Roman Reigns has been in the news every day this week, but not because of anything he has done as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. Ever since “The Tribal Chief” hinted at a new phase in his career starting after a house show in Trenton, New Jersey, reports about his changing status with the WWE have been popping up every day. First, there was news that he had signed a new contract that would require few house show appearances. Then conflicting reports popped up over whether or not he’d even be on TV in July and August. Now the Wrestling Observer‘s Dave Meltzer is reporting he won’t even be on the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view on June 5.ย
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“Roman Reigns is not gonna be on every pay-per-view,” Meltzer said (h/t Cultaholic). “He’s off the Chicago show [Hell In A Cell] which is the next pay-per-view on June 5th. He will be doing pay-per-views this summer…He will do TVs to build up those shows so it’s not like he’s not gonna be on TV. But he’s not gonna be doing a lot of dates and from what I understand, the shows he will be on, eventually, probably sooner than later, they’ll start advertising him so the dates will be known.”
Barring any surprises, this will mark the second standard WWE pay-per-view in a row without a world championship match. Prior to WrestleMania Backlash, every major show WWE had ran (excluding Survivor Series) since March 2020 had at least one title match. Reigns (sort of) addressed his situation in a video following Backlash.ย
“What’s on my brain right now, what’s got your Tribal Chief in here {his heart] right now is, what if that’s the last six-man tag you ever see the Bloodline do? I believe, when it comes to TV and it being broadcast for the entire world, that’s only the second one,” he said. “Y’all are freaking out right now. Don’t worry, the Tribal Chief loves you. I’m not going anywhere. Unless I am, who knows? What if that’s the last one? There is so much riding on us. We have all the titles, we’re the very best at what we do… What if that’s the last time you see us do what nobody can do? That’s the island of relevancy right there, people. It’s not a gimmick, were’ not just putting this on shirts. This is as real as it gets. Anybody that sits at the table, anybody that tries to step up, anybody that is near us, they automatically become better. You’ve been seeing this. The proof is in. Whether you like it or not, you love it. And we know you respect it because you acknowledge it everywhere you go. But think about that, if that’s the last one, we already know you’re going to miss us. We’re the greatest to ever do it. It’s because we’re the Bloodline. And we the Ones.”
No matches have been confirmed for Hell in a Cell so far, though Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins inside the Cell seems to be an obvious move. Stay tuned for more updates!ย
Update: The official poster for Hell in a Cell has since been changed to remove Reigns. The champ was previously front-and-center, but now that spot goes to Cody Rhodes.ย
