Reigns Passes CM Punk; Gable Steveson Talks WWE Return; Rumors on King & Queen Event

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from WWE and AEW.

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Reigns Passes Punk's Run as WWE Champion

With the universal and WWE championships now combined into one, WWE will have to make an interesting determination regarding Roman Reigns' reign. While he's held the universal title for more than 1,000 days, he just now passed CM Punk's 434-day reign as WWE champion.

For now, it appears WWE is keeping the two lineages separate, but that's likely to change once Reigns finally drops the belt. Given the long-term legacy of the WWE title, it would make more sense to fold the universal championship into the WWE championship lineage—thus giving Reigns' run the historical weight it deserves.

As it stands, it's hard to see Reigns losing the championship any time soon, making it anyone's guess when the day count will stop.

Cody Rhodes remains seemingly the most likely person on the roster to unseat Reigns, especially as the Bloodline starts to crumble. The Usos seem on the verge of exiting the faction—perhaps feuding with Reigns and Solo Sikoa as soon as Money in the Bank—but it doesn't appear a full-scale resolution will happen by SummerSlam.

That means it's more likely than not that Reigns will hold on to the title going into 2024.

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Gable Steveson Says Big Things Still Coming in WWE

Signed to a contract amid massive hype following his gold-medal win in 2021, Gable Steveson looked to be WWE's attempt at finding a modern Kurt Angle. He was the most accomplished heavyweight of his generation, winning Olympic gold and two national championships—although he did do it without a broken neck.

Nearly two full years later, it's been radio silence in Steveson's pro wrestling career. He's made occasional appearances but has yet to have a single match, all while surprisingly deciding to continue his amateur career for the 2024 Summer Games.

Despite the quiet start to his pro career—keep in mind he signed just a few months before Bron Breakker inked his developmental deal—Steveson says he'll make an impact on WWE programming "sooner than a lot of people think."

"I am still doing my thing," Steveson told Cliff Brunt of the Associated Press. "I have changed my diet, my body appearance. I wanted to be the best thing ever so when I did go on TV, it was going to be a sight that nobody has seen before. My time is coming and it's coming sooner than a lot of people think."

Of course, we're officially in "we'll believe it when we see it" territory with Steveson and WWE. His primary focus at the moment seems firmly back in the amateur circuit ahead of the 2024 Olympics, having recently captured Final X to earn a spot in this year's World Wrestling Championships.

Assuming he winds up qualifying to defend his Olympic gold, we may be at least a year away from Steveson becoming a fixture on WWE programming.

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No Update on King/Queen of the Ring Rescheduling

It's starting to appear WWE has scrapped plans for King and Queen of the Ring tournaments.

May's premium live event in Saudi Arabia was originally slated to carry the classic moniker, but that was changed to Night of Champions as the title picture became a primary focus of storylines.

Fightful Select reported there has been no internal plans to make King and Queen of the Ring part of the event schedule this year. However, it was noted as something WWE could keep in its "back pocket" for future Saudi events.

Once an annual event in the calendar, King of the Ring has fallen out of favor in WWE since the turn of the century. The company eliminated it from the yearly pay-per-view schedule in 2003 and has since brought it back on occasion to inconsistent success.

The most recent King of the Ring tournament concluded in 2021, with Xavier Woods winning the crown. Zelina Vega won the first and only Queen's Crown tournament that same year.

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