By the time Roman Reigns walks out at WrestleMania 38, he will have been Universal champion for a record-breaking 580 consecutive days. That’s more than triple any other Universal title reign, barring one; that of his opponent and current WWE Champion, Brock Lesnar.
Reigns took the belt from The Fiend at Payback 2020, having returned just a week earlier at SummerSlam and revealed Paul Heyman as his advisor.
Eventually bringing his cousins into the fold to form The Bloodline, Reigns has become almost untouchable at the summit of the SmackDown mountain. His title defences have ranged from dominant victories over the likes of Edge and Daniel Bryan, to needing big assists from Heyman, The Usos and even divine intervention one occasion, when the ropes collapsed just as Finn Balor looked sure to pick up a victory.
Lesnar has been touted as the biggest threat to Reigns record-breaking run, but will the STUPENDOUS two night extravaganza that is WrestleMania spell the undoing of “The Roman Empire”?
Night One : The Usos (c) Vs Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boogs
The first cracks in the foundations of The Bloodline might start to show on night one of WrestleMania 38, as The Usos take on Nakamura and Boogs for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.
This match has had next to no build, and feels like it was thrown together at the last minute just to get the titles on the card somewhere. I’m amazed Creative haven’t booked The Usos against The New Day for the 100th time, so I have to give them credit for not just taking the safe option.
There have been a few fleeting attempts to build some hostility between the two teams (perhaps we’ll see things intensify on SmackDown) but I get the feeling if there are pre-show matches this year, this will be battling it out with The New Day Vs. Sheamus and Ridge Holland to fill that spot on Night One.
That general lack of attention seems to point toward a throwaway title retention for The Usos, but The Bloodline are due to get their comeuppance, and WrestleMania seems like the kind of place WWE would book that to happen.
I still think The Usos will keep their titles, but if they do lose them to Nakamura and Boogs it’ll be interesting to see what response there is from Reigns, and whether it will affect him going into night two.
Night Two : Roman Reigns (c) Vs. Brock Lesnar (c)
WWE have pushed this match hard since Lesnar won the Rumble, and personally I think they’ve done a good job of making it feel like it belongs in the main event of WrestleMania 38.
The title unification angle is a big part of that for me. I love a new belt, and Lesnar’s recent promo on Raw strongly suggested that the current championships are going to be replaced by a brand new piece of gold.
I’ve not been keen on the design of the top tier titles for quite a few years now. I have to go back to the Undisputed belt (and before that the two straps that were unified) to find a World title I really like, so I’m hoping if we do get a new WWE Undisputed Championship it’s a more classic design.
Back to the match though, which seems to be dividing opinion when it comes to who will walk out victorious. I’ve seen compelling theories that support both outcomes, but the best indication on these matters often comes from the bookies, and PaddyPower have Reigns as the odds on favourite.
I’ve put my money on Lesnar though, because I have a theory of my own.
Roman’s Empire Falls at WrestleMania 38
My theory is twofold; one part is somewhat sensible and logical, and the other is kind of stupid and gimmicky.
The first part stems from the cancelled match Roman and Brock were supposed to have at Day 1, and what should have happened on that night.
Had Reigns not come down with COVID-19, I suspect the plan was for Paul Heyman to turn on Lesnar that night and reunite with his Tribal Chief, as he eventually did at The Royal Rumble.
From that point on I think it would have played out as it has done since, the major difference being that Lesnar would be 0 for 2 when squaring off against Reigns for the Universal Championship.
So, my faith in Lesnar at WrestleMania 38 is largely because I couldn’t see him being booked to lose 3 times in a row to Reigns. Of course, everything could have been completely re-written following what happened at Day 1, and I could be way off base.
The second part of my theory relates to the phrase you’ve probably noticed me over-using throughout this article, and WWE’s infatuation with “clever” wordplay that the commentary team can shout at any given opportunity.
Tell me you can’t hear Michael Cole screaming about how the Roman Empire has fallen as night two of WrestleMania comes to a close. Or leading into a promo package on SmackDown with the line “WrestleMania 38 would prove to be the fall of the Roman Empire!”
That said, since coming back Reigns has consistently been one of the most interesting aspects of WWE programming. If he were crowned Unified Champion it would be no less than he deserves, so a large part of me hopes I’m wrong, and the staggering 3/10 odds suggest I more than likely am.
Will the Roman Empire crumble at WrestleMania 38? Probably not, but as long as we get a good match and a satisfying conclusion, I’ll be happy.
