WWE Rumors on Reigns' New Title, Possible Face Turn; Undertaker Hypes Conor McGregor
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Reigns Reportedly Getting New Title Belt on SmackDown
Roman Reigns' 1,000-day celebration as WWE universal champion on Friday night's SmackDown reportedly may feature the introduction of a new title belt.
According to Fightful Select (h/t WrestlingInc's Shaun Ranft), there were internal memos circulating within WWE as of Thursday that mentioned the unveiling of a new WWE Universal Championship belt.
Fightful also noted that Reigns' segment is expected to be similar to one featuring his cousin The Rock in 2013, which saw The Rock introduce a new WWE Championship belt after beating CM Punk for the title.
While Reigns has now been universal champion for over 1,000 days, it wasn't until last year's WrestleMania 38 that he also became WWE champion by beating Brock Lesnar in a winner-take-all main event.
Since then, Reigns has carried the WWE and Universal Championship belts separately even though they had technically been combined into a single championship.
That decision led to speculation that WWE was planning to break the title up again at some point, but the company introduced a new world title instead in the form of the World Heavyweight Championship.
Seth Rollins beat AJ Styles in a tournament final last weekend at Night of Champions to become the inaugural world heavyweight champion, while Reigns and Solo Sikoa fell to WWE tag team champions Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens on the same card.
With no possibility of the WWE and Universal Championships getting separated now, consolidating into one title makes sense, and doing it during The Tribal Chief's 1,000-day celebration would be the perfect time.
WWE Reportedly Planning to Turn Reigns Face as Part of Bloodline Angle
Reigns is currently the biggest heel in pro wrestling, but WWE is reportedly hoping to translate his present storyline into an eventual face turn.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), there are plenty of "twists and turns" left in the Bloodline storyline, and the ultimate destination would see Reigns become a beloved babyface once again.
Meltzer noted that WWE wants Reigns to be "an all-time legend" and a "special attraction superhero babyface" when all is said and done with The Bloodline.
Reigns turned heel nearly three years ago by aligning himself with Paul Heyman and winning the Universal Championship.
Over time, he built The Bloodline by joining forces with his cousins The Usos and Solo Sikoa, developing the group into one of the greatest and most dominant stables in WWE history.
Cracks have formed in The Bloodline over the past few months, especially in terms of Reigns being unhappy that The Usos dropped the tag team titles to Zayn and Owens at WrestleMania 39.
At Night of Champions last weekend, The Usos got involved in the tag title match pitting Reigns and Sikoa against Zayn and Owens, but Reigns was furious when they accidentally superkicked Solo.
That led to Jimmy Uso kicking Reigns twice, much to the shock of Jey. That angle figures to play out more Friday on SmackDown.
For now, Reigns is clearly a major heel, and while there is no end in sight to that, the endgame for most top stars is being a beloved babyface who the fans can get behind.
Undertaker Believes McGregor Would Thrive in WWE
WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker believes UFC star Conor McGregor would be a natural in the world of WWE.
In an interview with Oliver Browning of The Independent, Taker was asked about potential crossovers between the UFC and WWE now that they are under the same umbrella after Endeavor Group Holdings purchased 51 percent of WWE.
The Deadman made it clear that he feels McGregor would be an ideal fit in WWE, saying: "It's pretty easy to figure out, that would have to be Conor McGregor. He has WWE written all over him. He would be the ultimate heel and that would be kind of fun."
McGregor, who is a former two-division champion, has had a villainous persona for much of his UFC career, and it has helped make him one of the most popular and biggest-drawing fighters in UFC history.
McGregor has not fought in nearly two years due to a broken leg suffered in a loss to Dustin Poirier.
He is lined up to make his return in the coming months against Michael Chandler, but McGregor has lost three of his past four fights, so it is fair to wonder how long he will continue to compete.
If McGregor wants to move on from MMA in the near future, WWE would seemingly be the perfect place to transition to since he could still engage in a combat sport of sorts and showcase his big personality.
Ronda Rousey, Ken Shamrock and Shayna Baszler are just a few of the fighters who have successfully transitioned from the UFC to WWE, and McGregor would have a chance to be the biggest star of them all.
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