WrestleMania 42’s two night affair closed up shop on Sunday night, and it did so the way many predicted, with Roman Reigns besting CM Punk to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. It’s the first time Reigns has ever held WWE’s secondary World Championship, and while it remains to be seen where his reign goes in the immediate future, it seems WWE already has a plan for a major title defense later this year.
On Sunday’s “Wrestling Observer Radio,” recorded before Reigns defeated Punk to become champion, Dave Meltzer let it slip that Reigns was all but assured to win the title. The reason that was the case, according to Meltzer, is because WWE had lined up a marquee feud for Reigns as champion.
“Well, I know that the plan…the plan is Roman Reigns as champion against GUNTHER, okay?” Meltzer said. “Now again, that was as of a week ago, midweek even. So if that’s a direction for…I’m pretty sure it’s not for Backlash. Maybe SummerSlam? Maybe something else? But that’s like a match…that’s the one where they’re like ‘Okay, we’ve got the big things there.'”
Meltzer’s information came just a few hours after GUNTHER had wrestled at Night One of WrestleMania, defeating Seth Rollins with an assist from Bron Breakker. GUNTHER and Reigns have rarely crossed paths during their WWE run, though they were the final two in the 2026 Men’s Royal Rumble match, with Reigns eliminating GUNTHER to get the win. Thus far, it’s the only blemish on GUNTHER’s record over the last few months, which has otherwise seen him retire WWE legends John Cena and AJ Styles.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Wrestling Observer Radio” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription
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