WWE Reportedly Delaying Roman Reigns Vs. Drew McIntyre Match

WWE is going to do Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre—just not yet.

According to Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer (h/t Wrestling Inc), the highly anticipated singles match between SmackDown’s top two male stars won’t be happening for a while: “WWE is holding off on doing a singles match between Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre until a bigger event.”

Exactly what that “bigger event” is hasn’t been determined yet, but McIntyre told Sports Illustrated (h/t SEScoops) that he would like for that match to take place at Clash at the Castle in Cardiff, Wales on September 3rd: “I’m a two-time WWE champion, but I never won the title in front of our fans. My dream situation is fighting for the title against Roman at the UK show. There is going to be such intense anticipation for that event. That would be a match, atmosphere-wise, that people would always remember.”

WWE, of course, has plenty of choices. Just over the next six months, the company is branching out with not one, two or three but a whopping four massive stadium shows. Though next week’s WrestleMania Backlash and June’s Hell in a Cell event will be standard arena shows, July’s Money in the Bank and SummerSlam events will take place in large stadiums while WWE will head overseas for two major events in September (the aforementioned Clash at the Castle) and October (a Saudi Arabia show) to round out a lengthy stretch of marquee events.

Ticket sales for Money in the Bank have been sluggish thus far while SummerSlam, at last check, had more than 14,000 tickets available. That should change as WWE draws closer to those events, but this upcoming stretch of big shows is putting the company in an unprecedented situation, one that show will just how much interest there is—or isn’t—in the current WWE product.

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As recent TV viewership shows, the post-WrestleMania period tends to be a down one for WWE each year. The creative team typically pulls out all the stops for its flagship pay-per-view, and as a result, there usually aren’t many significant storylines once the WrestleMania magic wears off. That’s partly because the span from May to July has historically been a time when fan interest is low, as pro wrestling fans seem more interested in taking vacations and watching other programs during these months.

Reigns vs. McIntyre, however, could be a way for WWE to keep fans interested in SmackDown—which has been a tough watch as of late—in route to SummerSlam. After all, Reigns says he is the “last needle mover” in WWE, which would explain why he has held the Universal Championship for more than 600 days and is now holding both that championship and the WWE title. At least, WWE better hope Reigns—nearly two years into his title Reigns—has enough drawing power to keep fans around as SummerSlam draws near.

“The Head of the Table” has been built up in such a dominant fashion since 2020 that virtually no one in WWE, whether on Raw or SmackDown, has been portrayed as someone who could realistically dethrone him and end his historic reign in the process. Perhaps the two likeliest candidates for that honor are the recently-returning Cody Rhodes and McIntyre, who is clearly the No. 1 babyface on the blue brand right now.

While Rhodes is still riding the undeniable wave of momentum following his improbable return and has been a merchandise hit with fans, a feud with Reigns feels like a more long-term plan than it does an immediate direction for “The American Nightmare.” Throw in the fact that Rhodes is on Raw while Reigns is more of a SmackDown guy (despite being a double champion), and it’s clear that McIntyre is the biggest possible opponent for Reigns both now and for the foreseeable future.

WWE, however, should have planned things out much better if it knew that it would be transitioning to Reigns vs. McIntyre so quickly after WrestleMania 38. McIntyre has spent most of 2022 in a wildly underwhelming midcard feud with Happy Corbin, which doesn’t exactly scream, “Hey, this guy will soon be challenging the most dominant world champion of his era.” In addition, it’s clear that WWE’s recent creative pivots are a microcosm of its lack of long-term planning.

Reigns’ cousins and Bloodline stablemates The Usos had, as of last week, been planned for a tag team title unification match against RKBro. That match was scrapped in favor of Reigns teaming with Jimmy and Jey to face Randy Orton and Matt Riddle at this week’s WrestleMania Backlash. What does that match tell us? Well, it’s a pretty clear indication that WWE changed its plans and that it is trying to bide time until Reigns vs. McIntyre can take place on a “bigger” stage.

If that’s the case, though, then WWE should have just moved forward with Reigns vs. Shinsuke Nakamura as a stopgap feud, holding off on Reigns vs. McIntyre until it gets closer to whenever their actual match will be. As we saw with McIntyre vs. Corbin, it’s almost impossible for WWE to keep a lengthy feud interesting given the oversaturation of WWE’s TV product, which makes you wonder if the creative team will be able to extend McIntyre vs. Reigns for another few months while also keeping fans intrigued.

History says no, and if that’s the case, then WWE is going to have a difficult time packing the entire stadium for Money in the Bank, SummerSlam or whichever show ultimately features the first major Reigns vs. McIntyre match we’ve seen in at least a couple of years.