Roman Reigns

Drew McIntyre—the No. 1 contender for the undisputed WWE Universal Championship—is reportedly dealing with a back ailment.

According to Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp, McIntyre has been working through a "rough" back injury that caused WWE to pull him from live events this weekend.

Sapp added that the injury is not expected to require surgery, and McIntyre is still scheduled to face Roman Reigns for the universal title at Clash at the Castle in Cardiff, Wales, on Sept. 3.

Thanks to a victory over Sheamus last month on SmackDown, McIntyre earned a WWE Universal Championship bout at Clash at the Castle.

Clash at the Castle will be the first WWE main roster pay-per-view event held in the United Kingdom since 2003, and since McIntyre is a native of Scotland, it makes the title opportunity against Reigns an even bigger deal.

Reigns retained against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam to cement the main event of Clash at the Castle, and he has already had a run-in with the Scottish Superstar.

On last week's episode of SmackDown, McIntyre confronted Reigns and The Usos, but just as he was about to strike, he was attacked by a returning Karrion Kross.

McIntyre was in action on Friday night's edition of SmackDown, teaming with Madcap Moss in a victory over The Usos. That was his first televised match since beating Sheamus on the July 29 SmackDown, although he has been active in live events.

Given the importance of Reigns vs. McIntyre at Clash at the Castle, it is understandable why WWE would want to take a cautious approach with McIntyre regardless of how serious the injury is.

McIntyre's first run in WWE ended in bitter disappointment when he was released in 2014, but after building himself back up in Impact Wrestling and on the independent scene, he returned to WWE in 2017.

He went on to win the 2020 men's Royal Rumble match and beat Lesnar for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 36. McIntyre also had a second WWE title reign after that.

Both of McIntyre's title wins came with nobody in the crowd, however, as they occurred at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

McIntyre is still looking for his big moment in front of the WWE Universe, and if he can beat Reigns at Clash at the Castle, the reaction promises to be special.

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The Rock is coming back to WWE.

Or, well, at least WWE hopes so.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer said the current plan for WrestleMania 39 "100 percent" includes a match between The Rock and Roman Reigns.

"It's the plan. It's 100 percent the plan for this year [WrestleMania 39]. But the idea is, it's the plan if he can do it," Meltzer said. "We're still months away, months and months away. So many opportunities and things like that may come up that are far more important than WrestleMania."

Reigns vs. Rock is far from a new rumor. It's been a much-discussed and heavily speculated bout for years now, as fans cling to the hope The Great One will come back for one last run inside the ring.

The cousins have both publicly discussed the potential for a one-on-one battle, with neither dismissing the chance of it happening.

"I know how that conversation goes. 'Listen, here's what we're thinking. Roman beats you now at this WrestleMania,'" The Rock said in September 2020. "But, listen, before you guys say anything. Then on the next one…that's when…But you know what, the truth is, I would be honored not only to share the ring with Roman and to go back to the WWE. But of course, I would be honored to have him raise his hand in that one."

Paul Heyman, Reigns' special counsel, said the potential for a match is "up to The Rock" when asked about the match in May.

The likelihood of a match is almost certainly tied to The Rock's movie and television career. There does not appear to be a scheduling conflict at the moment—we almost certainly would have heard about that by now if there was—but anything can change in a moment's notice in Hollywood. It's also possible that The Rock will decide his 50-year-old body shouldn't be taking in-ring bumps anymore.

That said, there is an increasing feeling that this match will happen at some point and headline WWE's biggest show of 2023.

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The return of Karrion Kross, coupled with his insertion into the rivalry between Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre on Friday night's episode of SmackDown, reportedly could be a vehicle for WWE to split up its world championships once again.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), there has been at least one creative pitch within WWE that would see Kross challenge Reigns for only one of the two titles he currently holds.

Kross, who was released by WWE in November 2021 despite a dominant run in NXT that saw him hold the NXT Championship twice, appeared in the closing segment of SmackDown on Friday with Scarlett by his side.

The 37-year-old veteran brutally attacked McIntyre, who was about to confront Reigns. Scarlett then left an hourglass in the ring, signifying that Kross intends to take at least one championship from Reigns in the near future.

A title match between Reigns and McIntyre is already set for Clash at the Castle in Cardiff, Wales, next month, and to this point it has been billed as an undisputed WWE Universal Championship bout.

It isn't outside the realm of possibility that WWE could have Reigns split up the WWE and universal titles and have him defend them separately, especially if the goal is to have one world title on both Raw and SmackDown regularly.

The potential change in philosophy and the return of Kross likely have to do with the ascension of Triple H to the head of WWE creative and vice president of talent relations.

Triple H succeeded Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis, respectively, in those roles. McMahon retired from WWE, and Laurinaitis was seemingly removed from his role amid an investigation by WWE's board of directors into the payment of millions of dollars to former female WWE employees in exchange for them remaining silent about sexual relationships with McMahon, and possible sexual misconduct.

During his time running NXT, Triple H pushed Kross to the top, so it comes as little surprise that he wanted him back and instantly placed him in a top storyline.

If WWE does move forward with the idea of separate world titles, having McIntyre beat Reigns for the WWE Championship in front of his European fanbase and then having Reigns retain the Universal Championship over Kross could be the best course of action, as it would allow The Tribal Chief to keep his nearly two-year title reign intact.

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Brock Lesnar Advertised for Day 1

If Saturday's SummerSlam battle with Roman Reigns was Brock Lesnar's final WWE match, he went out on top. The pair's Last Man Standing match exceeded all expectations and included Lesnar literally lifting the ring with a tractor.

It ruled. The whole thing ruled.

But while the match may have been Lesnar's final chapter (for now) with Reigns, it does not appear he'll be transitioning to full-time farm boy. State Farm Arena announced January's Day 1 live event will take place in Atlanta next year and used Lesnar as the sole WWE wrestler in the advertisement.

Here is where we include four very important words: card subject to change. Lesnar, 45, being included in the advertising for Day 1 does not necessarily mean he's going to be there. It's possible, if not likely, the people working for State Farm Arena simply threw together a graphic without consulting WWE on what the card may look like.

Day 1 is six months away, and WWE is in the midst of a massive creative overhaul if you haven't heard. It's not likely anyone in the company knows precisely what January 1, 2023, will look like.

It was always unlikely SummerSlam was Lesnar's retirement match. He's seemed to be having more fun than ever in this latest run, and those massive WWE checks keep clearing. We may just be looking at a return to Lesnar simply being used as a special attraction rather than someone fighting for a championship.

Ric Flair in Good Health After 'Last Match'

Ric Flair looked every bit of 73 years old Sunday night as he teamed with Andrade El Idolo to take on Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett in what was billed as—and hopefully will be—his final match inside a wrestling ring.

Flair seemed out on his feet at several points in the match and seemingly needed to be woken up by Andrade in order to put on brass knuckles and strike Jarrett to set up the Figure Four finish.

While things got a little uncomfortable for people watching in the crowd and at home, it appears Flair left the match in good health. Mike Johnson of PW Insider reported two doctors checked Flair out after the match and said he was doing "great."

All is well that ends well, but here's to hoping this retirement—unlike Flair's others—actually sticks this time.

Corbin Says Retirement Not Coming Anytime Soon

Happy Corbin doesn't seem like he's been around a long time, but he turns 38 in September. The former NFL player did not begin his wrestling career until he was nearly 28 and was 30 before he was making regular appearances on NXT programming.

When recently asked about his long-term future in the business, Corbin said he wants to continue wrestling well into his 40s.

"I want to have another five or 10 years here in WWE," Corbin told Bleav In Pro Wrestling. "But, eventually, like all athletes, at some point, our body doesn't keep up with our mind anymore, and we may think we can go. I want to be a guy who withdraws at the appropriate time; I don't want to be there too long. I don't want to jeopardize, because I feel like Iike I've got good stigmas about me other than everybody hates me."

Wrestlers are continuing their careers well into their 40s at this point—and sometimes into their 50s...or 70s if your last name is Flair—so Corbin continuing for another decade isn't out of the question.

He's been one of WWE's best heels since making his main roster debut, consistently garnering boos even when his storylines have not been well-written. Corbin has also established himself as a safe worker despite his late-career start, getting the trust of Kurt Angle's last match at WrestleMania 35.

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