Backstage reason why Roman Reigns isn't promoted for recent shows - Reports

Roman Reigns has been on and off WWE programming following his return at SummerSlam. The Original Tribal Chief made his comeback on this week's Season Premiere of SmackDown and while his return was advertised earlier, the company took him off ahead of the show. A recent report has explained the thought behind not promoting Reigns' presence for recent shows.

Reigns took a long hiatus from the company after his 1316-day Undisputed WWE Universal Championship reign ended at WrestleMania XL, as Cody Rhodes finished his story. The 39-year-old Samoan star made his return at SummerSlam and was later seen on a couple of episodes of WWE SmackDown.

In the build to the season premiere of the blue brand on USA Network, WWE had promoted Reigns' appearance. However, management decided to remove him from the card, leading the fans to believe that they weren't going to see The Tribal Chief. According to Fightful Select Roman Reigns was not listed for WWE events but was planned for recent shows. This plan helped pull off a bigger surprise when he showed up during the season premiere.

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Update on Roman Reigns' status after WWE SmackDown

The Original Tribal Chief returned to SmackDown after Cody Rhodes retained his Undisputed WWE Championship against Solo Sikoa in a Steel Cage Match. After the bout, Sikoa's Bloodline attacked Rhodes, instigating Roman Reigns to make his way to the ring and try and level the playing field.

After this week's show, WWE confirmed that Roman Reigns' status in the company changed from that of a free agent to a full-time SmackDown superstar. In the closing moments of the show, the fans saw the two WrestleMania XL opponents act as a unit and fight off Solo Sikoa and the rest of The Bloodline.

Their alliance led to a tag team match for Bad Blood becoming official. The bout will see Rhodes and Reigns team up to take on Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu. This will be the first time that The American Nightmare and The Head of the title will be on the same side in the history of the company.