WWE Canceled Huge World Title Push for Beloved Star in 2026 Because of Roman Reigns - Reports

Roman Reigns is one of WWE’s biggest draws. It goes without saying that keeping him as the top champion of the company for 1,316 days, the promotion had to snub several other stars. Now, new reports suggest that the OTC wants to rise to the top again, and Sami Zayn has bitten the bullet for it.

Ibou of Self Made Pro recently did a livestream where he noted that the Canadian wrestler was supposed to win the 2026 Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia. He revealed that his feud with The Vision was supposed to eventually give him a match for the World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 42.

However, Roman Reigns, who wrestles part-time and primarily focuses on Hollywood, told WWE that he wants to refocus on wrestling. The OTC wanted to regain his top position and win another world title.

“At some point in this year, he (Roman Reigns) decided, I’m actually not all in on the Hollywood thing, and I’m coming back to WWE, and I want a championship. I want to win the belt. Basically, I want Cody’s (Rhodes) seat; that’s basically what it was. The second he pretty much made that clear to the promotion, they scrapped that whole Sami Zayn sh** because Sami Zayn was going to be the guy to win the Royal Rumble in Saudi and face Seth Rollins for the championship. That was the long-term plan for that whole thing, that whole saga with The Vision.” [21:41 - 22:14]

Thus, The Underdog of The Underground was shifted to the backseat by WWE once again to make room for his Tribal Chief.

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Sami Zayn was moved to SmackDown because of Roman Reigns

Continuing on the matter in the same livestream, Ibou said that owing to this, Sami Zayn, who should have been on his way to win his first world title, was moved to SmackDown. Ibou noted that changing brands and giving a United States Championship run to Zayn was WWE’s way of providing a new direction for him after the return of Roman Reigns to the picture.

The Canadian wrestler restarted the open challenges for the US Championship once again and even faced John Cena in his first match while the latter was on his retirement tour. However, he didn’t get a clear win as The MFTs interfered in the match.

This seemed absurd since none of the members of the heel crew challenged Zayn for the title afterward. Tama Tonga has been showing interest in the belt, but only after it went to Ilja Dragunov.

Moreover, Sami Zayn also lost a classic Survivor Series match to The MFTs while fighting alongside MCMG, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Rey Fenix last week on SmackDown. This was also revealed to be a stepping stone to promote an upcoming feud between The MFTs and The Wyatt Sicks.

Thus, Roman Reigns has completely changed the trajectory of the career of his former Bloodline member. It would be interesting to see if Zayn would be able to win a world title in the future and become a Grand Slam Champion.

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