Roman Reigns has divided WWE fans more than ever in the past 12 months.
The Undisputed Champion has held the title for over 1,170 days and appears to be taking the next couple of months off as his next defence looks to be set for the Royal Rumble following an absence from Survivor Series, bringing his total number of matches in 2023 to 11.
One side of the argument is unhappy with a top champion once again taking a part-time schedule as the memories of Brock Lesnar only appearing occasionally are still fresh in fan’s minds. The counter-argument is that Reigns should only appear when necessary to make his presence more impactful and fewer defences means that fewer top stars lose their momentum by suffering a defeat to The Tribal Chief.
Intercontinental Champion Gunther was recently interviewed by Sports Illustrated ahead of Survivor Series and asked about how his title reign compares to the top two champions within the company, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. The Ring General declared that Reigns is on another level, meaning that he doesn’t need to establish himself and the championship in the same way that Gunther does with the Intercontinental Championship:
“Roman is in a completely different category. He’s been champion for so long. Obviously, he’s not defending the title that often, but at this stage of the title run, he doesn’t need to. It should only happen a few times of the year, very special occasions. I’m in a completely different story establishing myself. That’s something the other two [Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns] don’t need to do, and I’m working to enhance the legacy of the Intercontinental championship.”
When discussing Rollins, the leader of Imperium acknowledged the difficulty of establishing a new championship but believes that Rollins is doing a fantastic job in making the World Heavyweight Championship a sought-after prize:
“Seth is in a very difficult situation. There have been many titles in the wrestling world that were brand new and then disappeared. A new title is like a start-up–only one in ten is going to succeed. It’s a very difficult spot to be a newly crowned champion of a new title, which means you’re the one to have to put in the work to establish it and add some prestige to it. I think he’s doing an excellent job. He’s one of the best we have.
Continuing to discuss the importance of his own reign in a separate interview, Gunther revealed the offer he will never take in WWE.
Roman Reigns To Miss More Big WWE Shows
While WWE has been announcing more international shows as of late, there is no guarantee that The Tribal Chief will be making an appearance or defending the championship. Judging by the recent advertising for a European show in 2024, Roman Reigns is not expected to be at the WWE event.
While many are expecting a particular opponent for Roman Reigns at the WWE Royal Rumble, this now appears to not be the case.