Roman Reigns May Clash With Fierce WWE Rival At SummerSlam

Roman Reigns has chosen his WrestleMania 42 opponent.

The Original Tribal Chief made his triumphant return at the 2026 Men’s Royal Rumble and won the whole thing to earn the right to challenge a WWE Champion at The Grandest Stage of Them All.

On the following night on Raw, he was confronted by the World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk. The segment produced a tremendous exchange of verbiage from both parties.

Both wrestlers’ promos spoke about why they deserve a place at the top of the food chain, as they recalled their past glories, even taking a shot at each other while referencing their respective absences.

Fans could speculate that, in the end, it was Roman Reigns who shone in the segment when he revealed why he was actually choosing Punk, which was because he truly hated him and had always hated him, and by the end of WrestleMania, the Second City Saint would ‘acknowledge’ him.

Roman Reigns Could Face Cody Rhodes At SummerSlam

There’s no question that Roman Reigns has a mountain to climb at WrestleMania 42 when he faces CM Punk. The wily veteran is no pushover, as he has demonstrated in the past.

Whether or not Reigns beats Punk remains to be seen.

2026 could also see the revival of the 40-year-old’s one of the most prominent rivalries, which has been with Cody Rhodes.

Both wrestlers headlined WrestleManias 39 & 40, trading one win each. Until earlier this year, WWE had plans to make a third WrestleMania match between both superstars, but decided against it to reinvigorate the card.

During a recent episode of the Notsam Wrestling podcast, WWE personality Sam Roberts predicted a match between The OTC and The American Nightmare at SummerSlam.

Can you imagine, if WrestleMania this year is Roman vs. Punk and SummerSlam this year is Roman vs. Cody III? Two stadium shows, that’s very possible in the same year. I can’t wait to see it. [1:02:21 onwards]