WWE SmackDown: 5 Superstars who could be Roman Reigns' mystery attacker

Unexpected ends to episodes of RAW and SmackDown are always welcome, which is why SmackDown's end felt like a breath of fresh air. Roman Reigns was all set to make a blockbuster announcement on WWE SmackDown Live - revealing his SummerSlam opponent. However, just as The Big Dog was making his way to Kayla Braxton to reveal his opponent, an entire steel structure was just pushed onto him.

Thankfully, Roman Reigns walked away from it unscathed, but it's very clear that there is a target on his back and it's safe to assume that the attacker will be his WWE SummerSlam 2019 opponent.

It's quite uncharacteristic of WWE to not have a Roman Reigns match at SummerSlam announced until the week before, but then again, the event isn't exactly centred around him.

Either way, in this article we speculate the five possible superstars who could have attacked The Big Dog.

#5. Samoa Joe

Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns have renewed their rivalry

Ok, let's get the most obvious one out of the way. Samoa Joe is naturally the first and probably the only option you thought of as Roman Reigns' possible attacker. The two have renewed their feud from last year, this time around in time for the biggest party of the summer.

RAW ended in fantastic fashion this week with the "Samoan Summit" that Joe cancelled himself. It led to a brawl involving multiple other superstars and Cedric Alexander was the one who ended up helping Reigns the most, taking out all the heels at the end to close the show.

WWE has directly been building this feud so it makes perfect sense that Joe would be the attacker. While we're obviously not ruling out the possibility of him being the attacker, in all likeliness, it will be Joe.

See WWE Smackdown Results, Highlights of event, & more on WWE Smackdown Results page

#4. Cedric Alexander

Cedric Alexander has been one of the top names in the fan list of "underutilised superstars" on WWE RAW. The 205 Live sensation and former Cruiserweight Champion deservedly joined the RAW roster but hasn't been used all that much since.

We admit that Alexander being the attacker makes little storyline sense, but stranger things have happened before. Alexander not being utilized could be used as a source of frustration for him not getting opportunities and it could also lead to a major SummerSlam match for the former champion.

As mentioned, this is probably the least likely to come true on this list, but there's no doubt that Alexander being the surprise attacker would shock the WWE Universe. It would also give him a big rub by having a SummerSlam match against The Big Dog Roman Reigns.

Would you like to see Alexander in that spot?

#3. 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt

This too may come off as a bit odd, particularly since Bray Wyatt is already feuding with Finn Balor and is set to take on the former Universal and Intercontinental Champion at the biggest party of the summer.

He has been terrorising the man since his return, but that doesn't mean that WWE can't set up multiple feuds at the same time. No, we're not necessarily suggesting that Wyatt needs to wrestle twice in one night (if anything, he should hardly be wrestling at all).

What we're suggesting here is that WWE can already set up the first big post-SummerSlam feud. That may mean that Roman Reigns won't be on the card but that doesn't mean that he won't be there in some capacity or the other.

WWE seems to be in a place where they're re-doing feuds and if there's one they really should re-run, it's Wyatt vs Reigns.

#2. Buddy Murphy

Murphy would do great justice to the position

Buddy Murphy is most likely the attacker as he was spotted in the background after Roman Reigns left.

Come on Know y’all can clearly see that’s buddy Murphy or I’m blind it’s someone else 🤨 #SDLive pic.twitter.com/lFpUfFQ6Z9
— Cameron branch (@thecarolinakid8) July 31, 2019

Expand Tweet

Perhaps the most underrated and underutilised superstar on the SmackDown Live roster is the former 205 Live King Buddy Murphy. Murphy hasn't really been used in any story since WrestleMania 35 and that's a real shame because he proved in his time at 205 Live that not only is he a world-class in-ring talent, but he is essentially the full package as well.

In our opinion, Murphy being the attacker would undoubtedly be the most exciting prospect for Reigns at SummerSlam and there's little doubt that Murphy will deliver. He has proven to be a "big match" type of competitor and it would be a breath of fresh air to see Roman Reigns wrestling against a fresh opponent who he has never faced before.

While we love both Joe and Reigns as individual performers, the feud is not fresh. This certainly would be.

#1. Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre vs Roman Reigns is not really a match that anybody wants to see at SummerSlam, but we must admit that there is some possibility of it. McIntyre was involved in the Samoan Summit chaos and has a history with Reigns, facing him both at WrestleMania 35 and at WWE Stomping Grounds, where he was defeated handily on both occasions.

WWE has been protecting McIntyre in a weird way despite his recent loss to Kevin Owens in the opening match of the night. While we do admit we're not thrilled at the prospect of Reigns vs McIntyre, the reality is that it makes a lot of storyline sense.

McIntyre is a part of Shane McMahon's henchmen crew and Roman Reigns has been one of their targets, though their rivalry seemed to end in a rather abrupt manner once Kevin Owens turned face. Either way, we hope it's not him.

Edited by Nishant Jayaram