The best mysteries are the most twisted. On SmackDown Live, Roman Reigns was planning to tell everyone who his opponent will be at WWE SummerSlam.
As he was walking backstage to make the announcement, an unknown individual pushed a vast girder onto Reigns. The question remains: Who really attacked Roman Reigns on the last episode of WWE SmackDown?
The less the WWE reveals, the more the WWE Universe wonders. After witnessing Roman Reigns’ striking collapse, they wonder about the many Superstars who could have committed such an act.
Some think that it could be John Cena because we can’t see him and he wanted revenge from losing to Reigns No Mercy 2017. Some think that it could be Undertaker since he mysteriously tagged with Reigns back at Extreme Rules and probably wanted revenge from losing to Reigns at WrestleMania 33.
Some think that it could be Lars Sullivan even though he has been reported to be injured for 6-9 months. Some think that it could be Liv Morgan since she said that she will “be real” when she comes back.
Some think that it could be Rikishi since he could have “done it for The Rock and the people.” Some even think that it might be the same individual who tossed a pie in Kevin Owens’ face.
Albeit all of these Superstars are worth noting, there are five more probable suspects who could have really attacked Roman Reigns on SmackDown Live. Before we get to that, let’s give a quick shoutout to The Gold Standard for his creepy, awkward vignettes in the past month.
Dishonorable Mention: Shelton Benjamin
When asked about Roman Reigns’ match on SmackDown Live two months ago, Shelton Benjamin acted very suspicious by not answering the question and walking away awkwardly. This could have been a foreshadowing of Reign’s potential “demise” at the hands of Benjamin.
Albeit he’s a far fetched option, he should not be counted out. With that being mentioned, let’s predict five more probable suspects who could have really attacked Roman Reigns on SmackDown Live.
5. Buddy Murphy
Buddy Murphy was spotted at the scene of the crime. It has been rumored that he could be the one who attempted to murder Roman Reigns as a way to get attention on SmackDown Live.
Indeed, Murphy has been pretty nonexistent and irrelevant on the blue brand. Albeit it is an immoral act, it makes sense why he would do this. However, there is a caveat to keep in mind.
Assuming that the attacker will face Roman Reigns at SummerSlam, it is quite difficult to believe that the Cruiserweight would even get pushed to defeat Reigns so quickly. Despite wishful thinking, it’s simply not a logical progression from a booking standpoint.
Nonetheless, he was spotted at the scene of the crime and still remains a rumored suspect. Speaking of rumors, another rumored suspect was the Monster Among Men: Braun Strowman.
4. Braun Strowman
Albeit he was not spotted at the scene of the crime, Braun Strowman is well-known for destroying the backstage area with his incredible strength. Back in his Royal Rumble 2018 feud with Lesnar and Kane, he pulled down the entire backstage set onto his opponents on Raw.
Considering that he surprisingly does not have a SummerSlam match, Strowman shouldn’t be counted out for pulling a stunt like this on Reigns. In fact, he did seem pretty furious when Maria Kanellis told him to show how big and strong he was on Raw last week.
On top of that, Reigns was the Superstar who assisted Rollins in tossing Strowman over the top rope in the Universal Championship Number One Contender All Star-Battle Royal two weeks ago on Raw.
Considering that Strowman has been obsessed with defeating Lesnar for the Universal Championship for 2 years now, he could have let out his anger and show how “big and strong he is” on Reigns for taking him out of the title picture once again.
Unlike Murphy, Strowman has been booked well enough over the years to defeat Reigns at SummerSlam and get back into the title picture with Lesnar. This would be an epic heel turn for him, and it would make sense for his character.
3. Bray Wyatt
Who is more sadistic than Bray Wyatt? Nobody. Wyatt has puppets lurking backstage and an alter ego called the ”Fiend” who wants to right the wrongs done the Wyatt in his past rivalries.
In fact, this is what Wyatt is doing in his current feud with Finn Balor. At SummerSlam 2017, Wyatt lost to Balor’s alter ego, the Demon. At TLC 2017, he was planning to unleash Sister Abigail against Balor’s Demon but was sadly too ill to fulfill his duties and was replaced by AJ Styles.
Thus, Wyatt repackaged himself and came back with a new alter ago, the “Fiend,” to make things right for his career. However, Balor is not the only Superstar who has wronged Wyatt.
Roman Reigns is also someone whom Wyatt has had beef with in the past with their most memorable match being at Hell in a Cell 2015, where Reigns picked up the victory. Since Wyatt lost to Balor at SummerSlam in the past and also lost to Reigns at Hell in the Cell in the past, maybe Reigns is Wyatt’s next target for Hell in a Cell 2019, which will air live next month.
Only time will tell, but all Reigns has to do is “let Wyatt in,” and Wyatt will take care of the rest and advance to the main event scene of Monday Night Raw.
Someone else who is comparatively sadistic is one of the most evident options to cause harm on Reigns in lieu of SummerSlam: Samoa Joe.
2. Samoa Joe
“Joe is gonna kill you!” This chant was very prominent when Joe was wrestling in NXT, and it could very well apply to this murderous situation with Reigns.
Unlike Murphy and Strowman, Joe is actually feuding with Reigns right now. Their feud was revived on Raw Reunion when Joe made fun of Roman’s family and Samoan heritage.
They were supposed to squash the beef at the Samoan Summit the following week on Raw. Instead, they cooked more beef and had an all-out brawl to close the show.
Considering that Joe has been desperately losing all of his title matches as of late and wants to be back in that title picture, it would make sense for him to pull this stunt.
This would put him in a prime position to be the most hated heel in the WWE and could lead to a big win for him at SummerSlam against Reigns, who was probably going to announce Joe as his opponent for SummerSlam to begin with.
1. Shane McMahon
Shane McMahon, the “best” in the world, was mysteriously absent from SmackDown Live last week. He delivered an alibi for the WWE Universe at the start of SmackDown Live, claiming to be with his life coach as he mentally prepared for his match with Kevin Owens at SummerSlam.
He was either lying about being completely absent from SmackDown Live, or paid his cronies, Elias and Drew McIntyre, to push that vast girder onto Roman Reigns backstage.
Considering that Reigns helped Kevin Owens fend off Elias, Drew McIntyre, and Shane McMahon in the main event last week and has been feuding with all of them since March, it would make sense that Shane would want to take Reigns out of the picture so that Owens has no help come SummerSlam.
Since they’re feuding now, maybe it was even Shane McMahon who threw the pie in Kevin Owens’ face this entire time; in fact, Owens had that pie suspiciously thrown in his face four months after Shane McMahon returned to the WWE.
Albeit this is all speculation, Shane McMahon is known to be a schemer, and no one should put it past him to cunningly stage a Superstar’s demise. He is a McMahon after all.