Kevin Owens or Other: Who is Roman Reigns' Most Likely WWE Royal Rumble Opponent?

Even when it appeared all odds were stacked against him, Roman Reigns again emerged victorious alongside the rest of The Bloodline at WWE Survivor Series WarGames.

Now, everyone's sights are set on who he'll be defending the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 28.

All signs point to Kevin Owens being next in line for a shot at the strap, despite taking the loss for his team in WarGames. Per a recent report from WrestlingNews.co, KO is currently slated to get the opportunity, but that isn't to say plans can't change before then.

With plenty of time remaining until the Rumble, there are several Superstars who could step up in addition to (or in place of) The Prizefighter. Reigns has made his fair share of enemies while champ and has no shortage of potential challengers on The Road to WrestleMania 39.

These are the most likely opponents and the best possible matchups for The Tribal Chief at the Royal Rumble.

For months, Kevin Owens has made his mission to exact revenge on The Bloodline quite clear.

His unfinished business with the group dates back to when Roman Reigns beat him on three successive occasions between December 2020-January 2021 to retain the Universal Championship, every time with assistance from Jey Uso.

At Survivor Series on November 26, KO nearly pinned Reigns to win the men's WarGames main event before being thwarted by Sami Zayn.

Owens and Zayn reuniting to face The Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship is obviously the direction WWE is headed in for WrestleMania 39, but rekindling the rivalry between Reigns and KO can kill time ahead of that event.

Although Owens and Reigns have always worked well together and the match makes sense from a storyline standpoint, the biggest issue here is that the Canadian would again have to lose to The Tribal Chief, likely due to interference from someone from The Bloodline. Therefore, nothing would be accomplished, and KO would eat another loss to the dual titleholder for no reason at all.

Of course, adding a stipulation of some sort would raise the stakes and make things more interesting, but this isn't the ideal championship clash for the Rumble given how many failed opportunities Owens has already had against The Head of the Table.

Owens may have the bigger beef with Reigns and the rest of The Bloodline at the moment, but Sheamus shouldn't be counted out as a potential opponent for The Tribal Chief at the Royal Rumble, either.

The Celtic Warrior and Reigns first feuded in the final few months of 2015 over the WWE Championship. In fact, it was the Irishman who spoiled The Big Dog's first world title reign at that year's Survivor Series before beating him at the Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view the following month to retain the gold.

The roles have since been reversed, and both men are firing on all cylinders right now as characters. A renewal of their rivalry would be much more compelling this time around and the matches would be far more entertaining as well.

Sheamus was also involved in the men's WarGames match and lost, but he wasn't the one who endured the pinfall loss. Considering he'll be challenging The Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship this Friday on SmackDown, it's safe to say his bad blood with the heels isn't over yet.

That bout should be what sets him up to take on Reigns at the Rumble. He's someone The Tribal Chief hasn't faced one-on-one in several years, and the audience would be behind him every step of the way.

Reigns vs. Sheamus in a singles match is the best-case scenario for The Tribal Chief's title defense at the Royal Rumble PPV, but if WWE insists on having Owens included in the conversation, a Triple Threat would be the way to go.

Putting all three in the squared circle at the same time would make this stronger from an in-ring standpoint. Owens and Sheamus haven't had much interaction as opponents over the years, so that would be a fresh dynamic as well.

Interestingly, Reigns won the Universal Championship in a Triple Threat over two years ago, but otherwise, he's had only one multi-man title match since then, at WrestleMania 37. That night, he beat both Daniel Bryan and Edge in the most definitive finish to a 'Mania bout ever.

It's highly unlikely Reigns loses the titles before WrestleMania 39, but this would put them in more jeopardy than in a regular one-on-one affair. The Rumble has hosted some stellar Triple Threats in the past and this could easily join that list.

Owens is primarily a Raw star and Sheamus is largely exclusive to SmackDown, so Reigns feuding with them simultaneously leading into the Rumble would benefit both brands.

Reigns has been so busy with Owens, Logan Paul and other opponents as of late that AJ Styles has been slept on as someone who could challenge for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship sometime soon and give him a real run for his money.

It's no secret that The Phenomenal One has been vastly underutilized as a singles star for the last few years. He's had success at the midcard and tag team levels but hasn't done much in the main event scene on either Raw or SmackDown.

Needless to say, Styles is too talented to be marginalized any longer.

He is fresh off his biggest singles win in recent memory over Finn Bálor at Survivor Series. With that feud seemingly finished, he should move on to bigger and better things, most notably contending for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

Not only does the 45-year-old have two unavenged losses against Reigns, the Royal Rumble is where Styles made his WWE debut in 2016. In other words, it's the perfect place for them to run it back.

We may even get a Bloodline vs. The O.C. six-man tag team match out of a possible program between them as well.

One year ago, Seth Rollins randomly emerged as Reigns' Royal Rumble opponent. They went on to have a brief but engaging feud over the Universal Championship, culminating in an excellent match at the PPV.

That hotly contested clash ended in a win for Rollins when Reigns got himself intentionally disqualified.

The story was that The Tribal Chief was incapable of beating his former Shield teammate whenever it mattered most. And as a result of his own actions, that was again the case at the Rumble.

Strangely, the angle was abruptly dropped and not mentioned again after that. Rollins and Reigns have crossed paths once or twice since then but have yet to face off again with the gold up for grabs.

Although Rollins is currently tied up in the United States Championship picture, he shouldn't be in the long term. Once his feud with Austin Theory has run its course, he needs to shift his focus back to Reigns.

Revisiting this rematch for the Rumble would be fitting and provide the PPV with an exciting attraction. Rollins knows Reigns better than anyone and would have a better chance than Owens, Sheamus and Styles combined of dethroning The Tribal Chief.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.