WWE Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns has hit yet another milestone in his record-breaking reign. Although Reigns has years left to beat Bruno Sammartino’s overall record, he has passed his second reign of 1,238 days with the WWE Championship. If you count by each reign and not by superstar, Reigns is now the fourth longest reigning WWE Champion in history. Reigns captured the WWE Universal Championship at WWE Payback 2020 defeating Braun Strowman. He unified the WWE Championship and the Universal Championship when he beat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 38 in Texas. Although they are technically two separate titles that are active and are treated as such, they are defended as one singular title.
Reigns is now on track to pass Hulk Hogan’s 1988 reign with the WWE Championship which stands at 1,474 days. In order to do so, Reigns will have to hold the title through mid-September. If he does so, he will be the third longest reigning champion in WWE history. His next title defense will take place at this year’s Royal Rumble Premium Live Event on January 27 in Tampa, Florida. Reigns will defend the title in a four-way against LA Knight (who he defeated at Crown Jewel), Randy Orton and AJ Styles.
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Roman Reigns’ Road to WrestleMania 40
If Reigns can come out victorious at the Royal Rumble, he’ll be backed into a corner when it comes time for WrestleMania. Cody Rhodes and CM Punk are two of the names most likely to win this year’s Royal Rumble. If Rhodes defeats the 29 other men to point at the WrestleMania sign, he will have done so back-to-back, something that hasn’t been done in the modern era. Rhodes’ whole story has been built upon him “finishing the story,” which did not happen at last year’s event in Los Angeles. Since then, he has had to overcome adversity at every turn to scratch and claw his way back to the main event of the biggest show of the year.
CM Punk puts a thorn in that plan, though, as he made his unexpected return to WWE at Survivor Series in November. Punk has never main evented a WrestleMania, the one thing he didn’t obtain in his first run with the company. Punk has already made it clear that he would be gunning for the World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins who suffered an injury in his match against Jinder Mahal on WWE Raw. Reportedly, Rollins tore his MCL and partially tore his meniscus which would put him out 6-8 weeks at the latest. He could be back in time for WrestleMania to headline one of the nights, something he has also never gotten the chance to do. That leaves Rhodes with a pretty clear path in the Elimination Chamber that he could win and face Reigns and main event the other available night.
With The Rock appearing on the Day 1 edition of WWE Raw teasing finally taking a seat at the “Head of the Table” this could further complicate things for Rhodes. The title of the “Head of the Table” doesn’t necessarily need a championship, and Johnson has made it clear he feels that he doesn’t have another title run in him. “I don’t know if I have another title run, considering I’m the People’s Champion, but I don’t know if it’s another title run,” Johnson told Comicbook.com in 2021. “I think possibly, you know, there might be another match down the road. It would have to make sense.” The match has been hyped up for years as possibly the biggest match that could take place in WWE. That would mean that the only viable option would be to put it in the main event of WrestleMania. Rhodes could be added to a three-way and get a pin over either man, but that would take away from the purpose of a match between the Rock and Reigns in the first place.
