Roman Reigns is set to defend the gold in a star-studded four-way match at WWE Royal Rumble. However, this wasn’t the original plan, according to a new report.
On the “New Year’s Revolution” episode of WWE SmackDown, Randy Orton faced AJ Styles and LA Knight in a match to determine Roman Reigns’ challenger for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WWE Royal Rumble. However, Reigns and The Bloodline interrupted the match and laid out the competitors. Nick Aldis then announced a four-way match between Reigns and all three contenders for the premium live event.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer discussed the situation. He reported that WWE originally planned on having Reigns face Orton in a singles match. But due to some concern over Orton losing so soon after his return, the plan changed. Meltzer noted that some parties did not want to beat Orton this early, as they felt there was money to be made with a program between him and Reigns down the road.
WrestleZone will have coverage of WWE Royal Rumble as it airs on January 27.
