Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns took down Drew McIntyre at Clash at the Castle in Cardiff, Wales, on Saturday to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in a controversial finish.

The Scot looked to have the match won after hitting a Claymore kick, but the referee was pulled out of the ring by The Usos' younger brother, Solo Sikoa, after a two-count to preserve his cousin's title reign.

It's @WWESoloSIkoa!!!#WWECastle pic.twitter.com/GFEnDvgk8U

— WWE (@WWE) September 3, 2022

McIntyre attempted to pull Sikoa into the ring, but he was necked on the rope and Reigns hit the challenger with a Spear to get the pin.

All of that came after Theory attempted to cash in his Money in the Bank contract when the original referee was knocked out. As he was handing over the briefcase, heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury got up from his front-row seat and knocked him out with a punch.

.@_Theory1 just attempted to cash in his #MITB contract and @Tyson_Fury just decked Austin Theory at #WWECastle!!! pic.twitter.com/ysPJGE9aS5

— WWE (@WWE) September 3, 2022

Fury got into the ring after Reigns retained the title. The two had a brief staredown before shaking hands when the undisputed WWE champion left the ring. The Gypsy King stuck around to congratulate McIntyre on his performance before serenading the crowd with a rendition of Don McLean's "American Pie."

The Tribal Chief kept his historic title run in check, extending his reign as universal champion to well beyond 700 days.

Reigns unified the Universal and WWE Championships at WrestleMania 38 in April when he defeated Brock Lesnar in the main event. When no one was able to take either title from him, he and The Beast Incarnate had one final match at SummerSlam in July.

Thanks in large part to help from The Usos, The Head of the Table defeated Lesnar in a Last Man Standing match to retain both titles.

One day earlier, McIntyre beat Sheamus in a Donnybrook match to ensure he would face the winner of Reigns vs. Lesnar in Cardiff.

With The Scottish Warrior established as the No. 1 contender, he confronted The Bloodline on SmackDown but got more than he bargained for.

Karrion Kross and Scarlett made a surprise return to WWE after getting released last year, and The Herald of Doomsday immediately set his sights on McIntyre, Reigns and the Universal Championship.

Kross and Scarlett were at ringside in the crowd for the bout. There was a brief moment when the former NXT champ and McIntyre stared each other down during the match after Kross tossed a water bottle at the No. 1 contender.

Message sent by @realKILLERkross at #WWECastle and @DMcIntyreWWE has taken notice! pic.twitter.com/7eu1WpBnGg

— WWE (@WWE) September 3, 2022

McIntyre faced a ton of adversity leading up to Clash at the Castle due to the presence of Kross and The Usos, and there was some thought that all of them would get involved in the title match in Wales.

However, it was another member of Reigns' family who would provide the crucial interference.

While every world title match is significant, Saturday was especially huge for McIntyre since he is a native of Scotland and headlined the first WWE main roster pay-per-view in the United Kingdom in nearly 20 years.

Also, the first two times the 37-year-old won the WWE Championship occurred in front of no fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so he had the opportunity to stand tall in front of over 60,000 members of the WWE Universe.

Saturday marked arguably the biggest moment of McIntyre's career, but it ended in bitter disappointment with Reigns retaining once again.

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Roman Reigns the part-timer in WWE has a weird ring to it.

But that's something fans have already seen unfold before their eyes, with Reigns' role reduced more than ever despite his holding both men's top titles as the undisputed champion.

The long-term outlook for Reigns has never been a major point of speculation for fans, even when he stepped away in 2018 for treatment against leukemia before his return. It was taken for granted that he was merely the next John Cena-type to go until he just couldn't anymore.

A reduction in his appearances and the onset of this new Triple H era, though, has thrown this idea into murky waters.

In Triple H's WWE, it's almost easy to envision the main event scene isn't so dominated by one or two guys for such a long time. Fans have already seen an answer to many of their requests, be it little things like actually calling wrestlers...wrestlers and giving pushes to stars like Liv Morgan. That the new boss in charge would reach further into the depths of the most talented roster ever to craft a diverse main event scene isn't exactly out of reach.

That alone could push Reigns out of the title scene some. He'll always be a top contender and threat of course, but once this run that's aimed at establishing him as one of the GOATs concludes, he can work around the edges of the top scene while doing other refreshing things like forming stables and having more personal, longer feuds.

The man himself has said he wants to transition more to the film industry, and WWE President Nick Khan said back in April on The Town with Matthew Belloni (h/t Nishant Jayaram of Sportskeeda) that there are ideas in place to help him on that path.

Reigns entered WWE developmental in 2010. He's 37 years old. That's typically right in the middle of a WWE star's prime, with Brock Lesnar only 45. Stepping back to a reduced role now would let him tackle other opportunities and likely extend his career as a performer, should he want to do it.

More importantly, it would make those appearances rare and meaningful. Lesnar isn't going to do what Lesnar does forever—why not make Reigns the next Lesnar? The Tribal Chief as a final-boss type who serves as the big bad for the main roster guys to overcome is a story that writes itself, especially if he gets to embrace this Hollywood outsider role.

Reigns showing up and inserting himself into big matches at the likes of the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania each year would have a big impact on business and the fanbase. This is especially the case if his acting career or whatever he pursues really takes off, giving whatever he shows up at more eyeballs than it would normally have.

It's pretty clear WWE is running out of part-time legends, too. The Undertaker, for example, is gone. Recent Goldberg appearances have been underwhelming. While some fans might suggest the well of part-timers to go and get for big events running out is a good thing, one could argue that's only true because it hasn't always been done right.

Reigns as a legendary part-timer would be doing it right and again; he's not even 40 years old yet. If he steps back within the next year to pursue other things, we could pencil him in as a guy WWE can lean on for roughly a decade at least.

It sure doesn't hurt that a part-time Reigns would leave WWE in a great state. Names like Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre and Kevin Owens are there. Ciampa and Big E could get or stay in the mix, along with guys with huge upside like Montez Ford, Riddle and any number of NXT competitors. It sure doesn't hurt to mention the women's divisions are superb headliners for any event right now, either.

Reigns fits pretty much wherever he wants to be, whether that's in the main event scene, on the outskirts of it, heck even as an announcer only. A Lesnar-styled part-time role, though, makes the most sense and would give everyone the flexibility to keep things special and fresh at the same time.

WWE Superstar Drew McIntyre is set to challenge universal champion Roman Reigns at Clash at the Castle in two weeks, and he's hoping to inspire some change with a new title run.

McIntyre told TMZ Sports that Reigns' lack of television time recently is not how WWE's top champion should be presented.

"I'm looking to raise those titles and Roman has been on this incredible run. But the truth is, it's been 700 days," McIntyre said. "He's not here as often as he used to be. I do believe titles need to be represented every single week. He's not able to do that these days."

McIntyre is a two-time champion, but he hasn't held the title since February 2021. While the Scotland native knows it's a tall task to defeat Reigns, he stands firm in his belief that the champion has more responsibilities.

"I think that titles need to be represented every single week and on the shows and in the live events and the appearances," McIntyre said. "And I want to be that man to represent the company on the highest level. I just have to do and complete the biggest challenge of them all and that's taking down Roman and this current version of Roman."

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Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

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The Rock Tells Story About Getting Attacked By The Shield

During a discussion with former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz and current WWE Superstars Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch on Instagram Live on Tuesday, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson told a story about a memorable WWE segment in 2013.

The Rock recalled getting triple powerbombed by The Shield, which was comprised of Rollins, Dean Ambrose and his real-life cousin Roman Reigns. As a result of the attack, The Rock ended up bleeding out of his mouth.

The Rock on when The Shield triple powerbombed him and Roman and Seth’s reaction to it 😂 pic.twitter.com/LAWIDjcF9D

— frank.🤞🏽 (@THENEXTBlGTHlNG) August 16, 2022

While talking about the confrontation, which occurred on the final episode of Raw before the 2013 Royal Rumble, The Rock remembered a humorous interaction that occurred (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News):

"You know what was really cool? When The Shield attacked me before WrestleMania and powerbombed me, and I remember Seth … I was on Roman's shoulders. He threw me down so hard on that mat. Busted my blood vessels, blood started coming out of my mouth. Roman looked down and was like, 'You okay, Uso?' ... And as far as I can answer, Seth was like, 'Who gives a s--t,' and walks away."

Rollins noted that he didn't specifically remember saying that, but noted that a lot of things happen in the heat of the moment. Both he and The Rock had a laugh about it nonetheless.

The Rock went on to beat CM Punk for the WWE Championship at Royal Rumble 2013 before dropping it to John Cena at WrestleMania 29.

That marked The Rock's final true match in WWE, although there has been plenty of speculation regarding him getting back in the ring, perhaps as soon as WrestleMania 39 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, next year.

If that happens, it is widely expected that The Rock would face Reigns since Reigns is the face of WWE and has a built-in angle, as he and The Rock are family.

The Rock is one of the biggest stars in the world regardless of genre, so a match between him and Reigns at WrestleMania would unquestionably garner WWE a ton of mainstream attention.

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Lynch Provides Positive Update on Shoulder Injury

Becky Lynch is remaining upbeat amid her recovery from a shoulder injury suffered during her loss to Raw women's champion Bianca Belair at SummerSlam last month.

Speaking to The Rock on Instagram Live (h/t Manik Aftab of ThirstyForNews.com), Lynch gave an encouraging update, saying: "It's healing up real quick, I'm feeling strong, I'm feeling good!"

Lynch appeared on the Raw after SummerSlam with her arm in a sling, and she was written off television when she was attacked backstage by the newly formed stable of Bayley, Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky.

WWE subsequently announced that she had a separated shoulder, which would keep her out for "several months."

No concrete timeframe was given for Lynch's return, so it is anyone's guess when The Man will be in action.

Triple H has seemingly placed extra emphasis on the women's division since taking over as head of WWE creative, and he would surely love to have one of the biggest female stars in wrestling at his disposal in Lynch.

At the same time, WWE isn't lacking for talent in the women's division, so it can afford to take a cautious approach with Lynch if need be.

Until she returns, the likes of Belair, Asuka, Alexa Bliss, Bayley, Kai and Sky are more than capable of doing the heavy lifting on Raw.

Getting Lynch back by Survivor Series in November would provide WWE with a huge boost, but if that isn't possible, saving her for a surprise return in the Royal Rumble in January would perhaps be the best course of action.

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Brandi Rhodes Possibly Training for In-Ring Return

Brandi Rhodes has reportedly been getting in some work at the WWE Performance Center, perhaps in preparation for an in-ring return.

According to PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson, Rhodes wrestled at an in-house live event at the Performance Center on Friday. Johnson noted that NXT regularly holds in-house shows that are closed to the public in order to help developmental talent improve.

Fightful Select (h/t Andre Porter of Ringside News), confirmed the report and noted that Rhodes had been seen working out at the Performance Center previously as well.

Neither Fightful nor PWInsider.com was able to confirm that Rhodes signed a contract with WWE, but PWInsider.com reported that she is not listed on NXT's internal roster.

Rhodes was in AEW with her husband, Cody Rhodes, from its inception until they both left the company last year.

Brandi both wrestled and served as Cody's manager in AEW, although she stopped wrestling once she got pregnant in 2020 and only had a handful of matches after giving birth.

Cody returned to WWE in April as a surprise opponent at WrestleMania 38, and he beat Rollins in two additional pay-per-view matches, however, he is currently on the shelf with a torn pectoral muscle.

Brandi has not appeared on WWE programming with Cody, and it isn't known if there are any plans to pair them up once Cody returns from injury.

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