Following a successful title defense over Penta on “WWE Raw” in Mexico City, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns now pivots his attention to LA Knight, whom he’ll face at Money in the Bank in New Orleans. Knight staked his claim for Reigns’ title over a month ago. Does that mean it will pay off for “The Megastar,” though?
According to WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray, it depends which one of two ways WWE’s creative team looks at his upcoming title match.
“I’m trying to think like the office would think right now, if they had a plan to get the championship off of Roman because Roman is either going away or he’s going to be embroiled in a WarGames match at Survivor Series,” Ray said on “Busted Open Radio.” “We can get Penta over, but we can put LA Knight over. I’m wondering if that’s the way they’re thinking. You can’t just take a championship off of Roman Reigns and throw it on LA Knight and think it’s going to work wonders overnight. It ain’t happening. But I’m wondering if that’s the mentality. I’m wondering if they saved it for LA Knight.
“I can also give you the other school of thought right here,” he continued. “… That championship isn’t going anywhere for the next seven to eight months. You know why? Because it’s going to Oba Femi at WrestleMania.”
Chatter of Reigns potentially battling Oba Femi has been swirling since April, when “The Ruler” invited “The OTC” to fight him by the end of the year. At the time, Reigns seemed open to the idea, but first wanted to see how Femi’s summer activities panned out. Earlier this month, the prospective matchup got hot once again when a report indicated that Femi vs. Reigns was tentatively circled as a WrestleMania 43 main event.
Creative plans, of course, are always subject to change, but in the mind of Ray, this one will likely stand the test of time, and moreover, lead to a massive title change on WWE’s biggest stage. Could Reigns and Knight play hot potato with the World Heavyweight Championship before that, however?
For Business Sake, Ray Believes Knight Should Not Win The WHC Right Now
Ray toyed with that idea, recognizing that an LA Knight title win at Money in the Bank would appease many fans that have long been waiting for him to taste a world title in WWE. For the sake of WWE’s long-term future, though, Ray prefers a much more linear path.
“LA Knight beats Roman Reigns, and then what?” Ray asked. “It’s kind of like a one night stand. Not the wrestling One Night Stand; an actual one night stand. It’s like the build-up to hooking up, and then you eventually hook up. It’s like, ‘Whoa, that was awesome. Alright, see you later. Bye.’ There is no follow-up because it was what it was for that moment in time. For the build-up, and for that moment, it was awesome, but we’re done now. Have a nice life. Bye. See you later. You don’t want to get into that kind of a situation with LA Knight where, okay, we got the championship on him. We made his fan base happy. Everybody will shut up now. He finally got it. When we getting it off of him?”
From a business perspective, Ray emphasized the importance of looking at the long-term future, not just to Money in the Bank or a month after it. Should Knight dethrone “The OTC” at Money in the Bank, Ray suggested that, in turn, the magnitude of Femi potentially doing the same thing at WrestleMania next spring would be devalued.
Ultimately, that’s why Ray is putting the idea of Knight winning the World Heavyweight Championship at the October 10 premium live event back on the shelf. Instead, he believes Reigns should maintain possession of the title until “The Show of Shows” in 2027, where a huge dream and future-cementing match possibly awaits him.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Busted Open Radio” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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