WWE Backstage Update: Why Roman Reigns Will Not Appear on TV Next Month
Despite Roman Reigns' promise to return to full-time performing, it appears that WWE's top superstar will be kept off television for all of June.
Over the weekend, several WWE fans noted that Reigns was pulled from advertisements for upcoming events in June. After defeating CM Punk in the main event of WrestleMania 42 to become the new World Heavyweight Champion, Reigns told fans the "part-time" schedule was done, and that fans would see him "all summer."
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Reigns was pulled from next month's TV events because he's not in the plans to work the Night of Champion pay-per-view on June 27.
Night of Champions will be held at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This will be the only WWE premium live event in June:
"Regarding Roman Reigns being pulled from June TV dates that were announced, the reason we were told is that he’s not going to be on the Saudi Arabia PPV and thus there was no reason to do the TV’s building that show. If he loses the title next week, of course that would be a change and there will be more to the story. If he retains, that’s probably all it is. But Reigns is no longer scheduled for any television in June."
Reigns is scheduled to defend his title against Jacob Fatu at Saturday's WWE Backlash pay-per-view. Backlash will be held at the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Roman Reigns Is Now a Seven-Time World Champion
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With his victory over CM Punk at WrestleMania 42, Reigns became a seven-time world champion. Among active WWE superstars, only Randy Orton (14), Brock Lesnar (10) and CM Punk (eight) have more.
As Reigns' 41st birthday approaches, it's obviously unlikely that he'll catch the record held by John Cena (17). But it's only a matter of time until the future Hall of Famer reaches double-digit world title reigns.
WWE's first attempt to push Reigns as their top star in 2015 didn't go according to plan. But he completely turned a corner when he reinvented himself as a heel in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Six years later, Reigns has asserted himself as the premier main event draw WWE long envisioned.