Roman Reigns Likely to Face Career-Long Rival at SummerSlam 2026

Roman Reigns has made two successful title defenses since winning the world title at WrestleMania and he's now looking for his next major challenge.

Roman Reigns Likely to Face Career-Long Rival at SummerSlam 2026

Roman Reigns at Clash in Italy [via- WWE]

Now that Roman Reigns has weathered the Jacob Fatu storm, he will be turning his attention towards others. The King of the Ring tournament is underway, and the winner will get a crack at the world champion of their choosing at SummerSlam. This past Monday on Raw, Oba Femi advanced to the semifinals of the ongoing tourney.

Next week on Raw in France, Seth Rollins will take on Ricky Saints, Je’Von Evans, and Talla Tonga in his first-round KOTR match. And as noted in the Self Made discord, Rollins is currently planned to win the 2026 King of the Ring crown at Night of Champions to challenge his longtime rival and former Shield brother Roman Reigns at SummerSlam for the World Heavyweight Championship.

It was also claimed that ‘The OTC’ is slated to work separate programs with Seth Rollins and Oba Femi in the long run, and one of those big-time matchups was targeted for SummerSlam, with the other one happening at WrestleMania 42. However, the latter is still up in the air, and those WrestleMania plans are contingent on The Rock.

It’s no secret that the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia would be making an unprecedented offer to lure Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson into having a match in their country at WrestleMania 43. Should it materialize, Rock will definitely take on his cousin Reigns in that long-awaited dream match.

However, with ‘The Final Boss’ lined up for major Hollywood projects, including that Martin Scorsese movie, there would always be heavy uncertainty around Johnson’s availability to wrestle again. Assuming that Rock might just appear at WrestleMania in a non-wrestling capacity, WWE will most likely turn to Oba Femi with a strong possibility that he’ll dethrone Roman Reigns to become the World Heavyweight Champion. Femi has already told Brock Lesnar that they’re not done.

It has led to fans believing that Lesnar will cost Femi the King of the Ring finals at Night of Champions to set up their grudge match at SummerSlam. ‘The Conqueror’ recently overcame ‘The Ruler’ in their WrestleMania rematch at Clash in Italy. Lesnar had to jump Femi before the bell rang and it took seven F-5s to put the Nigerian down. They’re bound to run it back to break the deadlock in their rivalry with both men having one win apiece.

RELATED
Update on Bron Breakker’s Health Amid Injury Rumors After This Week’s Raw

Seth Rollins might be the favorite to challenge Roman Reigns at SummerSlam with Oba Femi engaged with Brock Lesnar

It’s almost certain that Roman Reigns vs. Oba Femi will not happen at SummerSlam this year. That would allow Reigns to renew his long-standing rivalry with Seth Rollins should the latter win the King of the Ring tournament. It must be remembered that Reigns briefly ran into Rollins a few weeks ago on Raw.

Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins
Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins (via- TJR Wrestling)

Their interaction elicited a huge reaction from the crowd, and it did appear as if WWE was foreshadowing a match between them soon. ‘The Visionary’ has put enough emphasis on regaining the World Heavyweight title, which he never lost and had to relinquish due to an injury last year.

The title has since been held by Rollins’ most fierce rivals in CM Punk and now Roman Reigns. It’s something that ‘The Architect’ couldn’t stand and would leave no stone unturned to change. Rollins said in his latest chat with Nick Turturro that Reigns sounds like a complete idiot when he says that he made that world title relevant.

Those comments haven’t gone down well with the netizens, with many of them claiming that Reigns holding the current iteration of the World Heavyweight title made it feature in the night two main event of WrestleMania. It would be interesting to see these former stablemates argue with each other if they’re actually planned to feud in the near future.

Another strong contender aiming for Roman Reigns and the world title is LA Knight. ‘The Megastar’ has also fired some warning shots for ‘The Tribal Chief’ and the rest of his Bloodline. Could Knight become the King of the Ring to fetch himself that massive showdown with Reigns at SummerSlam? Time will tell.

Also Read: