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Roman Reigns has been absent from WWE television since losing to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania XL on April 7. Dutch Mantell believes the storyline explanation for The Tribal Chief's WWE Draft omission was covered "perfectly" on the April 26 episode of SmackDown.
Reigns was initially listed as one of the eligible names to be drafted on the first night of the roster changes. However, his on-screen special counsel Paul Heyman announced that the former Undisputed WWE Champion had withdrawn from being selected.
Mantell, formerly known as WWE manager Zeb Colter, said on Story Time with Dutch Mantell that he liked the logic behind Reigns' exclusion:
"They did cover Roman Reigns perfectly. He withdrew his name from the draft because he's going home for a while. They did that well, so they couldn't have drafted him anyway because he refuses to be drafted, which makes sense. So, I bought it. Hopefully, the fans did too." [1:13 – 1:34]
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Reigns is filming a movie with Eddie Murphy, Keke Palmer, and Pete Davidson during his wrestling hiatus. It is unknown when he will return to WWE programming.
Paul Heyman addressed Roman Reigns' WWE Draft withdrawal
On the May 3 episode of SmackDown, Paul Heyman elaborated on why Roman Reigns was not included in the 2024 WWE Draft.
Speaking to SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis, the recently inducted Hall of Famer surprisingly revealed he has not been in contact with Reigns since WrestleMania XL. He also disclosed that he decided to take The Head of the Table out of the WWE Draft due to The Bloodline's ongoing issues.
On May 4, Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga will represent The Bloodline in a tag team match against Kevin Owens and Randy Orton at Backlash France. At the same event, former Bloodline member Jey Uso will also be in action against World Heavyweight Champion Damian Priest.
What would you like to see from Roman Reigns when he returns? Hit the discuss button and let us know.
Please credit Story Time with Dutch Mantell and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.
