WWE has gone away from what they tentatively planned for Roman Reigns a month ago.
The company previously discussed having Reigns defending the Undisputed WWE Universal Title against Matt Riddle on July 2nd at Money in the Bank, Randy Orton on July 30th at SummerSlam, and Drew McIntyre at the Clash at the Castle UK stadium show on September 3rd.
Instead, WWE is having Reigns defend the title against Riddle on tonight’s episode of SmackDown and the Orton bout is now in jeopardy after it was reported that WWE fears he will have to undergo surgery due to a back injury that will put him on the sidelines for the rest of the year.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that “there is a backup plan for Reigns but we were told at press time the plan was not Riddle.”
Reigns hasn’t defended the title since unifying the WWE and Universal Championships at WrestleMania 38 in April.
