As many of you saw this week on WWE Friday Night SmackDown, Roman Reigns joined forces with Paul Heyman. WWE has teased this in the past when Reigns feuded with Brock Lesnar but Vince McMahon didn’t want to pull the trigger on a heel turn at that time.
What you saw at the end of SmackDown was meant to be Reigns’ official heel turn. As noted here last weekend, the plan has been to give Reigns an edge to his character. Although he is going to be positioned as a heel, people in management realize that Reigns will likely be seen as a fan favorite and he will likely get cheered when fans are allowed back at shows. The goal is for him to be the ultimate babyface and to finally get him on the top tier level like John Cena.
There were plans to do something like this with Reigns after WrestleMania. The idea was that he would have a chip on his shoulder after beating Goldberg for the Universal Championship in a short match. Those plans were changed when Reigns pulled out of the show due to COVID-19 concerns.
Bray Wyatt is scheduled to defend the Universal Championship on Sunday against Reigns and Braun Strowman in a Triple Threat Match. WWE sources told us on Sunday night that the plan was for Reigns to take the title from Wyatt at WWE Payback. The last word on that is that plans have not changed.
There were a few other noteworthy items this week on SmackDown. Click here for news on Sami Zayn’s return and Alexa Bliss’ odd behavior during a backstage segment.
Wait a minute. IS @WWERomanReigns A PAUL HEYMAN GUY NOW?!?#SmackDown #WWEPayback @HeymanHustle @ScrapDaddyAP pic.twitter.com/J36WQmhD7M
— WWE (@WWE) August 29, 2020
