Reason why Roman Reigns was dropped from PWI number one spot

WWE Superstar Roman Reigns is arguably one of the most popular wrestlers in the entire world. The OTC main evented both nights at WrestleMania XL. However, he was absent from the recently released PWI 500 list, topped by Cody Rhodes.

The 39-year-old topped the list in 2022 for the second time after being No. 1 in 2016. Reigns, however, dropped to second place the following year despite being in the middle of his historic title reign. However, the former Shield member is absent from this year's edition of the list.

According to recent X (fka Twitter) posts from Kevin McElvaney of PWI, Roman Reigns did not make it to the PWI 500 list as he did not wrestle enough matches throughout the evaluation period. He pointed out that something similar happened with Brock Lesnar a few years ago.

"He [Roman Reigns] put us into an awkward spot, as he only had five singles matches during the evaluation period (the minimum is 10, or six during six separate months). Brock Lesnar had a similar deal years ago and didn’t make it. I’m sure people will be normal about this," read the X post.

He further added that the list is for active performers. Had it been for the biggest stars, Reigns would have potentially sealed the top spot four years in running.

"At the end of the day, our list is for active wrestlers and based on what is accomplished in the ring. We could do a list that’s just 'biggest stars' and Roman would have likely topped it the last four years. But it just wouldn’t be the “500” if it was only that."

You can check out the entire thread below:

WWE analyst predicts Roman Reigns' opponent for WrestleMania 41

Roman Reigns is currently involved in a heated rivalry with the new Bloodline led by Solo Sikoa. The heel faction took out the former Undisputed Universal Champion last month on SmackDown.

In the recent edition of the Notsam Wrestling podcast, WWE analyst Sam Roberts predicted that Roman's team would lose to the new Bloodline at Survivor Series WarGames, only for Reigns to defeat Solo Sikoa in a singles match. He further narrated how it would lead to a WrestleMania match between The OTC and Jacob Fatu.

"Jacob Fatu won't allow Solo Sikoa to give up his position until [Roman] Reigns is the first and only person to beat Jacob Fatu. And that's when Solo Sikoa gives Reigns the Ula Fala, and Roman Reigns is back to being The Tribal Chief. With the context being that Solo Sikoa is held hostage as The Tribal Chief until Reigns can beat Jacob Fatu, is my WrestleMania match for Reigns," he said. [37:57-40:08]

Jacob Fatu has been unstoppable since his debut. It will be interesting to see him go up against top superstars like Roman Reigns in the near future.