Behind The Scenes Plans Regarding Roman Reigns And WrestleMania Backlash

Another hint that WWE is really pushing the Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar storyline, a recent report suggests that Undisputed WWE universal champion Roman Reigns is reportedly not scheduled to be part of the WrestleMania Backlash premium live event card on May 6.

Following a dramatic swerve that saw Lesnar attack Cody for unspecified reasons, Reigns seemed just as shocked to learn that Lesnar wasn't in the ring for the main event to send a message to Roman and The Bloodline. Instead, The Beast Incarnate took aim at The American Nightmare and Reigns instructed his family to leave the ring and let the incident unfold. Reports suggest that Reigns didn't just walk out of the ring that night, he might have walked out of WWE until the next premium live event comes and goes.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News), Reigns was not planned for Backlash as of Monday. As the current titleholder, he is not scheduled to be going very far, but the idea here is to take him off of programming which will serve two purposes. First, Reigns not being around will shine a light on the Cody and Lesnar storyline. Second, Reigns not being forced to defend his title will get him closer to 1000 days as the defending champion.

If the main event of WrestleMania Backlash becomes Cody vs. Lesnar, WWE may be taking Cody a few steps backward to ultimately move him forward as a contender for the title again. At that point, he'll have overcome more adversity than just having to win the Royal Rumble and he'll get another shot at Reigns.

Reigns Not Being On The Card Also Highlights Bad Bunny

With Reigns not having a match, it also allows WWE to put the spotlight on Bad Bunny, who is hosting the pay-per-view in Puerto Rico and will likely have a match alongside Rey Mysterio against Damian Priest and Dominik. WWE wanted Bad Bunny to be a big part of that card and they can be a co-main event.