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Roman Reigns’ Universal Title reign has surpassed a whopping 800 days, and while there were times, especially after WrestleMania 38, when his hold on the top prize was growing stale, he has become exciting again due to the phenomenal storyline between The Bloodline and Sami Zayn. Still, the Roman Reigns era must end at some point. WrestleMania 39 looks to be the logical time when this will happen. Cody Rhodes seems to be the most popular pick to dethrone Reigns and he’s surely earned it. There has been rumors for years that The Rock would return for one last match with his cousin, but while one more title win might seem fun in the moment, it’s not realistic. And then there’s Sami Zayn, who has become this decade’s Daniel Bryan.
While all of these men would put on great matches with Reigns, the man most deserving is Kevin Owens. It doesn’t look like that’s where WWE is going. With rumors that the two will instead face at Royal Rumble, Owens looks to be just the next name on Reigns’ list (a list KO is already one), but still, in a perfect world, it would be his time to shine.
RELATED: Sami Zayn Discusses His Chemistry With The Bloodline
Roman Reigns And Kevin Owens Had A Great Rivalry During The Pandemic Era
Roman Reigns has beaten everyone put in front of him these past two plus years. Huge names like Bray Wyatt, Daniel Bryan, Edge, John Cena, Seth Rollins, and Brock Lesnar have all fallen. Even Kevin Owens had his chance. In the latter days of 2020 and heading into 2021, Kevin Owens became one of Reigns’ better challengers with a fantastic feud so believable that many wondered if KO might be booked to pull off the upset. They would face each other in the ring twice, at TLC in 2020 and Royal Rumble in 2021. Owens’ great promos and in ring performance made this perhaps the best feud Reigns has had during his time as champion.
Unfortunately, this feud came during the pandemic era, in the Thunderdome, which meant no fans for two wrestlers who both are known to get great reactions. They deserve to run it back in front of fans who can show Reigns and Owens just how great they are. A match in front of an audience would be sure to elicit a loud response.
Owens agreed, telling After the Bell With Corey Graves, "There’s always Roman. I feel like Roman and I have unfinished business, and I think what we did at the beginning of last year in the ThunderDome in front of no audience really had people talking. I cannot imagine what we could do in front of full buildings together."
RELATED: Kevin Owens Battling Through Injuries And Some Heat With Roman Reigns
Kevin Owens Continues To Shine Due To His History With Sami Zayn
Without a doubt the best thing going on right now in WWE, and even all of wrestling, is the exciting character work being done by Sami Zayn. Even The Undertaker agrees. With Kevin Owens being Zayn’s real life best friend and his most popular rival, it has given a way for WWE to naturally include Owens in the Bloodline drama. Week after week we’ve seen Kevin Owens try to talk sense into Zayn, even going as far as attempting to get him to turn on The Bloodline before The Bloodline turns on him.
It led to a shocking moment at WarGames where Zayn attacked Owens and helped Reigns to score the pinfall. The likeliest scenario at the moment seems to be that Reigns and Owens will renew their rivalry, Reigns will be victorious, and then he’ll turn on Zayn, most likely because a conflicted Zayn tries to help Owens win or save him from a beatdown after. Roman may then move on to Zayn for a bit before entering WrestleMania season with The Rock or Rhodes or both, while Owens and Zayn would take on The Usos at The Grandest Stage of Them All. But why not have Kevin Owens beat Roman Reigns instead of taking the predictable loss?
RELATED: Cody Rhodes Vs The Rock: Who Is The Better Opponent For Roman Reigns At WrestleMania 39
From His Work With Austin To Rollins, Kevin Owens Has Earned A Second Title Reign
Hardcore wrestling fans can most of the time guess what’s going to happen next in wrestling storylines, hence all of the WrestleMania predictions. It’s rare to get an exciting and shocking moment that no one saw coming. Having KO beat Reigns would be shocking, but it would also free Reigns up to face The Rock without a title on the line, and Owens and Zayn could face each other at WrestleMania.
Few wrestlers get over as both a babyface and a heel like Owens. He has proven it time and time again. He sold his WrestleMania 38 match with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin all by himself on Raw every week. His work with Seth Rollins was gold. Now he’s proving again that he just might be the MVP in all of WWE. Rhodes would be a great champion, but with the amount of time he’s been gone due to injury, SummerSlam might be a better option for him to capture the ultimate prize. Why not Kevin Owens? Why not now? He’s for sure earned it. Will this wish come true? Probably not yet. Instead, we might have to “settle” for the Usos versus Owens and Zayn at WrestleMania 39 for perhaps the most anticipated tag team championship bout ever.
