Roman Reigns Likely To Challenge This World Champion At WWE WrestleMania

Roman Reigns returned to WWE at the 2026 Royal Rumble.

For a couple of weeks, Reigns had been advertised as one of the participants in the 30-man elimination match. It was a matter of which spot he would get.

The Original Tribal Chief entered the match at #24 to a rousing pop from the live audience in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. His last match was at the Survivor Series: WarGames PLE, where his team, comprising The Usos, Cody Rhodes, and CM Punk, lost to The Vision, Brock Lesnar, and Drew McIntyre.

After the match, he shook hands with Punk, sharing mutual respect with the World Heavyweight Champion. On the other hand, the then-Undisputed WWE Champion, Cody Rhodes, appeared confrontational.

A week before WarGames, Roman Reigns staked his claim to the major championship, although he did not clarify which title he would pursue. Since then, Punk has held the title, whereas Rhodes dropped it to Drew McIntyre in early January.

Roman Reigns Might Pick CM Punk As His Next Opponent

As the winner of the Royal Rumble, Roman Reigns has earned the right to challenge a world champion of his choice. He can either pick CM Punk on Raw or Drew McIntyre on SmackDown.

Despite being currently signed to the blue brand, he might challenge CM Punk at WrestleMania 42, according to Sam Roberts of Notsam Wrestling.

Right now, I’d probably do Roman and Punk, but it’s also probably too early to tell. [29:18 onwards]

Speaking on his podcast, he lined up various rivalries that could set up the next Showcase of the Immortals on April 18 & 19, including a potential Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi clash.

He also predicted a Gunther versus Randy Orton match owing to their respective ‘Career Killer’ and ‘Legend Killer’ monikers and Orton’s friendship with John Cena and AJ Styles, both of whom The Ring General retired.