WWE's Original Plan for Roman Reigns Unifying the WWE and Universal Championships Has Reportedly Backfired

By Connor Casey

Roman Reigns unified the WWE and Universal Championships into the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 38 back in April by defeating Brock Lesnar. Roughly a month later, Reigns started cutting promos at WWE Live Events indicating he was entering a new phase of his career that would involve fewer house show appearances. However, that has also carried over to WWE programming as Reigns has not defended his world title on TV once since winning it. That will change this Friday when he takes on Riddle, but then he'll reportedly miss Money in the Bank early next month in Las Vegas — marking the first time since late 2014 that three consecutive WWE pay-per-views have gone without a world championship match. 

Even though he holds the top prize in the company, Reigns' appearances on Monday Night Raw have been incredibly slim. This, according to a source from @WrestleVotes, was the exact opposite of what WWE originally had in mind. The account wrote, "According to a source, the creative decision to unity the titles was with the understanding it would allow Roman Reigns to appear on BOTH shows more regularly."

Reigns will reportedly defend his title against Randy Orton at SummerSlam (late July) and Drew McIntyre at Clash at the Castle (September). There's been no word of WWE choosing to have Reigns drop one of the titles so Raw can have a top prize its Superstars can chase again. 

"The Head of the Table's" last pay-per-view match was at WrestleMania Backlash, where he and The Usos teamed up for a six-man tag team match against McIntyre and RK-Bro. Reigns even teased in a social media promo hours later that he might be moving on. 

"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. 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."

Did WWE make a mistake by unifying the titles now that Reigns' schedule has lightened up? Has the decision hurt both shows? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments! 

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