Since he vacated the Universal title last fall to take a hiatus from WWE to get treatment for leukemia, Roman Reigns has not held a championship.
A year without a belt wouldn’t be that big a deal for most Superstars, especially ones who were out four months working to put their cancer back into remission. But this is The Big Dog we’re talking about here. The man main event four straight WrestleManias, and the perception that Vince McMahon wanted to “make Roman look strong” at every opportunity led to a massive fan backlash against the company and performer.
Combined with the leukemia revelation, some time away from WWE’s title scenes has changed many people’s attitudes about Reigns. And with SmackDown settling in on Fox, it may be time for Big Uce to start to ease his way back into contention.
He’ll start tomorrow night (Fri., Oct. 18) when he challenges Shinsuke Nakamura for the Intercontinental title.
It was set-up on Twitter with some Draft banter, and kind of got sexy?
Sami Zayn✔@SamiZayn
Nakamura-san & I were eligible to be drafted together & got picked in the 3rd round by #Smackdown.
Imagine being able to get a generation-defining performer AND the Intercontinental Champion together in one pick & still deciding to pick The Big D Roman Reigns first. Unreal. – SZ
Shinsuke Nakamura✔@ShinsukeN
Are we talking about same thing?
If the Big Dog wants to play, I ’ll allow him to come into #MyYard with #treats https://twitter.com/wweromanreigns/status/1184870688575971328 …Roman Reigns✔@WWERomanReigns
Don’t concern yourself with the Big D Sami
but if you and Shin want to go from 3rd round to face #1…you know where to find me.
And bring the #ICTitle with you. #BigDog #BigDeal #SmackDown https://twitter.com/samizayn/status/1184842981557362689 …
Nak & Sami get The Big D in Indianapolis tomorrow. Will Roman leave with a treat for the first time since last October?
