Roman Reigns

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.

---

Rollins Calls His Run Better Than Reigns'

Much like the character he plays on television, Seth Rollins isn't lacking confidence.

In response to a New York Post article calling his current heel run "maybe even better than Roman Reigns," Rollins tweeted the following Monday:

Cut the “maybe” and you’d have a correct headline. https://t.co/Z76b5b9fBc

— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) June 21, 2022

Rollins and Reigns are longtime friends and rivals dating back to their time together in The Shield, and they wrestled each other as recently as early this year, with Reigns retaining the Universal Championship over Rollins at the Royal Rumble via disqualification.

Referring to himself as The Visionary and The Drip God, Rollins has been one of the most entertaining aspects of WWE programs for weeks thanks to his loud suits, boisterous promos and top-flight matches.

Rollins is coming off an acclaimed feud with Cody Rhodes in which they had highly touted matches at WrestleMania 38, WrestleMania Backlash and Hell in a Cell.

Rhodes won all of them, including a brutal Hell in a Cell match that saw him battle through a torn pectoral muscle in one of the gutsiest performances in WWE history.

Despite Rollins being on such a major losing streak, he has maintained credibility with the fans as a heel, and he got back on track last week by beating AJ Styles to qualify for the men's Money in the Bank ladder match.

Rollins hasn't held a title all year long, but he hasn't needed one thanks to the remarkable character work he has done and his ability to make the fans care about him no matter what.

There may be even bigger and better things in Rollins' immediate future, and if that comes to pass, it will be difficult to argue against his run being better than Reigns', especially considering that Reigns has essentially been a part-time Superstar since April.

---

Undertaker Has Reportedly Recorded Multiple Podcast Episodes

The Undertaker's upcoming podcast series, which is reportedly set to air on Peacock, is apparently already getting off the ground.

Appearing on the A2theK Wrestling Show (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), The Godfather, his longtime friend and fellow WWE Hall of Famer, commented on Taker's podcast, saying: "Undertaker has his own podcast. I don't know when they're going to release it, but he has his own podcast where he's already shot a bunch of episodes and I am the second episode; it's me and him."

The Godfather essentially confirmed a previous report from WrestleVotes in April, which stated that The Undertaker was getting a podcast series similar to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's Broken Skull Sessions on Peacock.

At the time, WrestleVotes noted that the podcast would begin airing "within the next few months."

While The Undertaker was a dark, brooding and mysterious character for most of his WWE career, things have changed since he retired during the aftermath of his WrestleMania 36 match against AJ Styles.

Fans got a deep look at the man behind The Undertaker character during the Undertaker: The Last Ride docuseries as well as his two appearances on Broken Skull Sessions.

The Undertaker also spoke out of character during a lengthy Hall of Fame speech in April, which was as heartfelt and memorable from any induction in WWE history.

With The Undertaker essentially stepping aside in favor of Mark Calaway (his real name), it has opened up a world of possibilities for him that weren't available when he was committing fully to his character.

The Undertaker is one of the most experienced and respected figures in the history of pro wrestling, and there is little doubt that fans will tune in to see him talk shop with his friends and contemporaries on Peacock.

---

Danielson to Clarify Injury, Forbidden Door Status on Dynamite

Bryan Danielson has not wrestled since the Double or Nothing pay-per-view last month because of an apparent injury, but the Blackpool Combat Club member will address his status this week.

AEW President Tony Khan announced Monday that Danielson will appear on Wednesday's episode of Dynamite to discuss his availability for Sunday's Forbidden Door pay-per-view and next week's Blood & Guts edition of Dynamite:

American Dragon @bryandanielson will appear Live this week on
Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite on @TBSNetwork to address this Sunday’s #ForbiddenDoor ppv + next week’s #BloodAndGuts Dynamite.

Thank you to everyone who supports @AEWonTV! See you Wednesday
@ 8pm ET/7pm CT for Dynamite pic.twitter.com/cXrWxP47ga

— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) June 20, 2022

In the wake of Danielson competing in a brutal and bloody Anarchy in the Arena match at Double or Nothing, Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t F4WOnline's Josh Nason) reported that Danielson was slated to miss one or two weeks of action with an undisclosed injury.

Danielson has already exceeded that timeline, although it is unclear if that is because he hasn't been cleared or simply out of an abundance of caution.

If Danielson is cleared, he seems likely to face fellow technical wrestling wizard Zack Sabre Jr. at Forbidden Door, as Sabre called Danielson out after New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Dominion event.

Danielson vs. Sabre is considered a dream match for many wrestling fans, and not having it on the show would be a major blow, especially with AEW world champion CM Punk already out because of injury.

Danielson is also slated to be part of Blackpool Combat Club's team against the Jericho Appreciation Society in Blood & Guts on Dynamite next week, but if he can't go, BCC will need a replacement.

---

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: profanity).

WWE's decision to bring back Brock Lesnar as Roman Reigns' opponent at SummerSlam was reportedly made three weeks ago.

According to Fightful Select (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News), a Lesnar vs. Reigns rematch had been in the works for quite some time, and people backstage began talking about Lesnar potentially appearing on Friday night's episode of SmackDown about three hours before the show started.

After Reigns beat Riddle in the main event of the show to retain the undisputed WWE Universal Championship, Lesnar confronted him and hit him with an F-5 to end the episode.

Shortly after SmackDown went off the air, WWE announced that Lesnar vs. Reigns was set for SummerSlam on July 30 in a Last Man Standing match.

The Beast Incarnate had not appeared on WWE programming since dropping the WWE Championship to Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 38 in April.

Lesnar's return and the subsequent announcement of the SummerSlam match came as something of a surprise because of reports of what WWE previously had planned for Reigns at the July 30 event.

Last month, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingInc's Sai Mohan) reported that WWE was planning to have Reigns defend against Randy Orton at SummerSlam.

That match would have made plenty of sense because Reigns and The Usos attacked Orton last month following a tag team title unification match that saw The Usos beat RK-Bro.

Fightful Select (h/t WrestlingInc's Dominic DeAngelo) reported earlier this week, however, that there was "fear" within WWE that Orton would require surgery for a back injury, possibly keeping him out for the rest of 2022.

Riddle has mentioned in promos since the loss to The Usos that Orton was dealing with a back injury, but the ailment may be far more legitimate than fans initially thought.

There had also been some speculation regarding WWE bringing Lesnar back for Friday's SmackDown as a means of overshadowing the controversy surrounding WWE chairman Vince McMahon.

McMahon temporarily stepped down as both chairman and CEO this week amid an investigation by WWE's board of directors into allegations that he paid a woman $3 million to not speak publicly about an affair they had while she worked for WWE.

While McMahon's daughter, Stephanie McMahon, is serving as interim chairwoman and CEO, McMahon has retained his role as head of creative, and he cut a short promo at the start of SmackDown.

Given that the allegations against McMahon were only made public this week, it appears as though Lesnar's return was in place far before that given the timeline provided by Fightful.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: profanity).

The outlook for WWE's men's main event scene just keeps getting worse.

Once Cody Rhodes went out of the picture with a torn pec, it was obvious WWE would shift things over to Randy Orton this summer when it came time to throw legitimate contenders at Roman Reigns for his title(s).

But now Orton isn't available either, with Fightful Select (h/t WrestlingInc's Dominic DeAngelo) reporting that Orton will miss more time than expected, producing a "fear" within the company that an operation could keep him out for the rest of the year.

That leaves little for Reigns to do given WWE's situation in the men's main event scene. The challenge from Riddle feels like a time-filler until SummerSlam, as the company's top champion isn't booked to appear at pretty much anything until then, including Money in the Bank.

Once that minor hurdle gets cleared, things likely transition to Drew McIntyre. Given that Seth Rollins is the best thing running in the company right now, and perhaps in the midst of his best run ever, there's a chance he pulls in the Money in the Bank briefcase and dips a little into the "Architect" persona to steal a title from Reigns over the summer.

But those are layup feuds with Rhodes and Orton gone, and there's a big question hanging over both of them—will WWE let Reigns lose a title anyway?

It was easy to think Rhodes' anointing as "top face" after coming over from All Elite Wrestling would let it happen. That's in limbo and jeopardized now. It was easy to think Orton, a legend, could do it too, especially given his chance for anniversary feuds and a historic 15th championship down the road soon.

The same can't be said for McIntyre and Rollins. Even worse, it surely can't happen for any other up-and-comer WWE might elect to throw at Reigns. This feels like an obvious time to throw a massive main event push behind someone like Montez Ford or Gunther in order to create more top stars.

We've endlessly seen WWE have these types of chances to finally build new stars in the past. McIntyre's flight to the top, dismantling of Brock Lesnar and carrying the company on his back through the pandemic was maybe the only time it really happened.

That's a proof of concept WWE might want to jump all over again with somebody like Ford. It's as simple as the right push, maybe including a briefcase, followed by a stipulation that he can only take one of the titles off Reigns.

But it all hinges on WWE's willingness to actually take a title off Reigns. The fact he's holding the main event titles on both weekly programs hostage and hardly appearing on either is unsatisfying and similar to what Lesnar did as a part-time champion. Yet WWE might not care, especially if it means he gets to defend both at next year's Mania against The Rock.

There's also that Lesnar or part-timer factor to throw in the mix here. WWE could let young guns rise. It could swerve into a fun Rollins feud. Or...it could back up a Brinks truck in Lesnar's direction and feed fans more of the same, very limited stuff until the other planned feuds return to health and/or we reach the next Mania.

If this all sounds discouraging, it sort of is. This hole WWE hopped in after a little bad injury luck was pre-dug via the lack of building top stars and shoe-horning both titles on to Reigns without a plan. The odds the company can climb back out and exceed expectations aren't looking so hot despite the wealth of talent on the roster and the droves of ideas fans could throw out.

A couple byproducts of this roadblock that probably won't get a ton of attention in the moment but will in the long-term? The impact on this Reigns run and his legacy, never mind the reputation of the top titles in WWE.

What does it say about Reigns' already-fading, career-defining run at the top if he's hardly defending and the company poorly booked replacement stories now that his top two challengers are out? WWE wants this run to establish him as the GOAT, but it's not trending the right away.

And what does it say about the company's top titles if, after two departures, no Superstars really try to fill the void and compete for them? Is the Superstar who takes one of the titles off Reigns, and by extension the brand's main-event scene it belongs to, really going to receive a boost at this point?

These are brutal questions with no easy answers. WWE has pulled some amazing things out of back-against-wall scenarios in the past, but also some head-scratching things, too.

Unfortunately, the injuries make it seem like WWE will use this as an opportunity to remain in a holding pattern, dishing fans more of the same until one of these two big names gets right or Mania arrives, if not both.

Maybe WWE itself won't sink, but the men's main event scene could continue to feel barren while both titles sit on one guy and don't always even make appearances on the weekly programs.