Reason behind WWE nixing Roman Reigns’ original Royal Rumble plans with 14-time World Champion reportedly revealed

Randy Orton was supposed to face Roman Reigns at Royal Rumble before WWE nixed the plans.

Reason behind WWE nixing Roman Reigns’ original Royal Rumble plans with 14-time World Champion reportedly revealed

Roman Reigns (via WrestleTalk)

Royal Rumble 2024 is shaping up to be a stacked card to kick off Road to WrestleMania. The headline match for the event, apart from the Royal Rumble matches, is the Fatal 4-Way match between Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Randy Orton, and LA Knight for the Undisputed Championship. However, that was not the case from the beginning, as WWE had some other plans for the Tribal Chief and the Viper.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, initially, WWE had plans for a one-on-one match between the Head of the Table and the Apex Predator at the Royal Rumble. However, Orton is a hot superstar right now, and he cannot afford a loss at this point after his iconic return to the Survivor Series. Therefore, WWE nixed the plans of a singles match and went on with a multi-person contest.

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Original plans were to see Randy Orton vs Roman Reigns for the Royal Rumble. Essentially there were parties involved who did not want to beat Randy Orton this early and just felt that there’s money to be made with Randy Orton and Roman in a programme at some point, but it’s too soon to do it.
WON on Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns

Orton vs. Reigns has been an anticipated match for years now. The two stars have faced each other only once in a premium live event. It was SummerSlam 2015 when they collided. However, the reign of the Tribal Chief has made him an invincible opponent to anyone. Even so, Several times before, WWE had teased a singles match between the two stars.

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Moreover, Randy Orton will be battling against AJ Styles and LA Knight as well, including Roman Reigns. The match was announced on SmackDown last week. It is going to be interesting to see the outcome of the multi-person match at the Royal Rumble.

WWE legend Bully Ray wants Roman Reigns to lose his title before WrestleMania 40

Roman Reigns is one of the top guys in WWE right now. He has been a champion for over 1000 days, and his reign is counting. The biggest thing heading to WrestleMania is who Roman is going to face at the Show of Shows this year. WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray shed some light on this topic as he proposed a suggestion.

Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns (via WWE)

On Busted Open, Bully Ray stated that WWE should make the Tribal Chief drop his title at Elimination Chamber against The Rock while making Cody Rhodes win the Royal Rumble match. Therefore, WWE can set up a triple-threat match at WrestleMania. This way, the American Nightmare can pin The Rock and walk out of the Grandest Stage of Them All as the champion.

Cody wins the Rumble. Now we get to Elimination Chamber. Rock vs. Roman at Elimination Chamber, Rock wins. Rock is your Universal Champion. The match becomes Cody vs. Roman vs. The Rock at WrestleMania. Cody pins The Rock.
Bully Ray on Busted Open

Moreover, Ray added that this way, Rhodes will have two opponents after WrestleMania. One can be his arch nemesis, Roman Reigns, while others can be the Legend Killer Randy Orton. Only time will tell how the Road to WrestleMania is going to shape up from here on out, with stars like The Rock, Cody Rhodes, and Roman Reigns in the mix.

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