WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman kicked off this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown.
Reigns took issue with Adam Pearce backing out of the Royal Rumble and putting Kevin Owens in his place. Reigns talked about his own bad knees, ankles, and back and noted that none of those nagging injuries have kept him out of action. Reigns said that maybe he can’t make it to the Royal Rumble because his back hurts.
Things got tense between Pearce and Paul Heyman. This led to Heyman issuing a challenge for tonight’s show…Heyman vs. Pearce in the main event.
"My back hurts because I've been carrying this damn company for YEARS now!" – @WWERomanReigns #SmackDown @HeymanHustle pic.twitter.com/GJnhyW99Lo
— WWE (@WWE) January 23, 2021
"By the end of the night, you're gonna get your ass kicked." – @WWERomanReigns to @ScrapDaddyAP #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/hKKPfceDqz
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) January 23, 2021