What If? – Roman Reigns Never Got COVID in 2022

TheChairshot.com asks the question…What If? Chris King discusses what if Roman Reigns never tested positive for COVID-19 in 2022!

In 2020, the whole world was under a global pandemic, and the landscape of WWE changed drastically with all events being held inside The Thunderdome. This is when we saw the reinvention of Roman Reigns under the “Head of The Table” moniker, and began arguably one of the greatest title reigns in company history. The Bloodline ran through all the competition and was levels  above everyone. Reigns had defeated a plethora of talent, including Edge, Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, and even “The GOAT” John Cena, at the 2021 SummerSlam PLE.

The Universal Champion was feeling invincible, mocking Cena when his empire came crashing down as his longtime rival, “The Beast Incarnate” Brock Lesnar made his shocking return. Lesnar was someone that Reigns had feared for a long time. His current “Wiseman” and Lesnar’s former advocate, Paul Heyman, was scared to death. Reigns and Lesnar had so much history going all the way back to their first encounter at WrestleMania 31, where “The Beast” manhandled a much younger Reigns. Both superstars would face off again at Mania 34, where Lesnar retained the Universal Title.

The only time Reigns even slayed his rival was at the 2018 SummerSlam PLE, with the help of Braun Strowman’s interference. Without Strowman holding the MITB briefcase, who knows if Reigns would have even beat Lesnar and won the Universal Title? Reigns would face Lesnar at Crown Jewel, but he had to use his cousins to get the job done, which wasn’t that impressive. “The Beast” was pissed off at how he lost against his rival, and took it out on everyone the following night and got himself suspended.

A few months later, Lesnar would be announced to face Reigns again for the Universal Championship at the Day 1 PLE. Unfortunately, Reigns would contract COVID-19, and Lesnar would be entered into the WWE Championship Match and win the title. “The Beast,” flanked once again by Heyman, would face Bobby Lashley at the Royal Rumble event, where Reigns would cost him the title. Later that night, “The Beast” would win the Royal Rumble and punch his ticket to WrestleMania. Lesnar once again became WWE Champion at Elimination Chamber, and would challenge Reigns to a massive unification match at WrestleMania 38.

This seemed very repetitive and unnecessary with Lesnar playing hot potato with the WWE title. What if Reigns never got COVID? Would Lesnar have beaten Reigns for the Universal Title, and then have the roles reversed, with Reigns entering the Royal Rumble and challenging Lesnar to a match at WrestleMania? Or would Reigns retain it again with the help of The Usos at Day 1, and then Lesnar would get his rematch? When Lesnar was entered into the championship match at Day 1, Big E had just won the title after cashing in his MITB briefcase on Lashley. It came as a shock to everyone that E lost the title so quickly, after waiting years for this huge opportunity to become WWE Champion. Reigns still would have most likely defeated Lesnar, and E would have had a WWE Championship match on the Mania card. Instead, E was ringside for The New Day vs. Ridge Holland and Sheamus.

I still believe that WWE could have gone the route of Lesnar vs. Reigns for the Universal Championship at Mania without having to minimize the importance of the WWE Title in the process. It still would have been a great match for both superstars. Reigns may not have won the WWE Championship along with his Universal Title, and perhaps the company would not have had to create the World Heavyweight Championship. “The Tribal Chief” still would have a monumental championship reign, but it would have been an even playing field for both the Raw and SmackDown brands.