Although the “Big Dog” successfully defended his Intercontinental Championship for the sixth time in the last 45 days, I think it would be better for the WWE to crown a new champion and let Reigns focus entirely on winning the first pay-per-view of the year.
In spite of headlining most of Raw’s pay-per-views in 2017, Reigns hasn’t competed for the Universal Title since SummerSlam six months ago.
However, he has been constantly receiving a “push” by the creative team, either by winning the United States or Intercontinental Championship or by competing against top superstars and WWE legends, like John Cena.
On the Nov.20 edition of Monday Night Raw, Reigns beat the Miz and became the new Intercontinental Champion, making history by entering the exclusive Grand Slam Champion club, as he has now claimed every title in the WWE.
Since mid-November, though, he has defended his title six times, while he will certainly defend it again in the upcoming weeks.
In the last two weeks, Samoa Joe has challenged the current champion twice, yet he has come up short, with Reigns retaining the title and having his sights set on next week’s episode, where he will probably have another Title Match.
Even though it’s certainly great for the WWE to have a fighting champion, who puts the title on the line every week, it would be better if the company changed its current plans and had another superstar beat Reigns and claim the title.
As the “Big Dog” has become the new face of the company, it’s certain he will receive a major “push” ahead of Wrestlemania 34, since he is reportedly scheduled to challenge and beat Brock Lesnar in the “Showcase of the Immortals” to become the new Universal Champion.
That said, what a better way for the creative team to bring Reigns back to the title picture than make him the number one favourite to win the Royal Rumble Match.
Yes, I believe the WWE Universe wouldn’t be in favour of such a scenario, however if Reigns is to become the face of the company, then he should be dominant and make a statement in the first pay-per-view of the year.
Concurrently, naming a new Intercontinental Champion would help many members of the current roster step up and make a name for themselves.
For instance, Samoa Joe, who is a gifted in-ring talent, has showed he deserves more title opportunities. So, maybe it’s time for the “Destroyer” to win his first title in the WWE.
In addition, other superstars, like Jason Jordan (who is the current Tag Team Champion, along with Seth Rollins), Finn Balor, Elias, or even Bray Wyatt could fight for the title.
Without a doubt, the Miz will also be granted his rematch for the Intercontinental title, after his 169-day reign came to an end on the Nov. 20 edition of Raw.
My point is that the company can create new and exciting storylines to retain the fans’ interest at high levels, in case they decide to name a new champion.
With the WWE always willing to change its initial plans, it’s not an easy task to find out whether they will continue to have Reigns as the Intercontinental Champion.
For the aforementioned reasons, though, I believe it would be much more effective for the company to have Reigns drop his title and focus on the Rumble.
That way, more superstars would step up and fight tooth and nail for the coveted title, raising the interest of the WWE Universe as well.
At the same time, the “Big Dog” would have the opportunity to have his sights set on the Universal Title and officially become the face of the company and dethrone the “Beast Incarnate”.
So, and since the creative team has made the decision to keep on giving Reigns a major “push”, this would be a win-win situation for the WWE, the current Intercontinental champion and the other members of the Raw roster, who will have the chance to become champions.
