Roman Reigns: Surprising Next Undisputed WWE Universal Title Challenger Revealed

Roman Reigns has run through all the competition. The Tribal Chief began his historic championship run back in Summer 2020 when he defeated "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman to capture the Universal Title and has been on a tear ever since. Reigns had successful defenses against Kevin Owens, Edge, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Bryan Danielson and others before adding the WWE Championship to his waist. As Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, Reigns has dominated for a full calendar year and counting, defeating the likes of Logan Paul, Sami Zayn and Cody Rhodes en route to surpassing 1,000 days as titleholder.

While Reigns has not defended the championship since WWE WrestleMania 39, his drought is set to end this weekend. Reigns is currently scheduled to work a WWE live event on Saturday, June 17th from Cincinnati's Heritage Bank Center where he is advertised to put his title on the line against Rey Mysterio.

Mysterio is a familiar foe to Reigns, as the two last battled on a June 2021 edition of WWE SmackDown with the Universal Title up for grabs. This was quite the unorthodox defense for Reigns, as not only did it mark a rare televised bout for the Head of the Table, but it also took place inside Hell in a Cell. The story goes that Reigns and Mysterio were scheduled to have their contest at the WWE Hell in a Cell premium live event that weekend, but the WWE Hall of Famer "didn't want to wait until Sunday." This resulted in the match taking place two days early on WWE SmackDown, where Reigns won decisively. 

Unless plans shift, this upcoming live event defense could be Reigns's lone singles match until WWE SummerSlam. Reigns is currently in the middle of The Bloodline civil war, which has split the Anoa'i family down the middle. Reigns and Solo Sikoa stand on one side, while Jimmy Uso is alone on the other. Jey Uso has yet to decide where he falls. All signs point to this leading to a tag team match at WWE Money in the Bank next month with Reigns and Sikoa taking on The Usos. This would be Reigns's second consecutive tag match on a premium live event, as he most recently teamed with Sikoa in a losing effort to Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at WWE Night of Champions.