4 Superstars to Step Up During Roman Reigns' Reported Summer Absence

4 Superstars to Step Up During Roman Reigns' Reported Summer Absence

May 15, 2022

The wrestling world buzzed this past week when WWE published its summer live event schedule with Undisputed WWE Universal champion Roman Reigns noticeably absent for 10 weeks.

How could WWE survive two-plus months of television, premium live events and house shows without its biggest star and top draw, many understandably questioned. After all, the company has spent the better part of the last two years building him into the most dominant force in sports entertainment and the unquestioned star around whom the entire WWE Universe revolves.

While Mat Men Podcast's Andrew Zarian eventually reported that Reigns is not expected to take an extended leave of absence from TV and PPVs, Reigns has been pulled from Hell in a Cell promotional materials and is not expected to appear at that show, per Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com. 

This begs the question: Whether Reigns does or does not take time off this summer, which four Superstars could really step up in the event of his absence and become the central figure of WWE programming? 

Cody Rhodes has already replaced Reigns on the Hell in a Cell poster and expressed his desire to win the WWE Championship. He has been massively pushed since his return at WrestleMania and is already assuming the mantle of the top star on Monday Night Raw.

While Reigns is a SmackDown Superstar, something as small as brand loyalty and exclusivity has never been much of a concern of WWE Creative, as we have witnessed over the last month with RK-Bro's many appearances on the blue brand despite being Raw tag team champions.

Rhodes is red-hot, the fans are responding to him positively, and he still feels like a big deal. If he was to be in a position to step up and appear on Friday nights to help boost the star power on SmackDown, he could do so seamlessly.

Like every other name on this list, though, Rhodes is a babyface. Without Reigns, the blue brand would be sorely lacking a main event heel to program opposite Rhodes.

Perhaps that is where his recent Raw rival comes into play.

Seth Rollins has beaten everyone there is to beat on Raw, except for the aforementioned Rhodes. He has been to the mountaintop, battled former world champions and future Hall of Famers and is perpetually over with the WWE audience.

Sliding him over to SmackDown, perhaps in a fit of rage after losing another high-profile match, would help fill Reigns' spot in the short term. It would also present the Friday-night audience with matches against the likes of Drew McIntyre, Ricochet and even a surging Madcap Moss, all of which could be damn good matches given Rollins' status as one of the best wrestlers on the planet.

Best of all, the SmackDown audience is familiar with him. It was only six months ago that The Visionary was a member of the Friday-night roster, battling Edge in one of the best feuds of 2021. This past January, he popped up as the top contender to Reigns' title ahead of Royal Rumble. 

Rollins is the most obvious option to seamlessly fill in for Reigns because he is a heel and provides star power at that position on the roster. 

WWE may not want to turn to Raw to enhance the roster in the event of Reigns' absence, though, forcing them to look at the SmackDown stars available to them, including two former WWE champions.

Momentum has been on Drew McIntyre's side post-WrestleMania 38.

The Scottish Warrior returned to the main event scene entering WrestleMania Backlash and immediately targeted Reigns, much to the approval of the fans. The former WWE champion had taken a backseat to others over the previous year but exploded back into main event relevancy.

After being driven through a table by Reigns at the latest premium live event, McIntyre will likely be looking for revenge, meaning the program with Reigns is not yet over.

Already an experienced main event star who has proven the ability to carry an entire show in the past, McIntyre could easily become the central piece of the SmackDown puzzle. Like Rhodes, the problem lies in the decided lack of credible heel main eventers opposite him.

Could McIntyre work with Sami Zayn, Happy Corbin, Sheamus and Gunther to great results? Absolutely.

Are any of them considered by fans to be legitimate top heels who could oppose a mega-over babyface and generate interest? Outside of the unexplored Gunther, probably not.

The return of a man McIntyre defeated for his first WWE Championship, who has proven capable of portraying both heel and babyface, may be the best option for a blue brand in search of a genuine star to build around should Reigns disappear for a significant stretch.

The last time we saw Brock Lesnar on WWE television, he was a badass babyface smashing and crushing anyone and anything in his path. At WrestleMania 38, he lost a title unification to Reigns and has not been seen since.

While he may have had the fans on his side in his battle with The Tribal Chief, Lesnar can easily explode back onto WWE television as a heel. All it takes is a well-placed F-5 to an over babyface like McIntyre to turn the fans and embark on another run as the top bad guy in WWE. 

With three massive stadium shows scheduled for this summer, the likelihood that Lesnar will be involved in WWE programming improves exponentially. If Reigns really is taking time off or would be looking to do so down the line, Lesnar re-emerging as a kickass bad guy is as solid an option as any.

Best of all, he is a bonafide box office attraction and carries the kind of star power Fox would demand from WWE if it suddenly no longer had Reigns at its disposal.

That Lesnar vs. McIntyre is a feud that was not explored to its fullest potential, and has not been revisited since, only makes that option that much more intriguing.