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Does WWE Still Need Roman Reigns?

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Steven Harrison | Last updated Jan 14, 2026 10:20 PM ET

The 2026 Royal Rumble is right around the corner. WWE’s official kickoff to WrestleMania season will take place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia—a first-time move for the company and another sign of where TKO's WWE is headed.

WWE traditionally loads the Royal Rumble with its biggest stars, and near the top of that list is “The Original Tribal Chief" Roman Reigns.

Reigns hasn’t been seen since Survivor Series: WarGames, where the night ended with a tense stare-down between Reigns and Cody Rhodes after their loss. Roman’s "never again" warning was unmistakably a WrestleMania tease.

And yet, since that moment, something has happened.

No one is really talking about Roman Reigns.

Sure, he's in prediction articles and on the poster, but that's to be expected. No one is really intrigued by Roman Reigns right now.

That silence raises an uncomfortable question: does WWE still need Roman Reigns the way it once did?

Will Roman Reigns Win the Royal Rumble?

Roman is advertised for the Royal Rumble in Riyadh. His entrance won’t be a surprise. But the landscape around him has changed.

Cody Rhodes is no longer the Undisputed WWE Champion, and it’s far from guaranteed that he’ll regain the title before WrestleMania. Drew McIntyre is the new WWE Champion.

That means the gravitational pull that once made Roman vs. Cody III feel inevitable isn't quite as strong anymore.

There’s also a broader shift happening. The new year brings a new energy. WWE isn’t in the first half of the 2020s anymore—it’s in the second. The roster is deeper, the stars are younger, and the company no longer revolves around a single figure the way it once did.

Roman is still respected. Still over. Still valuable.

But his schedule is working against him.

Extended absences make it harder for fans to emotionally trust the comeback. The Bloodline storyline thrived because of week-to-week presence, slow tension, and constant progression. Without that consistency, even the most compelling character starts to feel distant.

If Roman is willing to appear more regularly, that real-time investment can return. If not, fans will naturally redirect their attention—and their affection—elsewhere.

Make no mistake: Roman Reigns will continue to make WWE money for as long as he’s under contract. But right now, it doesn’t feel like the product needs him in the same way it once did.

If I had the booking pen, Roman makes it to the Rumble final four—but he doesn’t win. His WrestleMania match doesn’t need a title. It needs meaning.

At this stage, that’s far more interesting.