Backstage Details On How Roman Reigns' Return Affected WWE's Plans For Braun Strowman [Report]

After a five-month hiatus, Roman Reigns made an unexpected return at the SummerSlam pay-per-view, attacking both Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman following their Universal Championship match.

WWE wasted no time in continuing Reigns' massive push following his return. On the ensuing episode of SmackDown Live, the Big Dog revealed that he was now working with legendary manager Paul Heyman, who was absent from television for several months.

Reigns then emerged victorious against The Fiend and the Monster Among Men in a triple threat No Holds Barred match at Payback to become the new Universal Champion.

After pushing him as a massive babyface for five years, WWE decided to make a drastic change to Reigns' character. He is flourishing as the top heel on the SmackDown Live roster, and Reigns is only getting started.

Of course, Reigns' abrupt return to the ring meant WWE had to make drastic changes to its long-term plans.

On the Dropkick DiSKussions podcast, Sportskeeda's Tom Colohue reported that if Reigns' didn't return at SummerSlam, WWE would have likely continue the Strowman-Wyatt program.

"Well, the Roman return did surprise quite a few people," Colohue said. "It was being discussed but didn't actually get confirmed till until very late on so they sort of threw a storyline out of the way as it were. So when it came to Alexa Bliss, there's a reason she wasn't featured at SummerSlam, for example, and she wasn't featured at Payback beyond looking at a TV screen. It was because Roman Reigns had returned that a lot of things changed. Braun, unfortunately, is someone who will suffer because Roman Reigns is there now, because otherwise he'd probably continue his feud with The Fiend."

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Colohue also added that booked Strowman to bring The Fiend and Alexa Bliss "together," and they're currently exploring different "ways to use him." Strowman was featured on Raw Underground during this week's episode of Monday Night Raw.

Strowman defeated Goldberg at WrestleMania 36 to become the new Universal Champion. He held the title for 141 days before dropping it to Wyatt, his longtime ally and leader in the Wyatt Family.

Strowman Deserved His Main Event Run

WWE spent three years teasing a main event push for Strowman, but they never fully followed through with it. So it was nice to see the Monster Among Men finally receive a long overdue push and run with a major championship. His time in the main event spotlight may have ended sooner than expected following Reigns' return, but at least Strowman got his hands on the Universal Championship once and for all.

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