Roman Reigns Reportedly Not Involved IN HIAC Plans

Roman Reigns is usually the headliner for WWE pay-per-view events, but the company decided not to have him defend the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at the WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view

Instead, WWE had Reigns and The Usos team up in a winning effort against Drew McIntyre and RK-Bro. A new report interestingly suggests that “The Tribal Chief” will not be on the card for the next WWE pay-per-view — Hell in a Cell 2022.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestlingNews.co), Dave Meltzer reported that Reigns won’t “be on every pay-per-view”, and that the 37-year-old superstar is “off the” Hell in a Cell show. HIAC will run on June 5 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.

The betting odds for Hell in a Cell 2022 will be released soon after WWE announces the matches for the card. The Illinois sports betting industry has been a giant success in the Prairie State so far, and new customers have the option to sign up at multiple sportsbooks and claim up to $1,000 in risk-free bets.

Customers in Illinois can bet on the league’s major professional sports franchises in the White Sox, Cubs, Bulls, Blackhawks and Bears as well as eSports, horse racing and elections.

Reigns made headlines on the May 7 WWE show in Trenton, New Jersey when he told fans that he was moving into a new phase of his career. This led to speculation that he could soon retire from WWE.

However, Meltzer recently reported on Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestlingNews.co) that Reigns signed a new deal that includes a reduced schedule. That could explain why WWE is presumably not planning to use him at Hell in a Cell.

It’ll be interesting to see where WWE goes with Reigns here ahead of Hell in a Cell.

WWE is building up a feud between The Tribal Chief and McIntyre. But if Reigns isn’t featured on the HIAC card, we’ll presumably have to wait a while for the inevitable championship showdown with McIntyre.

The next scheduled PPV after Hell in a Cell is Money in the Bank on July 2, which will run at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Edge Could Be Getting Another Stable Member

WWE Hall of Famer Edge and Damian Priest managed to bring in a third member to their villainous “Judgment Day” stable.

The Rated-R Superstar defeated AJ Styles at WrestleMania 38 thanks to some assistance from Damian Priest. The latter, however, was banned from ringside for the Edge-Styles rematch at WrestleMania Backlash on May 8.

This time, Edge got some assistance from Rhea Ripley, who helped the Ultimate Opportunist pick up another win over Styles. On the post-WrestleMania Backlash edition of Monday Night Raw, Ripley was officially introduced as the new Judgment Day stable.

The Edge-Styles program seemingly isn’t over just yet, and more trouble may await The Phenomenal One at HIAC if the two superstars do face off again.

Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com reports that there has “been talk of adding a fourth member to Edge’s Judgment Day faction.”

No names were specified, but there’s a long list of heel characters on the Raw roster who make sense as Judgment Day members. Regardless, this is something to watch closely leading up to Hell in a Cell — especially if WWE books a third match between Edge and Styles for Hell in a Cell.

RK-Bro & Usos Program Will Reportedly Continue 

Nothing has been confirmed, but don’t be surprised if RK-Bro and The Usos meet in a tag team bout at Hell in a Cell.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio earlier this week, Meltzer reported that WWE is “going to do” a RK Bro vs. Usos match. However, he noted that WWE doesn’t plan to unify the tag team championship belts at this time.

“Obviously they can always change their mind, but they are right now planning on doing the match, Meltzer said. “And I presume it’s going to be the next pay-per-view. That, I don’t know for sure.”

WWE initially announced that RK-Bro (the Raw Tag Team Champions) and The Usos (SmackDown Tag Team Champions) would meet in a tag team titles unification bout at WrestleMania Backlash.

The stipulation was removed, however, and WWE wound up adding both Reigns and McIntyre to the bout. But it sounds like WWE will actually run RK-Bro vs. The Usos for the next pay-per-view event. Of course, we’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out.