WWE Payback 2020: 3 reasons Roman Reigns needs to win the Universal Championship

Roman Reigns has a chance to reclaim the Universal Title at WWE Payback 2020.

WWE Payback 2020, like SummerSlam, needs to end with Roman Reigns standing over Braun Strowman and “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt with the Universal Championship.

Going into SummerSlam, I was one of many who got a laugh out of the event’s “You’ll Never See It Coming” tagline. Ultimately, WWE legitimately caught me off guard as the night ended with the shocking unannounced return of Roman Reigns as he laid out Braun Strowman and “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt to make the final snapshot of SummerSlam 2020 the image of Roman Reigns holding the Universal Championship high above his head.

Now, everything turns to WWE Payback 2020 with a contract signing this Friday on SmackDown to confirm a No Holds Barred Triple Threat Match for the Universal Championship with “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt defending against both Braun Strowman and the returning Roman Reigns. It might seem too early, but there are three interlinked reasons Roman Reigns needs to leave WWE Payback 2020 as the new Universal Champion.

1. Righting the wrong of WrestleMania 36

Being perfectly frank, WrestleMania 36 should’ve seen Roman Reigns handily defeating Goldberg to capture the Universal Championship. Unfortunately, nothing about WrestleMania 36 quite worked out as anyone had intended. As the global pandemic worsened in the weeks leading up to the event, it was pulled from Raymond James Stadium with a packed crowd and instead hosted without any fans in attendance at the WWE Performance Center.

On top of that, one of the night’s marquee matches was thrown for a loop as Roman Reigns made the decision to stay home for the safety of himself and his family. It was an admirable call as WWE continued to film and produce content despite the ongoing threat of the pandemic, and Braun Strowman ultimately got plugged into Reigns’ scheduled match and defeated Goldberg for the Universal Championship.

That was a moment that Roman Reigns had rightfully earned but had to give up to protect himself and his newborn children. Now, at WWE Payback, things can be set right as we get back on the path that was paved during the Road to WrestleMania and see Roman Reigns leading SmackDown as the Universal Champion.

2. Simultaneously defeat Strowman and keep The Fiend strong

The nature of this upcoming No Holds Barred Triple Threat Match perfectly sets things up between these three. The history between Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns is extensive, and very bitter considering some of the things Strowman has done to Reigns over the past few years. At WWE Payback 2020, Reigns has a chance to close out that longtime rivalry for the time being with a definitive victory over Braun Strowman.

Of course, there’s a secondary benefit to that. While “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt enters the night as the Universal Champion, he can lose the title without even being involved in the finish of the match. That’s exactly what needs to happen. With the exception of his loss to Goldberg at February’s Saudi Arabia Blood Money event, Bray Wyatt is nearly untouchable when he’s come to compete as “The Fiend.”

While he lost to Braun Strowman in the build up to SummerSlam, that loss came simply as Bray Wyatt, and not as “The Fiend,” a character he fought against unleashing on his former ally. When Wyatt did bring “The Fiend” to the fight, he left as Universal Champion, and losing the title without actually being pinned sets the stage for our third and final reason.

3. We need Roman Reigns vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt

Ultimately, this all comes around to one future matchup. Recent reporting by Tom Colohue further confirmed something we’ve all either speculated on or known in our hearts for months: WrestleMania 36 should’ve seen Roman Reigns defeating “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt for the Universal Championship.

Unfortunately, the decision to wedge Goldberg into the picture ruined everything. Goldberg defeated “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt in Saudi Arabia, and went on to defend the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36. While this did unintentionally set up the unique and wonderfully entertaining Firefly Fun House Match between John Cena and Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 36, that was nothing more than a consolation prize for the rivalry everyone (fans and competitors included) deserved.

Now, it’s finally time to give us the one-on-one rivalry and championship clash between Roman Reigns and “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt that should’ve happened at WrestleMania 36. The hottest rivalry on SmackDown will instantly arrive as the extensive history between Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt plows forward in an exciting new chapter, but this time “The Fiend” will be hunting the new Universal Champion.