WWE must avoid another absent champion situation

Roman Reigns status in the WWE is a hot topic across wrestling. News broke that he’s signed a new deal, but he’s also been removed from early Hell in a Cell promotion. Reigns career-defining run is the top story across the company and yes, he does deserve a break to rest or potentially do other things. But WWE cannot make the mistake again of having an absent champion, especially as the company is slowly regaining some momentum.

Fans don’t have to think too far back for another example of when this went wrong for the company. Brock Lesnar’s championship run from April 2017 through August 2018 saw Lesnar make sporadic appearances on WWE television. This was a part of his agreement with the company and since Lesnar commanded such as a big draw, WWE allowed for their top prize to be away from TV. That opened a space for Seth Rollins to go on a run as the Intercontinental champion, one of his best times in the company.

WWE is in a different place today than it was back then. While some of the same stars are around, and fresh faces filled in some gaps, Roman Reigns is the end all when it comes to booking the men’s divisions. With two championships on his shoulders, he’s defeated every individual that could be considered a top opponent, other than Rollins.

Plus, the mid-card championships are completely undervalued. The United States and Intercontinental championship aren’t in a place where they can carry a top program like they could when Rollins was holding up Monday Night Raw. The belts are consistently left off PPVs, and neither are the launching point into the main event that they once were. Ricochet and Austin Theory cannot carry SmackDown and Raw, respectively. That’s a failed test waiting to happen.

Then there’s the fact that pinning Reigns right now doesn’t make any sense. There’s a list of names that could be champion, Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, even Randy Orton is over during his current run. But none of them seem like the right pick to do so currently. Rhodes versus Rollins would be an excellent feud to have a championship in play, but booking decisions make that impossible right now. There isn’t a clear direction to take with Reigns, so taking the belts off him right now would do almost as much damage of not having him on television.

WWE has painted itself in a corner with its booking of Roman Reigns. He’s the top draw for the company, and that’s without question. But the choice to not build any other draws of interest along the way lessens their ability to find the next champion. Regardless of the decision made, allowing Reigns to go extensive time off television with both championships is the wrong choice.