Roman Reigns shocked the WWE Universe by nabbing the Miz’s precious Intercontinental Championship on RAW last night. However, the Big Dog may have more surprises up his sleeve.
In his post-match interview, Reigns may have revealed WWE’s plan for him and his new title for the next few weeks. As he wrapped up his ‘Thank You’ speech, Reigns looked into the camera and said: “open challenge coming soon.”
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While nothing is official, this certainly sounds to be a likely plan for Reigns. The open challenge is a highly effective tactic, most notably made famous by John Cena and his run with the US Championship in 2015. For months, Cena defended his mid-card title against someone who popped from behind the curtain and it quickly became the most popular segment on RAW. By Reigns assuming the fighting champion archetype, not only will we have something to look forward to, but Reigns will continue to garner good will.
Ever since retiring the Undertaker at WrestleMania 33, Reigns has been dealing with a significant amount of disdain. Vince McMahon and Co. find themselves in a race to get him cheered again by what will be his ultimate creation, beating Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 34.
In order to get fans back behind Reigns, WWE employed the highly coveted Shield reunion. To their credit, ever since Reigns has re-aligned with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, fans have slowly begun to accept the Big Dog in their hearts. His Intercontinental moment on RAW is the latest data point in this experiment and all signs point to Roman being mostly cheered by April’s WrestleMania.
To ensure Reigns keeps his wave of positivity, WWE will have him defend his new title against any and all brave challengers. We can expect the Big Dog to have a series of fun matches against opponents we would normally never see him mix it up with. In the end, Reigns will likely lose the belt to an up-and-coming babyface en route to being freed up for his monumental battle against Lesnar in New Orleans.
