SK Exclusive: Backstage news on who is Roman Reigns’ facing next

What’s the story?

According to my sources, Roman Reigns, who was to face Braun Strowman at Extreme Rules PPV, will be taking on The Miz in his next program.

In case you didn’t know…

Reigns was scheduled to take on the Monster Among Men at Extreme Rules. However, Strowman suffered an elbow injury and had to undergo a minor surgery. This has ruled him out until July, at least, which means he will have to miss Extreme Rules.

It was Reigns who attacked Strowman in the latest episode of Raw and caused the injury.

The heart of the matter

It has been further reported that the feud between Reigns and The Miz was initially planned to begin after Extreme Rules. Reigns was set to lose his Ambulance match against Strowman following which Reigns would move on to the Miz and Strowman to Brock Lesnar.

However, with Strowman out of the picture, the feud between Reigns and Miz is set to kick off earlier than it was planned.

Originally, it was planned that Reigns would defeat The Miz and win the Intercontinental Championship. The idea was that when Reigns takes on Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania next year, the Universal Championship will be the only Championship that he hasn't won. However, it is now uncertain as to whether the WWE still has plans to make Reigns vs. Miz an Intercontinental title program, but the pair are set to feud, regardless.

What’s next?

The Miz will challenge Dean Ambrose for the Intercontinental Championship this Monday on Raw after he became the Number 1 contender. It is expected that the feud between Reigns and Miz will start shortly after that.

Author’s Take

Reigns was left without an opponent after Strowman’s forced withdrawal. The Raw episode seemed very directionless because the word of Strowman getting hurt had just got out. Reigns needs new opponents until he can challenge Lesnar at next year’s WrestleMania. To start with, The Miz is a good option and after that, Samoa Joe, Seth Rollins or even Finn Balor would be interesting propositions.

For a while, it looked like The Miz had been relegated to the mid-card scene. But now he is getting the opportunity and a feud with Reigns is a huge step up. If he does well, it might help keep him high up on the card.