Roman Reigns Retains His Gold At WWE Royal Rumble

Roman Reigns is one step closer to another WrestleMania main event after retaining his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble.

Reigns met Kevin Owens in a one-on-one title match for the third time in their careers at a Royal Rumble when the two men faced off in San Antonio, Texas. But the big question remained, what role would Sami Zayn play in the title showdown?

Zayn was told he faced a “final test” at the Rumble after being given a not guilty verdict by Roman Reigns at The Trial of Sami Zayn on the 30th anniversary of Raw.

At the Royal Rumble, Roman Reigns was accompanied to the ring by both his Special Counsel Paul Heyman as well as Sami Zayn. Late in the match, the referee was taken out and when Reigns ordered Zayn to get him a steel chair, Zayn appeared to hesitate before following his orders.

The chair wasn’t used as the hesitation allowed Owens to hit a Stunner for a close two count. Sami Zayn then begged Owens to stay down as Reigns gained the upper hand and Speared Owens through the ring barrier. A third Spear ended things with Reigns staring at Zayn as the referee counted three.

After the match The Bloodline continued an all out assault on Owens, handcuffing him to the ropes before Reigns told Zayn to lay him out with a chair. As the confrontation got more intense, Reigns turned his back and The Honorary Uce laid out his Tribal Chief with the chair.

The Bloodline then laid out Sami Zayn but Jey Uso walked away from the beatdown, conflicted following his initial hesitation to allow Zayn to become family followed by him being the one to come to Zayn’s defence at his trial.

Now Roman Reigns will have to get through the Elimination Chamber to find his way to another WrestleMania main event in early April. The Tribal Chief knows that waiting for him will be the crown jewel in another wrestling royal family, the 2023 men’s Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes.