Roman Reigns returned on last night's episode of SmackDown, where he dropped a major bombshell for Night of Champions. The Tribal Chief and Solo Sikoa will try to do what The Usos couldn't and beat Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship.
While this match has a few interesting reasons for transpiring, it does leave Night of Champions without the top title match. With the Tribal Chief challenging for the tag team titles, he won't be defending his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in Saudi.
WWE has traditionally stipulated that every title would be defended at Night (or Clash) of Champions, with 2020 being the exception due to a COVID-19 outbreak. Nevertheless, unless Roman Reigns pulls double duty on May 27, the company will break its rule for the premium live event to facilitate The Big Uce and his current storyline.
I’m about to have all the titles. #WWENOC @WWESoloSikoa pic.twitter.com/IMyzTtqE5g
— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) May 13, 2023
The chances of Reigns being forced to wrestle twice at Night of Champions are slim, as WWE would have likely promoted it more than two weeks before the show. Furthermore, The Tribal Chief's reduced schedule indicates he won't wrestle more than once in Jeddah.
One may have imagined Roman Reigns would defend his world title on the 1,000th day of his Universal Championship reign, but that is not the case. The story seems to be heading in another direction.
Roman Reigns is set to headline WWE Night of Champions 2023: But what is the rest of the card?
Night of Champions promises to be an exciting show. Despite the fundamental issue of Roman Reigns not defending the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, his match with Solo Sikoa against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will be great.
The tag title match is part of a triumvirate of epic bouts. The rematch between Brock Lesnar and Cody Rhodes has been set for Jeddah, while the first World Heavyweight Champion will be crowned as Seth Rollins faces AJ Styles in the tournament final.
It's official! 👀@AJStylesOrg will battle @WWERollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at #WWENOC! 🏆🔥 pic.twitter.com/YyUigicqHW
— WWE (@WWE) May 13, 2023
Other possible title matches include Bianca Belair vs. Asuka and Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya, with both Women's Champions being confronted on SmackDown and RAW, respectively.
Gunther and Austin Theory will likely begin new feuds next week as they head into Night of Champions with their titles. Meanwhile, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez are taking on all comers as Women's Tag Team Champions. Expect a big title defense in Saudi Arabia.