Roman Reigns competed in his first singles match since WrestleMania 38 in Erie, Pennsylvania on Saturday night, successfully defending his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Drew McIntyre. “The Tribal Chief” took the mic after the bout and broke character, saying, “It’s been one hell of a month. This is the first time I’ve been back in the ring since WrestleMania… It’s been a crazy month, a crazy two weeks to process what’s going on… But I just want to say right now, with the turnout, with the energy that [the crowd] brought, you made it really easy for all of us doing this, all of us WWE Superstars. And I think it makes us very proud and privileged to have the opportunity to do what we do for the greatest fans in the world. So, don’t put this on social media because I’ll deny it and say it’s a hologram, but on behalf of everybody in the back, I want to say thank you.
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“Like I said, it’s been a hell of a month but in WWE, we don’t have an off-season. So we just get right back into it, we just keep on going because the park never closes and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I appreciate y’all, I want you to get home safe. We will see you next time,” he added.
There was some concern over Reigns’ status following WrestleMania given that he appeared to suffer a dislocated shoulder during his match with Brock Lesnar and struggled to hold both world championships over his head as the show went off the air. He has since popped up on both Raw and SmackDown but has yet to hint at what his next move will be as unified champion (beyond pushing The Usos to do the same with the tag titles). It’s also reportedly uncertain what WWE will do now that Raw doesn’t have a top prize for wrestlers to compete for.ย
Reigns has yet to announce his opponent for WrestleMania Backlash coming up next in Rhode Island next month, though he is scheduled to keep facing McIntyre at upcoming live events. Check out the updated lineup for WrestleMania Backlash below:
- Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships: RK-Bro vs. The Usos
- SmackDown Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey (I Quit Match)
- Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins
