Roman Reigns

The status of Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar, two of WWE's biggest draws, is reportedly "up in the air" for the Money in the Bank pay-per-view on July 2 in Las Vegas.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported (via H. Jenkins of Ringside News) that both Superstars were originally scheduled to appear on the card, but plans have started to shift following the event's venue change.

Money in the Bank was scheduled to take place at Allegiant Stadium, the 65,000-seat home of the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders. The company has since switched the location to the MGM Grand Garden Arena, which seats a more modest 17,000.

While WWE didn't confirm a reason for the change, it's fair to assume there were concerns about whether they'd be able to sell enough tickets to sell out the much larger venue.

Meltzer previously reported only 16,833 tickets for MITB were sold as of May 6.

As part of the changes, both Reigns and Lesnar were removed from the promotional poster, raising questions about whether they'd take part in the show, per Jenkins.

Zack Heydorn of PWTorch reported Reigns' recent contract extension with WWE included a lighter schedule, both in terms of television appearances and house shows, which is something the company's top champion hinted toward at recent live events.

"From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate all of y'all," he told a crowd in Iowa. "I obviously had the internet talking last week or the week before that. I'm not going to be doing too many live events like these, on Sundays, going forward. So, this could be my last one."

He's still likely to headline WWE's four marquee events—Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series—but things are less certain beyond that.

Meanwhile, Lesnar has long maintained a limited schedule that usually surrounds storylines leading up to high-profile shows. Money in the Bank at an NFL stadium would have qualified, but with the event being scaled down, it sounds possible he'll be removed from the card.

Superstars still featured on the updated promotional MITB material include Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, Bianca Belair, Riddle and The Miz.

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It would appear WWE is flirting with the disaster of an idea that is ending the brand split. 

That split restricts Superstars to either Raw or SmackDown, helping each brand's weekly show feel distinct. 

Yet according to Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Live (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), the brand split is "essentially done" in WWE. 

Which is a major shame. 

A split should allow major television time to be afforded to building stories and Superstars around secondary titles and the tag divisions. 

There hasn't even been much of a hint that the split will end. Yes, Roman Reigns holds both men's top titles and The Usos now have both tag tiles. But if this were the actual plan, why wasn't Reigns' match with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania a unification match after the Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber and everything else went toward building up to that point? 

Is Reigns the primary reason for a split? Can WWE not come up with a way to get one of the titles off him in a way that makes sense? Are business partners behind the scenes that don't get Reigns and Ronda Rousey on weekly programing throwing weight around?

Because fans have seen a non-split WWE plenty of times. Even if Reigns drops one of the titles, one instantly becomes a secondary title. The midcard titles get little time to shine. And Superstars who filled out television time on one of the brands during the split will likely mostly disappear while the top acts dominate both shows per week again. 

It's especially frustrating because, had WWE handled the split well from the jump, there would never need to be a single thought about ending it. 

WWE hasn't even tried to make the brand split feel meaningful in a way that would make sense. There's an entire pay-per-view—Survivor Series—built around the idea of brand loyalty. And yet, WWE is prone to throwing a draft just a few weeks before it, so there are Superstars who just hopped brands suddenly competing in this themed event preaching their loyalty to a brand they just joined. 

This is where WWE's inability to formulate long-term stories or consistency crushes it. A split, done well, could loop in major aspects of other sports. It'd be fun to see Reigns talking about how his contract with SmackDown is almost up and thinking about going over to Raw. Extension drama, tags, trades—it could be a blast. 

WWE could make both brands feel very different and even stage competitions between the two. More often than not, the out-of-ring details are more interesting than the actual wrestling itself, so why not stage contests between brands while looping in talk about ratings, social media numbers etc.?

Instead, WWE shrugs off any chance at that and then every once in a while throws out something nonsensical like the "wild card rule" where Superstars could hop between brands. 

It's easy to see where this goes from here based on past behaviors. WWE will deny the split is over, yet certain Superstars will move fluidly between brands on a weekly basis. There will eventually be a draft, watered down by stars jumping between shows anyway, and a brand loyalty event equally hosed down. 

One might argue the droves of roster cuts WWE made over the last year or two, plus injuries to guys like Big E and the Sasha Banks and Naomi walkout, have thinned the depth, perhaps requiring the end of a split. But that's a tough sell—WWE still has the most talented pro wrestling roster in history and has people wasting away in the midcard like Finn Balor. 

From this zoomed-out view, it's easy to see why WWE might think the split a failure—but it's equally easy to see where things went wrong and how much better they could be. Ending the split hasn't magically fixed everything in the past, and it most certainly won't this time. 

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

Reigns, Lesnar, More Removed from MITB Advertising

After switching to a smaller venue, WWE's Money in the Bank pay-per-view may feature less star power.

According to WrestlingInc's Sai Mohan, several Superstars who were previously advertised to appear at Money in the Bank were removed from the advertising following Thursday's announcement.

In the wake of WWE moving Money in the Bank from Allegiant Stadium to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Bobby Lashley were all removed from the pay-per-view poster.

Also, Reigns, Lesnar, Flair and Rousey were removed from the WWE.com Money in the Bank event page.

Some of those names aren't surprising, while others were widely expected to be part of the show.

Lesnar has not appeared on WWE programming since WrestleMania last month, while Flair was recently written off television with a storyline injury so she can get married.

Meanwhile, Reigns is the undisputed WWE universal champion and Rousey is SmackDown women's champion, so they seemed like sure bets to compete at Money in the Bank.

With WWE going from a 60,000-plus-seat stadium to a normal-sized arena, however, the company may feel like it is no longer as necessary to stack the card with star power.

The men's and women's Money in the Bank ladder matches may be enough in their own right to sell the show, which is now scheduled for July 2 at the MGM Grand.

Rhodes Discusses AEW Departure

Cody Rhodes reiterated the reason for him leaving AEW in favor of WWE once again this week.

Responding to a tweet accusing AEW President Tony Khan of lowballing him financially, Rhodes made it clear that his decision was not driven by money:

Cody called going back to WWE a "personal" decision based on his desire to "go for the big one."

"The big one" almost certainly refers to winning the WWE Championship, which Rhodes made his stated goal in his first promo after returning to WWE as Seth Rollins' mystery opponent at WrestleMania 38.

In that promo, Rhodes noted that his father, late WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, came agonizingly close to becoming WWE champion but fell just short.

Cody wants to fill in that gap in his family's legacy, and the only way to do it was by returning to WWE after six years away.

Rhodes was a central figure in the creation of AEW and one of the promotion's top stars during his time there, but he has made it clear in multiple interviews that he felt he had run his course in AEW and needed a new challenge.

Cody is facing that new challenge in WWE and conquering it thus far as arguably the most over babyface in the company.

Zelina Vega Reportedly Out After Undergoing Surgery

Queen Zelina Vega's recent absence from WWE programming is reportedly because of an injury.

According to PWInsider.com (h/t Mohan), Vega underwent surgery after suffering an injury in the ring, and the expectation is that she will miss another 6-8 weeks.

Vega has been out for about a month-and-a-half after she and Carmella dropped the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships to Sasha Banks and Naomi in a Fatal 4-Way at WrestleMania 38. She then lost a singles match to Bianca Belair on the April 11 episode of Raw.

Zelina and Carmella had a storyline falling-out before Vega was removed from television, which suggests she may be a solo act when she returns.

WWE released Vega in November 2020, but she returned to the company last July and has since experienced a great deal of success.

In addition to holding the WWE women's tag titles with Carmella, Vega won the inaugural WWE Queen's Crown tournament, beating Doudrop in the final at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.

Vega has consistently been one of the top heels in the women's division since returning, and it will be a huge addition when she returns to the fold.

Based on the timeline PWInsider.com provided, Zelina could potentially be back in time for SummerSlam on July 30.

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

Cody Rhodes Hints at Possible 'Special' Role in WWE 2K23

Rhodes' return to WWE at WrestleMania 38 in early April came about a month after the release of the WWE 2K22 video game. It raised questions about whether he'd become available as part of a future downloadable content (DLC) release.

Michael Straw of Sports Gamers Online reported the company tried to work with 2K Sports, the game's publisher, on a solution but there was simply "too little time" to go through the process of getting The American Nightmare in this year's game.

"WWE tried, but it was quickly shot [down]," a source told Straw. "They knew it was unlikely, but you don't know for sure unless you ask."

While it's disappointing news for Rhodes fans and gamers who prefer an updated roster, the fan favorite responded to a message Tuesday suggesting he should grace the cover of WWE 2K23 next year:

Rhodes, who left WWE in 2016 for stops in several promotions including All Elite Wrestling, has garnered ample crowd support since his return and is likely staring down a major title run in the coming months.

It's possible he'll be one of the company's top titleholders heading into next year's WrestleMania season, which would certainly seem to make him a serious candidate for the 2K23 cover, especially since other options like Roman Reigns and Becky Lynch were already spotlighted in recent years.

Even if Rhodes doesn't receive cover placement, he'll likely be heavily involved in the promotional material heading into the release.

Mixed Feelings Toward Sasha Banks, Naomi Walkout

Banks and Naomi were the WWE women's tag team champions when they walked out of Raw last week, leaving their titles on the desk of head of talent relations John Laurinaitis. It forced the company to change that night's main event, and it led a rare statement concerning an out-of-storyline development.

"Monday Night Raw is a scripted live TV show, whose characters are expected to perform the requirements of their contract. We regret we were unable to deliver, as advertised, tonight's main event," the company stated.

Longtime WWE announcer Michael Cole provided an update Friday on SmackDown, saying the pair was suspended and would vacate the titles:

One of the key questions amid the drama is how other Superstars feel about the duo's actions.

PWTorch reported (via WWF Old School) two schools of thought have emerged backstage:

I can say there are people in that locker room—colleagues of theirs, [including] active wrestlers and otherwise, who are disappointed and not sympathetic to the way Sasha and Naomi handled this. And there are others who, yes, think this is a cool thing that they did. And they sort of wished that they had the guts to do something like that and take a stand.

Banks is one of WWE's most mainstream stars, having garnered a high-profile acting role on the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, and Naomi had long been one of the company's most underrated performers. They would represent major losses to the roster.

But, unless this is one of the best works in history, WWE is taking a hardline stance against the pair, likely with hope of avoiding similar actions in the future.

Sami Zayn Jokes About The Bloodline Photo

Zayn has been rocking a Bloodline shirt on TV in recent weeks, a sign of his growing role in a storyline with WWE and universal champion Roman Reigns and the unified tag team champions The Usos, Jimmy and Jey.

It spawned a photoshop of Zayn in a family photo alongside Reigns and The Usos, who are real-life cousins, that caught his attention on social media:

Jey Uso responded to the photo on Instagram, calling Zayn the "help dawg" of the faction.

The three-time intercontinental champion has shown how it's possible to get over and make a weekly impact without needing a top-tier title reign.

He put together a terrific feud with actor Johnny Knoxville leading up to WrestleMania, where the Jackass star picked up a win using various antics, and his interactions with Paul Heyman as part of the Bloodline storyline have been fantastic.

It'll be interesting to see where things go from here as Zayn's overexuberance will likely cost The Bloodline at some point, which could either thrust him into a marquee feud with Reigns or simply mark the end of an increasingly entertaining angle.

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If Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson wants to face his cousin, Roman Reigns, at WrestleMania 39 next year, his current schedule will reportedly allow him to do so.

According to Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Live (h/t Gunjan Nath of ThirstyForNews.com), The Rock is free of any movie commitments during the first quarter of 2023, which is when WrestleMania will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California:

"He is going to do zero movie commitments for the first quarter of 2023, which would allow him to do WrestleMania without having to worry about movie commitments and also have the time to help launch the first season of the XFL. So actually, the timing for doing a WrestleMania match would be excellent this year because he has two different projects which would require him to take time off from movies."

While The Rock is a WWE legend who has always suggested he is open to coming back and wrestling under the right circumstances, doing so has been nearly impossible over the past several years because of his status as one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood.

The Rock seemingly always has a ton on his plate, but that may not be the case when the build toward WrestleMania 39 begins in January leading up to the Royal Rumble.

Fans have long clamored for The Rock to face Reigns, and the desire for that match has undoubtedly grown since the summer of 2020, which was when Reigns returned from a hiatus, turned heel and began doing the best work of his career.

In March, Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Taylor Sanchez of WrestleTalk) reported that the belief within WWE was that The Rock wanted to face Reigns at WrestleMania 39, leading to WWE penciling that match in as the main event.

Both The Rock and Reigns have suggested on numerous occasions that they are open to a match against each other, including The Rock telling Brandon Davis of ComicBook.com in November that he and Reigns talk to each other about having a match "all the time."

WWE seems to be setting the table for Reigns to drop the WWE and Universal Championships to Drew McIntyre at Clash at the Castle in Cardiff, Wales, in September, which would perhaps strengthen the idea that WWE is planning Reigns vs. The Rock.

No titles need to be involved for Reigns vs. The Rock to headline WrestleMania since it is essentially the biggest match WWE can deliver currently.

The fact that The Rock will be front and center for the relaunch of the XFL next year bodes well for the chances of the match as well since the XFL has deep WWE ties, and competing at WrestleMania would give The Rock a huge platform on which to advertise the league.

Circumstances could always change and The Rock could opt to take on some big movie projects in early 2023, but as of now, all the pieces are in place to finally make The Rock vs. Reigns a reality.

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John Cena might once again be the biggest problem-solver for WWE. 

It sounds a little strange to say because he's such a draw and the company's top guy, but WWE has a Roman Reigns problem on its hands.

Nobody on the normal roster is a believable threat to Reigns. He's bested pretty much everyone of note during this historic rein, be it Kevin Owens, Finn Balor's The Demon and now Brock Lesnar, after a feud that derailed the entire top of the men's division and dominated the entire run to WrestleMania. 

Cena is one of the only guys capable of still getting in a wrestling ring and taking down Reigns in a believable manner at this point. Fitting, considering he just had an interview in which he talked about how he's been away for too long and would like to come back. 

Cena noted the following to Adam Glyn of the Adam's Apple podcast (h/t Fightful's Robert DeFelice):

"Oh, soon. I know in WWE, I turn 20 pretty soon so that's a pretty big thing. From a pretty storied class of folks—Batista, Randy Orton, Brock [Lesnar]—we kind of all turn 20 this year, so I'm aware that that's coming around the corner, and who knows, but it's one of those hard truths to bear. There's a lot of cool stuff going on, and I don't want to say no to any opportunities that are on my doorstep. So I don't know when I'll be back. But hopefully, it's soon. I've been gone for too long."

Talk about a get-out-of-jail-free card for WWE. Sure, Cena could just get involved with the likes of Randy Orton while celebrating the big anniversary. 

Or, he could come back, challenge Reigns for one of the titles and win it. 

It doesn't get much easier than that. Cena could pull off an upset, perhaps with some shenanigans via outside interference (or maybe a heel turn, right guys?) and steal one of the titles. He could then take said title back to the opposite brand, resetting the main event scene, and then work some of those feuds with the likes of Orton. 

In the process of this, Reigns wouldn't lose much steam. In fact, his character could just laugh it off as losing a title that doesn't even belong on his show—a relic he stole from Lesnar that he didn't really care for, perhaps. 

Maybe WWE takes it a step further with Cena as the problem-solver, too. While a feud with Orton would of course be historic, he could drop the title to a Money in the Bank briefcase cash-in used by a fast-rising talent. 

Wishful thinking, perhaps, but this sort of timeline would help correct the mistake that was putting two titles on one guy (while too scared to actually unify them), get programming back to normal for the men's divisions and enable Cena to only stick around for a few months before getting back to Hollywood. 

Along the way, it would be pretty hard for WWE to complain about the added boost of star power to what is normally a pretty quiet time on the calendar. Sure, WWE would probably like to save Cena for something much bigger like a 'Mania if they only get him once a year, but this would make lesser events feel more important and likely earn them more viewers than usual. 

That's the other thing to consider—the bump to weekly viewership in what is usually a lull for WWE. Cena's back with a title and feuding with the roster? Reigns is on a revenge tour after a loss? A MiTB winner could cash-in on Cena at any time? That's captivating and (somehow, in 2022) refreshing content to watch live. 

Again, the term wishful thinking applies to all of this. But there aren't many reasonable ways for WWE to book itself out of this problem, unless the plan is to really have Reigns keep both titles through next WrestleMania after beating The Rock. 

Presumably, WWE can't afford to handicap its men's division for that long. With Cena publicly chatting about a return, he looks like the best possible fix. 

Paul Heyman made it clear Wednesday that undisputed WWE universal champion Roman Reigns is open to a match against his cousin, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Appearing on 98.5 The Sports Hub with James Stewart (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Thirsty For News), Heyman said the following when asked about a potential Reigns vs. Rock match:

"That’s up to The Rock. I mean, if The Rock wants to get his ass kicked in front of a hundred thousand people. ... Whether it's in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Boston, New York, Miami, or the moon if Elon Musk colonizes it, Roman Reigns would be happy to smash The Rock."

A potential dream match between Reigns and The Rock has been discussed among fans for years because they are two of the most accomplished Superstars in WWE history and are related in real life.

The speculation has ramped up even more since SummerSlam 2020, which was when Reigns returned to action after a hiatus.

Reigns aligned himself with Heyman and won the Universal Championship shortly thereafter, launching one of WWE's greatest heel runs in recent memory.

The Tribal Chief has run through every notable challenger since then, leaving few people who could believably knock him from his pedestal.

Given that The Rock is a WWE legend and one of the biggest movie stars in the world, he would be the perfect opponent for Reigns, especially on the WrestleMania stage.

Next year's WrestleMania 39 will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, near The Rock's Hollywood stomping grounds, making it the perfect venue for their highly anticipated clash.

WWE hasn't publicly indicated if that is the current plan, but neither Reigns nor The Rock have shot down the idea of wrestling each other, and they both have been asked about it numerous times in interviews.

There is perhaps no bigger match that WWE can put on right now than Reigns vs. The Rock, and going through with it would perhaps fuel a WrestleMania 39 sellout.

Convincing The Rock to come back for his first true match since WrestleMania 29 and to find time in his busy filming schedule could be difficult, but Reigns is likely the one opponent he would be willing to accommodate.

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