WWE Rumors on Reigns vs. Rollins, Drew McIntyre's Future and 2024 Expiring Contracts

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

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Reigns vs. Rollins Reportedly Not Happening at Survivor Series

Despite an apparent tease on Monday night's episode of Raw, WWE is reportedly not planning a match between undisputed WWE universal champion Roman Reigns and WWE world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins at Survivor Series next month.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), WWE is "for sure" not going the champion vs. champion route at Survivor Series despite doing so in past years.

On Monday night's episode of Raw, Rollins had a lengthy backstage conversation with women's world champion and Judgment Day leader Rhea Ripley, who has been trying to cut deals with both Rollins and Drew McIntyre ahead of their World Heavyweight Championship match at Crown Jewel.

Ripley told Rollins that he could supplant Reigns as the top champion in WWE with help from The Judgment Day, but Rollins got serious and made it abundantly clear that he didn't want to be anything like The Tribal Chief.

Over the past several years, WWE has done crossover matches between Raw and SmackDown Superstars at Survivor Series, often pitting champions against each other.

WWE recently created a rivalry between Raw and SmackDown by building tension between Raw general manager Adam Pearce and SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis, which suggests at least some form of Raw vs. SmackDown will be incorporated into Survivor Series.

Reigns vs. Rollins is always a marquee match given their star power and their history together in The Shield, and they haven't locked horns in a televised singles match since Royal Rumble 2022 nearly two years ago.

Rollins won that match by disqualification, making him one of the few Superstars to earn a win over Reigns over the past three years.

Both Reigns and Rollins have big title matches against LA Knight and McIntyre, respectively, at Crown Jewel, and what happens in those bouts could set the stage for whatever they are going to do at Survivor Series.

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McIntyre's WWE Contract Reportedly Up in April

Ahead of his world title match against Rollins at Crown Jewel, McIntyre reportedly still has not signed a new contract with WWE.

According to Meltzer (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), McIntyre's WWE deal is scheduled to expire in April, and there is no indication that he has signed an extension with the company yet.

Meltzer opined that WWE putting McIntyre in a world title match isn't necessarily a sign that a new deal has been reached or is imminent since the company still has about six months to get something done with the two-time WWE champion.

It was also noted by Meltzer that while WWE and McIntyre have different numbers in mind for the next contract currently, McIntyre isn't actively looking to leave and they could reach an agreement at any time.

McIntyre originally signed with WWE in 2007 at the age of 22, and it wasn't long before he won the Intercontinental Championship and was dubbed The Chosen One.

Things eventually went south for McIntyre in WWE, and he was released in 2014, but after dominating the independent scene, he returned to WWE in 2017, and he has been a top star ever since.

While it has been a few years since McIntyre last held a world title, he has won the Royal Rumble once and the WWE Championship twice since his return to WWE, and he is usually at or near the top of the card.

It seems likely that WWE will go to great lengths to keep McIntyre and sign him to a new deal if he is willing to stay, and the way it has heavily featured him in big spots lately could be WWE's way of trying to convince him to re-sign.

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WWE Reportedly Yet to Make Renewal Offers to Contracts Expiring in 2024

WWE reportedly hasn't yet engaged in contract talks with some key performers who will see their deals expire in 2024.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Upton), "numerous" Superstars, including "several top stars" have not been approached about signing new deals despite the fact that they are in line to potentially become free agents next year.

Per Fightful, most of the talent in that situation believes the holdup is due to the fact that WWE only recently completed its merger with UFC into TKO Group Holdings.

Now that the merger is official, the expectation by many is that contract talks will pick back up soon, although it hasn't happened yet.

Fightful noted that several Superstars signed long-term deals in 2019 that will end in 2024, plus some shorter-term deals signed later are about to expire within the next year as well.

McIntyre is among the big-name performers who will reportedly see their contract expire in 2024, and Fightful (h/t Sondra Ruth of TJR Wrestling) recently reported that Becky Lynch and Sheamus are also part of that group.

As things stand, nobody knows for sure how Endeavor Group Holdings will handle contract negotiations within WWE since it has never happened before, but it is difficult to envision them allowing a mass exodus of top-end talent given WWE's success in terms of live attendance, television ratings and popularity.

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