Published: 4 minutes ago by Sanchez Taylor | Last Updated: 8 hours ago by Sanchez Taylor
Sanchez has over six years of pro-wrestling news writing experience, covering the biggest news stories in WWE, NXT, AEW, TNA Wrestling and more. He has personally interviewed a number of top stars, producing exclusive content with the likes of AEW’s Swerve Strickland and WWE’s Nick Aldis.
WWE
Roman Reigns has publicly spoken about retirement on several occasions recently, notably telling Complex that he has a few years left to tie up loose ends and logic gaps.
Following this, Reigns made some interesting comments about how long it takes to build new WWE stars, and how few stars there are other than him who can carry the flag for the company.
The OTC is clearly thinking about the future of WWE, wanting to leave the company in a better place than when he joined.
With the current World Heavyweight Champion conscious about what it takes to build new stars, we could see Reigns face off against several names he hasn’t went one-on-one with before.
Following his title defense against Penta on September 14, here are three potential first-time singles opponents for Roman Reigns.
Oba Femi
A match between The OTC and The Ruler feels inevitable at this point, following Oba Femi issuing a challenge to Roman Reigns following the latter star’s World Heavyweight Title win at WrestleMania 42.
The two stars haven’t shared the ring in the almost-six months since then, with Femi even giving up his guaranteed title shot after winning the King of the Ring tournament.
Previous reports have indicated that this match is planned for WrestleMania 43, which is set to emanate from Saudi Arabia.
If this match does take place on the Grandest Stage of Them All, it could end with The OTC passing the torch to The Ruler.
GUNTHER
In the final moments of the 2026 Royal Rumble match, Roman Reigns eliminated GUNTHER to punch his ticket to WrestleMania 42.
This is the only time the two stars have shared the ring in their careers, with the duo having never faced off in one-on-one or tag-team action.
Two of WWE’s most dominant stars, it’d feel like a missed opportunity if we don’t get to see the Tribal Chief fight the Ring General in a traditional match.
Having retired Goldberg, John Cena and AJ Styles, it’d be interesting to see whether the Career Killer would also put away Roman Reigns during his final run.
Royce Keys
After losing to Jacob Fatu in a Street Fight on the August 3 Raw episode, Royce Keys returned on the August 24 episode with Lucien Price and Bronco Nima.
With this trio attacking The Usos, Solo Sikoa and LA Knight, the group now known as the 946 have targeted members of the Bloodline faction since then.
Following “massive praise” backstage, it’d make a lot of sense to see Royce Keys step up to challenge Roman Reigns, amid all of the faction warfare.
Having previously won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, a match against the OTC could replace that victory as the most important bout of the powerhouse’s career.
To make sure you stay up to date with all the biggest wrestling and WrestleTalk news, follow us on Threads by clicking this link!
