Roman Reigns

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

WWE Reportedly Considering Reigns Working Both Nights of WrestleMania

WWE has reportedly discussed the possibility of having undisputed WWE universal champion Roman Reigns work both nights of WrestleMania 39 in April.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Andrew Ravens of WrestlingNews.co), the idea being considered would see Reigns face Cody Rhodes on one night of WrestleMania and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson on the other.

Meltzer noted that another idea that has been floated regarding Reigns is the possibility of breaking up the two world titles he is in possession of so that one can be featured on Raw and the other can be on SmackDown.

Despite the reported discussions, Meltzer cautioned that it is more likely Reigns wrestles only once rather than twice at WrestleMania.

A match between Reigns and his real-life cousin, The Rock, has long been rumored for WrestleMania, although WWE has yet to allude to the possibility of it happening.

While WWE would love for one of its biggest stars of all time to return and face its biggest current star, The Rock's availability for WrestleMania is likely dependent on his busy and successful Hollywood acting career.

Perhaps the more likely opponent for The Tribal Chief at next year's WrestleMania is Rhodes, who has been out since June with a torn pectoral muscle.

WWE provided a nine-month timetable for Rhodes' return after he underwent surgery, but most have assumed that he would make it back in time for the men's Royal Rumble match in January and perhaps win it.

If WWE has The Rock available, having Reigns work twice at WrestleMania would be a good way of avoiding having The Rock win the Royal Rumble.

The winner of the Rumble challenges for a world title at WrestleMania every year, and there is no indication that WWE plans to take the belts off Reigns before the biggest event of the year.

Having two nights of WrestleMania gives WWE some flexibility, and if WWE decides to have Reigns headline both shows, it is unlikely that many fans would complain.

WWE Reportedly Open to More One-Off Returns After Noble's Retirement

Following Jamie Noble's retirement match at a live event in his home state of West Virginia on Sunday, WWE is reportedly open to doing more things of that nature in the future.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), similar "one-off returns" like the one Noble had over the weekend are "on the table" in WWE moving forward.

Noble's first major exposure in pro wrestling came from 1999 to 2001 in WCW. After WWE bought WCW in 2001, Noble's contract was retained, and he remained with WWE until 2004.

He then enjoyed a successful run in Ring of Honor in 2005 as James Gibson, winning the ROH world title. Noble returned to WWE that same year and continued to wrestle regularly until 2009 when he transitioned into a backstage producer role.

While Noble has had some sporadic matches since then, including a few with Joey Mercury when they were J&J Security for Seth Rollins in 2014 and 2015, the 45-year-old's final match was on Sunday.

Noble teamed with Braun Strowman, Butch and Ridge Holland, defeating Bloodline members Sami Zayn, Solo Sikoa and The Usos in an eight-man tag team match. Noble scored the winning fall for his team by pinning Zayn.

The Noble match seemingly isn't something WWE would have done in past years, but with Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan taking over the leadership role that Vince McMahon vacated with his retirement in July, the running of the company has changed.

WWE has several other producers with extensive in-ring careers under contract, and Noble's match may have opened the door for them to wrestle at some point in the future as well.

Sting Says He Recently Underwent Knee Surgery

Sting continues to defy logic by wrestling for AEW at the age of 63, but he divulged this week that he recently underwent a procedure on his knee.

Appearing on The K&C Masterpiece (h/t Sunil Joseph of Ringside News) on Monday, Sting said he had surgery to clean out his knees "six or seven weeks ago."

Sting last wrestled at Full Gear on Nov. 19 when he teamed with Darby Allin in a winning effort against Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett.

That was less than one month ago, meaning Sting returned from the procedure in a relatively short amount of time. Prior to Full Gear, he hadn't wrestled in two months, which gave him the time off he needed to recover.

Sting retired from in-ring competition in 2015 after suffering a neck injury in 2015, but after receiving clearance, he returned to action with AEW in 2021.

The Icon has wrestled several matches in AEW, but he has largely been protected by being kept in tag team matches with Allin.

Sting is undefeated during his time in AEW, and he has been a success in terms of giving the company an attraction it can trot out in entertaining tag matches at pay-per-views.

Despite his age and a recent surgery, Sting continues to move well and deliver impressive performances, and every indication is that he will continue to be an asset for AEW moving forward.

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While it is only the start of December, it sure feels like we already know the obvious winner of the men's Royal Rumble on January 28.

Obvious doesn't have to be a bad thing, though—especially when obvious' name is Sami Zayn.

Zayn has been the best thing running in WWE, if not pro wrestling outright, since his involvement with Roman Reigns and The Bloodline began.

So much so that Zayn has quickly entered the conversation as a guy who could and possibly should dethrone Reigns, the unified champ. It's no small feat for a wrestler to elbow his way into a conversation that previously only included The Rock and Cody Rhodes, if not Seth Rollins.

Yet Zayn has done it, slowly winning over fans with the underdog dynamic as he tries to earn the approval and acceptance of The Usos and Reigns. This all played out beautifully at Survivor Series, where it was Zayn ultimately choosing the future with The Bloodline over his past. That, despite fans getting behind-the-scenes looks at the distrust and plotting his new family does behind his back.

Survivor Series was more of a launching point to something bigger than the end of an arc. Fans understand a betrayal is coming, but the actual dynamic of it is impossible to predict.

Does it happen soon? Is it Jey Uso? Does Reigns give the command? It's obviously going to be a hurtful sequence for all fans because everyone on the planet can see it coming...except for Zayn himself.

Natural storytelling and timing suggest this happens after the Royal Rumble. There aren't major shows between now and then, and it's best to have it happen with the most eyeballs possible.

Maybe the most effective fantasy booking is for Zayn to win the Rumble and challenge Reigns at Elimination Chamber. In the ring, Reigns commands him to lay down for the pin. Zayn kicks out. Chaos, match at WrestleMania. Everyone profits. Or...they just wait until 'Mania. But anything works. This is pro wrestling. Rules change, things go out the window and stuff gets altered on the fly.

One thing WWE can't ignore, though, is just how red-hot this Zayn angle is and what an all-timer of a tale it can write. That includes a Royal Rumble men's match that would have fans more invested than usual. Imagine how unpredictable a Zayn-Logan Paul-Seth Rollins-Brock Lesnar-Jey Uso final four or five would be (pending health, etc.).

Granted, we'd be remiss not to mention that the men's match is ripe for other interesting storytelling opportunities. We could always see the winner end up challenging for a mid-card title, much in the same way Austin Theory used the Money in the Bank briefcase. That would help WWE keep Reigns' unified run safe for other angles.

More interesting would be the winner only challenging for one of Reigns' titles. It might sound silly, but this is pro wrestling and sillier things have happened. Maybe it's Cody Rhodes only wanting to reclaim his father's strap. Whatever would work and permits WWE to a "get out of a jail free" card with the titles getting split and both brands having a top title again.

Still, these options pale in comparison to the obvious Zayn angle. One could argue Zayn actually becoming a unified champion at 'Mania would be a bit much. But again, there are options. Maybe Zayn only wins one. Maybe he loses or makes new Bloodline allies that prop up a title run. Should he win, it'd be hard to complain about Kevin Owens getting involved or him putting over an up-and-comer.

That's getting a tad ahead of things, but one can see how this organically developing story has plenty of fun threads to tug on even after 'Mania.

It's not just about that, either. It's about rewarding Zayn for his work. It's about taking the path that feels right in this WWE that now values long-term storytelling. Throwing Rhodes into the mix and tossing Zayn to the side would feel inauthentic. The Rock has more storyline claim to the spot than Rhodes, but fans would be right to bemoan his shoving aside Zayn for a one-off, no matter how big it is.

This is all far, far from what fans would have ever dared to predict half a year ago. But that's the beauty of pro wrestling. There's arguably nothing more important in the sport's storytelling than timing. And right now is Zayn's time, to the point anything else would feel like a step in the wrong direction.

There have reportedly been discussions within WWE about Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson winning the 2023 men's Royal Rumble match as a surprise entrant and challenging Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 39 next year.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Louis Dangoor of GiveMeSport.com), people in WWE have talked about the "pie-in-the-sky" idea of The Rock winning the Rumble to set the stage for an epic clash with his real-life cousin.

Due to their familial ties and the fact that Reigns is one of the biggest stars in wrestling—while The Rock is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood—rumors have long persisted regarding a match between them.

Both Reigns and The Rock have suggested they are open to wrestling each other at some point, but the question has always been whether The Great One would be able to fit another WrestleMania match into his busy schedule.

Meltzer (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of ThirstyForNews.com) reported in August that Reigns vs. The Rock is "100 percent" WWE's plan for WrestleMania 39 if it can get The Rock to agree, but it remains unclear if that will happen.

The Rock last wrestled a match about seven years ago at WrestleMania 32, although it was an impromptu match with no build that lasted only seconds. Before that, The Rock faced John Cena in the main event of both WrestleMania 28 and WrestleMania 29. He previously hadn't wrestled since 2004.

Reigns has been world champion for over 800 days, and there is no sign that he'll drop the championship before WrestleMania.

If the plan is for Reigns to be champion until at least WrestleMania and to face The Rock, then the only logical way to make it happen would be for The Rock to win the Royal Rumble, since the winner of the Rumble receives a world title match at WrestleMania.

Reigns vs. The Rock is not a match that needs the title involved to feel important, but it would perhaps add even more meaning and cachet to an already massive spectacle.

There is perhaps no bigger match that can be produced in the wrestling world than Reigns vs. The Rock, and if it happens at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, for WrestleMania 39, that show seems likely to set records for WWE in terms of live gate and viewership on Peacock.

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Roman Reigns has been on a historic run with the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

The Tribal Chief doesn't even lose in non-title matches such as The Bloodline's victory on Saturday night at Survivor Series WarGames.

While there is seemingly no end in sight to his era of dominance, and he's checked off many records along the way, things are about to slow down.

In fact, Reigns' next major milestone isn't on the horizon for at least a few more months.

He has reached a level where the next advancements become increasingly harder to match or surpass.

Reigns has already shattered Brock Lesnar's previous record for the longest Universal Championship reign of 504 days. The Head of the Table is over 800. Even when he reaches the 1,000 mark, it won't be especially newsworthy.

But his WWE Championship run is only at less than a year, putting him well below the top spot.

Just this week, Reigns overtook Diesel's rank at No. 16. Next up is The Rock at 378 days.

To crack the top 10 and overtake Shawn Michaels, CM Punk, AJ Styles, Randy Savage and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Reigns has to make it to 530 days, which should be May 30, 2023.

It will take until September 28, 2024 for him to overtake the fifth spot Pedro Morales has, while December 28, 2032 is the day he will surpass Bruno Sammartino's two combined reigns.

Even looking at single runs, Reigns is not even at the 250 mark for the WWE title and will need over 100 more days to reach the top 10.

https://twitter.com/TheLouisDangoor/status/1448775609178632195

The soonest Reigns can reach a notable achievement is actually WrestleMania 39 on April 1, 2023.

If he retains his title on Night 1 of next year's Show of Shows, he'll make history as the only WWE Superstar to do so three times in a row.

The likes of Hulk Hogan have walked out of 'Mania holding the top title three times or more, but they haven't been the champion heading into the show. Hogan retained twice and won the belt from someone else on three other occasions.

Reigns is in the unique spot where he's holding the same title he retained over Daniel Bryan and Edge at WrestleMania 37, held that Universal Championship and unified Lesnar's WWE Championship at WrestleMania 38. If he wins again this year, he will have retained the same belt in an uninterrupted title reign three years in a row.

No one—not even Austin or Cena—can say they've walked into three WrestleManias without losing their title and walked out still with that same gold around their waist.

So far, nothing has been confirmed for WrestleMania 39. There's no telling who his challenger will be, or if he'll even still have the Universal Championship come April.

But based on his track record, it is extremely likely The Head of the Table will be able to check this achievement off his list and do something that will probably never happen again.

That is, of course, unless Reigns makes it to WrestleMania 40 and turns this into a four-year accolade.

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Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, Spotify and everywhere you find podcasts. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.