wrestle, Bruce Prichard said that "Good Ol' JR" Jim Ross was deeply hurt when the former WWE Champion referred to him as "hillbilly boy" in a promo from their past.
Despite Ross being widely regarded and developing a tough demeanor throughout his extensive career, this particular insult managed to deeply affect him as it came from his friend. Prichard disclosed that Ross held onto his anger over the incident for a significant period of time:
"Somebody called him hillbilly boy," said the boisterous podcaster. "I swear to God he was hot for six weeks over hillbilly boy. I think Austin called him hillbilly boy when Steve turned heel, and JR thought somebody fed that line to Austin... It was funny because it was 100% Steve ad-libbing."
The WWE Hall of Famers have been great friends backstage, with reports stating that Ross was Austin's best friend in the company. It was Austin who helped Ross retain his position as the RAW commentator when Vince McMahon wanted to replace him.