Backstage News On Original Plans For Roman Reigns' Opponent At WWE Royal Rumble 2024

It was announced on last Friday's "WWE SmackDown: New Year's Revolution" special that Roman Reigns will defend the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Randy Orton, LA Knight, and AJ Styles in a fatal four-way match at the Royal Rumble. On the latest episode of "Wrestling Observer Radio," longtime wrestling reporter Dave Meltzer spoke about WWE's original plans for "The Tribal Chief" at the upcoming premium live event.

"So the actual deal here is that the original idea was Roman [Reigns] and Randy Orton for the [Royal] Rumble," Meltzer said. "And essentially, there were parties involved who did not want to beat Randy Orton this early, obviously, and just felt that there's money to be made with Randy Orton and Roman in a program at some point, but it's too soon to do it."

Orton, who returned to action at WWE Survivor Series: WarGames after several months on the sidelines due to injury, hasn't faced Reigns in a televised one-on-one bout since 2015. At the time, Reigns was being pushed hard by WWE as the new face of the promotion, which was ultimately met with a polarizing response from the fans. Last month on "WWE SmackDown," Orton said he wanted to challenge Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble. The "Head of the Table" responded by telling Orton he hadn't done anything to deserve the opportunity. This past week, "SmackDown" GM Nick Aldis announced the fatal four-way bout for the Rumble after Reigns and Solo Sikoa interfered in a number one contender's triple threat match involving Orton, Knight, and Styles.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Wrestling Observer Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.