WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns is set to return to SmackDown this week after being sidelined due to COVID-19 for over a week.
Roman Reigns was supposed to clash with Brock Lesnar at WWE Day1 in Atlanta but those plans were nixed but after The Tribal Chief tested positive for COVID-19, forcing the company to go in a different direction.
Brock Lesnar was later added to the WWE Championship match, which The Beast Incarnate ended up winning.
WWE recently announced that The Head of the Table has tested negative for COVID-19 and will be making his return on this week's SmackDown.
BREAKING: @WWERomanReigns has been medically cleared and is set to return at tomorrow's Friday Night #SmackDown.
— WWE (@WWE) January 6, 2022
What will @BrockLesnar have in store for their explosive confrontation?https://t.co/XwdDFSEX0i pic.twitter.com/1vbMQO6XZW
Lesnar will also be present on SmackDown this week. This Monday on RAW, The Beast announced his return to the Friday night show.
Roman Reigns to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania?
Despite Brock Lesnar winning the WWE Championship last week, WWE's plans for WrestleMania seem to remain the same as the company looks to be heading towards another match between The Beast and Roman Reigns.
As reported by Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, the plan for Wrestlemania has always been Reigns vs. Lesnar, and it hasn't changed:
"Everything is worked out. All the original plans, there were some changes obviously because the Lesnar and Roman Reigns match from Saturday didn’t happen, but they’ve got their new twists and turns, and the final destination, which is presumably Lesnar and Roman Reigns, is still on.”
What is next for Universal Champion @WWERomanReigns after @BrockLesnar’s unexpected WWE Championship win at #WWEDay1?
— WWE (@WWE) January 4, 2022
Find out on the first #SmackDown of 2022 this Friday at 8/7 C on FOX.@HeymanHustle pic.twitter.com/T8l5J5nyfs
With WWE seemingly going for another match between their top stars at the Grandest Stage, it is still not clear if both superstars will walk in as champions, or one of them will lose the title on the road to WrestleMania.
With WrestleMania this year being a two-night extravaganza, WWE will need all the star power they can to draw the fans, and what better way to do that than a Champion vs. Champion match between their two biggest stars.