Roman Reigns is the world champion once again. The Head of the Table defeated CM Punk in a slobber knocker to claim the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 42 back in April, and he has since gone on to successfully defend the gold twice. He beat real-life cousin Jacob Fatu at back-to-back premium live events to cling on to the gold, and online betting sites, much like most fans, saw it coming.
The bookies positioned Reigns as a mighty -4000 favorite to defend the title at Backlash and a similarly short -1000 at Clash in Italy. An implied probability calculator, which works out just how likely a selection truly is, gave Reigns a 97% chance of winning the former and a 91% in the latter. The betting tool ended up being bang on the money, and the champion duly retained, resulting in the Samoan Werewolf since joining Reigns in the Bloodline, making the faction stronger than ever.
The champion currently doesn’t have an opponent lined up for the upcoming Night of Champions PLE in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with attention instead focused on the King of the Ring tournament and Cody Rhodes defending the WWE Championship against Gunther and Sami Zayn. Reigns will likely be back in action at SummerSlam, but who will he face? And crucially, will he successfully defend his title? Here are the three men we consider the most likely to take the title from the Tribal Chief, and when the title change could happen.
Seth Rollins
Reigns’ long-time nemesis, Seth Rollins, is likely to be the next challenger in line. Despite being eliminated from the King of the Ring tournament by Bron Breakker and the Vision, Rollins has had numerous interactions with the Bloodline in recent weeks, exchanging warnings with Jacob Fatu while informing both the Usos that his problem is with Roman Reigns, rather than the entire family,
Chances are, this recent interchanging between the two parties will lead to a grudge match at SummerSlam, and if that is the case, the outlook doesn’t look good for the champion. Reigns has never beaten Rollins for championship gold or in a singles match at a PLE, and his record in such contests currently stands at 0-4.
Rollins famously claimed his first world title from under Reigns’ nose when he cashed in the Money in the Bank contract and turned Reigns’ championship challenge against Brock Lesnar into a triple threat at WrestleMania 31. He would then defeat Reigns again 18 months later at Money in the Bank, dethroning Reigns, who had just claimed the title from Triple H. At the Royal Rumble in 2022, Rollins again defeated Reigns by disqualification, while the Visionary then defeated both Reigns and CM Punk in a triple threat match to close out Night One of WrestleMania 41 last April.
But while the history books don’t look great for the defending champion, recent WWE programming certainly does. With Jacob Fatu in tow, the Bloodline is currently stronger than ever, and they will be doing everything in their power to ensure that Reigns successfully defends the title. Not only that, but Rollins’ issues with his former Vision faction also seem unresolved, and that could come to bite him in the backside in Minnesota at SummerSlam, should Rollins get his shot.
Oba Femi
Oba Femi is currently the hottest young star in WWE. He burst onto the scene at the Royal Rumble when he went toe to toe with Brock Lesnar, with the pair embarking upon a blockbuster feud heading into WrestleMania. The Ruler would get an early career-defining win over the Beast Incarnate, with Lesnar then making a shocking return weeks later to get a win of his own and tie up their series at 1-1.
Now, Oba is through to the King of the Ring finals, where he will meet Reigns’ cousin and Bloodline member Jey Uso. There, however, Lesnar will likely make his return and lay waste to the Nigerian, allowing Uso to secure the win. That means that Femi and Lesnar will face off in their rubber match at SummerSlam, delaying any potential meeting with Reigns until likely WrestleMania 43 next April.
That is the clash that the world wants to see. Reigns vs Femi, with the world heavyweight title on the line. It’s the biggest match WWE can make right now, but instead of pulling the trigger, the company has decided to hold off, penciling the clash in for the main event at Mania next year. That will be where the upstart Ruler gets his chance to dethrone Reigns. The question is whether someone else takes the gold before Oba gets the chance.
Gunther
Gunther has been on a tear over the last year. In late 2025, he beat legends Goldberg and John Cena in their retirement matches before defeating AJ Styles in January, ending his career also. After defeating Seth Rollins at WrestleMania, many expected him to be at the front of the queue for a potential challenge opposite Reigns, but he has instead been feuding with Cody Rhodes over the WWE Championship.
The two will square off at Night of Champions with Sami Zayn thrown in there as well, and it remains to be seen as to who will emerge with the title. If it isn’t Gunther, then it wouldn’t be surprising to see him feud with Reigns for the world heavyweight title, albeit post-SummerSlam and pre-WrestleMania.
WWE hasn’t traditionally booked a marquee title change throughout the fall, and this could be Gunther’s downfall, should he face off with Reigns later in the year. However, should fan sentiment surrounding the Tribal Chief begin to change, then the Ring General could be in prime position to secure the title.
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