Roman Reigns is on the run for a lifetime, easily doing the best job of his career in the last two years. He was a Universal Champion for 609 days and no more after winning the title in August 2020. He was also a WWE Champion for 28 days and more, winning that title early last month at WrestleMania 38 .
What he did during that time is not surprising. Of course, it raises an obvious question, one that may raise an even more interesting question.
Question: Who the hell is going to beat him for the title?
More interestingly: should this happen?
It wasn’t long ago that I pointed out that there isn’t even anyone in the entire SmackDown brand well established enough to challenge him for the title, except maybe Drew McIntyre. Sure enough, he was moved to that slot in last week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown.
But while he’s credible enough to be a competitor, I’m not sure he’s good enough to be the type to end such a race. The only guy I could see with that in mind is Brock Lesnar, and Reigns defeated him to unify the titles just a month ago.
So who will it be?
I think I’m at a point where I’m ready to argue that he should become a modern Bruno Sammartino. There is no one on the list, under any brand, who stands above Reigns or even has the potential. Lesnar fits the model, but given where he is in his career, it makes more sense for me to simply allow Reigns to make history and leave the title for longer than I’ve ever seen in modern age.
Will the ratings really change if, say, Seth Rollins beats him for the title? Or even former AEW star Cody Rhodes? Or literally someone on the list?