Felix Upton on May 2, 2023
Roman Reigns is still standing tall as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. He is so unbeatable that the company had to introduce another title belt just to give someone else a chance to be on top. That being said, it wasn’t always WWE’s plan for Roman to carry two titles.
Sean Sapp noted behind Fightful’s paywall that, “WWE unified title was a hastily made decision after Roman Reigns couldn’t appear at Day 1.” The decision to unify the titles resulted in the situation we find ourselves in today.
It was said that things were not supposed to be this way, but Roman Reigns tested positive for COVID-19 prior to WWE Day 1 2022, and he was pulled from the show. At that time, WWE made their WrestleMania plan.
We’ve learned that prior to WWE Day 1 2022, there were no plans to combine the WWE and Universal Championship. However, when Reigns contracted COVID and was pulled from the show, the late decision was made for Brock Lesnar to be added to the WWE Title match, win it, and then compete in a unification match at WrestleMania 38. Prior to that, there were no plans to unify the two titles.
It was also noted that, “there were some internal documents that indicated a plan to split the WWE and Universal Titles.” Drew McIntyre or Seth Rollins were slated to face Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship, that obviously didn’t happen.
Within a few weeks, plans were altered and the idea of splitting the titles were abandoned. We weren’t told how the titles were set to be split, but as of that time, Reigns’ opponent was “TBA.”
The report went on to say that WWE originally planned for the King of the Ring tournament to take place in May, but after WrestleMania, but that “was altered to accommodate the booking of the new WWE World Heavyweight Title.”
We will have to see who pulls down the new WWE World Heavyweight Title belt at Night of Champions. In the meantime, we will have quite a tournament to get us there. For more on this, and so many more stories, stay tuned with us at ringside news.
What’s your take on WWE’s plan for the new World Title? Sound off in the comments!
May 2, 2023 4:18 pm
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