Hot Take: The 1 Decision WWE Must Make With Roman Reigns By WrestleMania 39

It would seem a world of possibilities sit in front of WWE when it comes to Roman Reigns, his unified titles and The Bloodline between now and WrestleMania 39.

Reigns has the title match against Sami Zayn in Montreal that will further develop the GOAT-flirting storyline. He could defend the titles once at Mania against rumble winner Cody Rhodes. Or he could defend twice, once on both nights. There could be involvement from the Rock. His reign could end, or it could extend with a shocking victory.

But the one decision WWE must make by WrestleMania 39?

Splitting the unified titles.

The initial sloppily and questionable unification has sat over Reigns' run like a dark cloud, robbing one weekly program of a men's top title for far too long, especially while the company tries to properly navigate a brand split.

Speculation since the unification itself has suggested WWE wasn't all-in on the fallout of the decision in the first place. And more recently, Wrestling Observer Radio's, Dave Meltzer (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News) reported that the company would have created a new title at stake on Night 1 of Mania had Rock been able to do the show. Rhodes or somebody else would have won this title.

That isn't happening, but that doesn't mean WWE can't handwave the idea of creating a third title and still split the unified titles anyway—before or at WrestleMania 39.

After all, this could be a sort of soft reset for the entirety of WWE programming as the new era kicks into high gear. Before this year's Mania, the company sort of sat in a holding pattern as the last major storylines overseen by Vince McMahon played out. Triple H, now head of creative, could really set the mark for this new era with a title split that enforces the brand split again.

Recently, show-hopping from the likes of The Bloodline blurred the lines on the split. But after Mania, there's bound to be another draft to reset the rosters. One could argue splitting the titles soon along with this roster shakeup is one of the rarest chances fans have ever seen for WWE to really shift the tone of programs, if not an entire era.

A fun football analogy for Super Bowl week—Mania is the Super Bowl for WWE, so why not let the rest of April be the training camp for both rosters as things settle and "cuts" and "trades" happen, all defined strictly by the split and two different titles?

It certainly doesn't hurt that splitting the titles would be wildly entertaining for fans to watch unfold in creative ways.

If WWE wants to split the titles before Mania itself, there's a perfect scenario coming up in Montreal at Elimination Chamber, where Reigns will defend against hometown hero Sami Zayn.

Given Zayn's Daniel Bryan-esque rise after breathing new life into Reigns' sputtering title reign, maybe he gets the shock win in front of the hometown crowd for one of the biggest modern pops ever (something the company refused with Drew McIntyre in the U.K. months ago).

It doesn't have to be complicated, either. This is pro wrestling—WWE controls reality and wacky things can happen. Perhaps Paul Heyman, sensing the wolves closing in, Zayn's momentum and the family falling apart, writes into the fine print of the pre-match contract that should Reigns lose, he only sacrifices one of the titles. Fans get what they want, Reigns turns on Heyman as the fall of the empire continues, Mania becomes amazing and the brand split works.

Should WWE want to split the titles at Mania itself, there are a ton of different ways to go. The most logical is pro-wrestling-storylining their way into Reigns defending one belt per night. If it's not Zayn getting a shot at one of the belts on Night 1, it would be extremely fun to watch Jey Uso given the shot, seeing as he was the one to really kick off this family-based storyline so long ago.

If not one of those two, there's always Seth Rollins and the old Shield-based angle to lean into if the storyline demands veering away from the family slant.

As onlookers can see though, WWE has plenty of ways to make the split happen. The company could always do something simple such as Rhodes beating Reigns, then vacating the Universal Championship, because he's always mentioned he wants to specifically win the WWE Championship, the strap his father never won.

That's not a terrible way to cap off Mania by any means, but it's a predictable one. It might reek of disappointment for fans given the Zayn-Bloodline-Reigns-Heyman saga that has now cemented itself as one of the best pro wrestling storylines ever and the wide-open doors it presents as options.

Either way, splitting the titles will really signal the arrival of a new era in a way that makes the new WWE dramatically different from the past era.

If one thing's a certainty, it's that it is not too late for WWE to make a split happen. Should all involved flex the right creative muscles and charge through some of those open doors, the must-have split can happen before Mania, or over the course of the two nights in unforgettable fashion.