Roman Reigns' Recent Booking Suggests Major Push on Road to WWE WrestleMania 33

Roman Reigns did not defeat Kevin Owens at the Royal Rumble for the WWE Universal Championship. Reigns did not win the Rumble match, which would have given him a guaranteed main event spot at WrestleMania 33. Not only did he come up short at the Rumble, but he also did not make any sort of forward progress on the January 30 edition of Monday Night Raw.

But his booking signals something big on the road to WrestleMania.

In any other scenario, a stretch of that nature would equal bad things for the Superstar in question. Reigns is supposed to be The Big Dog, after all; anything other than a win is not enough. But despite how it may look right now, there's no doubting Reigns is headed in the right direction.

It began with the match against Owens at the Royal Rumble.

Reigns had the upper hand thanks to the removal of Chris Jericho from the situation. Jericho was suspended in a shark cage high above the ring, which meant he would not have the opportunity to help KO win the match.

But thanks to a sneak attack from Braun Strowman, Owens went over in the end and retained the championship.

That move gave Reigns an automatic reason for not winning the title. If Strowman had not interfered, Reigns would have walked out of the Royal Rumble with the WWE Universal Championship. He would indeed live to fight another day.

However, fans likely didn't know that day was later the same night.

When Reigns' music hit and announced him as the last man in the Royal Rumble match, the fans exploded with hate. They hurled expletives at Reigns during the match, and nothing he did got over with the San Antonio crowd.

Fans saw red as Reigns traded punches with the legendary Undertaker, as even that moment didn't impress.

But then Reigns eliminated Taker from the Rumble. Just when fans thought it couldn't get any worse, the situation escalated beyond all comprehension. The man who had been such a hard sell as the top babyface for so long had taken out The Phenom to a chorus of boos.

That move put Reigns in a whole new light.

Suddenly, it was no longer about the Universal Championship. Undertaker vs. AJ Styles was a dream match that was apparently going to remain a dream. Undertaker vs. Goldberg was squashed when it was announced on Raw that Brock Lesnar would be facing the former WCW champ at WrestleMania 33.

Now, it was The Undertaker vs. Reigns in a bucket-list match for The Guy.

Strowman was the last loose end left to be addressed, and Reigns took care of that on Raw. He may not have left the night with a title shot or a main event spot at Mania, but he dropped both Strowman and Owens in the same segment.

In spite of it all, Reigns came out virtually unscathed.

WWE has something big planned for The Big Dog. Two months remain until The Showcase of the Immortals takes place in Orlando, Florida, and there is plenty of time left for the company to work up a big-money match for Reigns.

Perhaps The Undertaker will be the man booked to face Reigns.

If that is the case, then there is a real possibility The Phenom will fall. Fans have speculated on Taker's last match coming against Cena or perhaps even Sting, but WWE could go with Reigns instead.

Though it would likely create more heat for Reigns than he could bear, it's a move no fan should discount or believe WWE to be incapable of making.

Or maybe the WWE Universal Championship will be Reigns' destiny at WrestleMania. Owens has no clear-cut challenger at the moment, so Reigns could be the man who steps up. If that happens, then he will likely walk out of WrestleMania with the top prize of Monday Night Raw.

Despite what WWE has planned, there is no denying Reigns is in a great place right now.

He's got the right booking, he's got a great amount of spotlight, and he's at the top of the company. WWE has not made that kind of investment for nothing; the company wants to see a return. Reigns is not on the way down, and he could reach heights fans never would have thought possible before.

Reigns is on the way to bigger things heading into WrestleMania, whether fans like it or not.

Tom Clark can regularly be seen on Bleacher Report. His podcast, Tom Clark's Main Event, is available on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Android, Windows Phone and online here.