Unless this is yet another swerve from Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho, the former best friends seem to be headed for a feud. Potential Kevin Owens/Chris Jericho Feud Doesn't Need Universal Championship Sometime in the near future, he should earn a world championship opportunity, and if done right, a Reigns-Strowman program could elevate both men. First, he was made to look like a monster against lesser competition. Then, he became even more terrifying against more talented performers like Sin Cara and Sami Zayn. WWE has done everything right with Strowman. There are only so many cool spots Reigns can perform to get fans on his side with so many other bodies in the ring. In a one-on-one environment, Reigns has been able to turn hostile environments in his favor countless times. Competing in a world title match at the Royal Rumble will do just that.Īs WWE continues to play hot potato with most of its championships, the WWE Universal Potato should eventually make its way into Braun Strowmans' hands-Just not yet. The Royal Rumble is a house of horrors for Reigns as the pacing of the match allows for animosity and restlessness to build among WWE's oft-bitter fanbase.

The following year, Triple H-who was supposed to be the biggest heel headed into WrestleMania-was treated as a hero once he eliminated Reigns. WWE already played its 'Roman Reigns wins the Royal Rumble' card in 2015 and it didn't go well. Meanwhile, Owens appeared in a throwaway segment at the end of the show with Enzo and Cass, when the debate was in off and running. During an episode WWE knew would get obliterated by the record-setting first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, WWE booked Reigns and Rusev to compete in the first hour, where Raw ran unopposed to the debate. Even when he worked his way back to the midcard, WWE still booked him as if he were the biggest part of Raw. Still, Reigns never felt like a thing of the past. This sentiment only became more popular when he spent the summer losing several big matches to the likes of Seth Rollins and Finn Balor. Many wrestling fans and pundits were ready to write Reigns off when he was suspended for a wellness violation earlier this year. If WWE can bolster its world championship picture the way it has with the Raw Women's Championship, Raw's ratings can benefit, especially with football season drawing to a close. Compare this to the November 21 edition of Raw, which saw a steep 11.6% first-to-third-hour decrease to 2.772 million viewers despite being headlined by Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship. The follow-up one week later, which only advertised a non-wrestling segment between Charlotte and Ric Flair, saw a rather small 4.3% decline. The November 28 edition of Raw, which featured a main event between Sasha Banks and Charlotte, garnered the second-largest audience since the start of football season with a third-hour viewership of 3.039 million. In recent weeks, WWE has positioned the Raw Women's Championship feud between Sasha Banks and Charlotte as its main event program and ratings have solidified as a result. WWE Raw is beginning to pick up steam, and Kevin Owens' run as Universal champion has very little to do with it. Universal Championship is Being Outpaced by Raw Women's Championship

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