WWE Rumors: Backstage News On How Roman Reigns Was Reportedly Brought Back
According to Sportskeeda‘s Tom Colohue, Roman Reigns‘ SummerSlam return was kept top secret until the very last minute. The superstars involved in his segment, Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt, didn’t even find out about his appearance until they were getting ready for their Universal title match.
“Roman has been in constant contact for the last few weeks with the WWE, who’ve been giving him a lot more safety assurances and letting him know plans way ahead of anyone else in the company. The Fiend and Braun Strowman didn’t know until just before the match that Roman Reigns was going to be there. They knew how the match was going to go.”
Reigns had been absent from WWE television since before WrestleMania 36, as the COVID-19 pandemic was starting to take full effect. He was scheduled to face Goldberg for the Universal Championship at the pay-per-view, but he withdrew from the event due to health concerns.
By attacking “The Monster Among Men” and Wyatt at SummerSlam, the company confirmed that Reigns will be a part of the title picture again moving forward. Some pundits reported that the superstar had backstage heat for taking time off. However, he seems set to reprise his main event spot now that he’s back.
According to Colohue, Reigns and company officials discussed his return for months. Reigns was reportedly aware of the ThunderDome concept before any other superstar. These assurances over his safety reportedly made him happy to make his long-awaited comeback at the summer bash.
As The Inquisitr reported earlier this week, Reigns’ return led to Alexa Bliss being removed from the main event. The former Women’s Champion has been embroiled in the storyline between Wyatt and Strowman in recent weeks, but bringing Reigns back may have altered the course of the storyline.
The Sportskeeda report highlighted that Reigns coming back shouldn’t affect things with Bliss too much. The fact that the storyline received a lot of praise from fans on social media means that the promotion will be keen to revisit the angle.
There reportedly weren’t any concrete creative plans in place for Reigns’ comeback due to officials having no idea when to expect him. The decision to temporarily abandon the Bliss angle could have been a reaction to the former Universal Champion becoming available again.
“The Big Dog” seemingly turned heel at the pay-per-view as well, much to the surprise of the fans who were used to seeing him as the promotion’s top babyface for years.