Roman Reigns is about to reach three full years as Universal Champion. He's less than a month away from achieving the feat, but he has to go through record-breaking eight-time Tag Team Champion Jey Uso first. Dutch Mantell, a wrestling legend, gave his thoughts on the match.
On the latest episode of Smack Talk, wrestling legend Dutch Mantell gave his predictions for SummerSlam 2023. The main event will be a Tribal Combat match as the Undisputed Universal Champion faces his cousin Jey Uso for the first time since Hell in a Cell 2020.
Ahead of the match, Dutch Mantell said that he can't see Reigns losing at SummerSlam 2023:
"They put three years into Roman Reigns and I don't think the first chance they get, they're going to roll that belt off him. Roman Reigns is the type of heel [with whom] you can get a babyface over right off the bat. And after they put so much time and so much effort into Roman, I don't see Jey walking out here with the title."
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He spoke from a booking perspective and said that he believes Reigns will 100% walk out with the title intact:
"A hot heel can get a babyface over. A hot babyface cannot get a heel over. He might get some heat on him but he won't get him over, just by the nature of the game. This is a no-DQ, I think we're going to see a multi-layered finish. We're going to see some participants in-and-out and back-and-forth and some of these people coming in will be sectioned off by their opponents later on. But I expect Roman Reigns 100% to come out with that belt. And if he doesn't, then guess what? I'm wrong. I do expect him to retain on SummerSlam." [From 01:44 to 03:14]
You can watch the full video below:
Wrestling legend Bill Apter thinks there could be another superstar who is a major threat to Roman Reigns
One superstar who has been out of action is the man who Reigns beat at Survivor Series 2021; Big E.
On a recent edition of The Wrestling Time Machine, Bill Apter told host Mac Davis and WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long that The Powerhouse of Positivity could be a big threat to Roman Reigns' title:
"What I think is Big E needs to come back as a top contender for one of the titles. He's got such a great look, such a good attitude. Even his interview skills are fabulous. He needs to be in there with the top-tier guys. He was always into comedy with The New Day, but I think it should be a new day for him. I think he should be in a serious singles competition going after either Gunther, Seth Rollins or Roman Reigns. I think he'll be a real threat to Roman Reigns' title," said Bill Apter. [From 08:37 to 09:18]
Can Big E return on time to pose a threat to The Tribal Chief? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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