Roman Reigns is set to defend his Universal Championship title against Finn Bálor at WWE’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view, and the fight is shaping up to be the champ’s greatest challenge in a while. Bálor has brought back his famous Demon persona, but will that be enough to topple Reigns’ tremendous run? It seems unlikely, and we say that due to a startling statistic that's been making the rounds as of late.
In a tweet that, even when verified, still seems unbelievable, Roman Reigns has not lost a wrestling match by being pinned since December of 2019. To clarify, that’s not to say Reigns has been undefeated, as WrestlingNews.co currently has his 2021 record at 19-15. Those losses have come from tag matches, triple threats, and other types of matches though and basically, any outcome where one can lose a match without being pinned.
That startling statistic would make it seem unlikely that Finn Bálor pins Roman Reigns tonight for the WWE Universal Title at Extreme Rules. Bálor is, of course, a beloved wrestler, but is the WWE ready to let its Universal Champ fall to The Demon?
Keep in mind that the WWE has already teased that Roman Reigns will face off against Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel in October. Lesnar is the currently holds the Universal Championship record at 688 days, and Reigns is approaching the 400s in his latest title reign. The match has the potential to be one of the WWE's biggest moments of the past year, but is it still a significant matchup if the Universal Championship isn’t on the line?
It’s the question with a seemingly obvious answer for fans and has resulted in some complaints from said viewers that Lesnar vs. Reigns was already confirmed. That said, it’s not like a match is confirmed to be set in stone once the announcement goes out. There's no guarantee that if Finn Bálor were to win, the WWE couldn’t just inject him into that match and make it a Triple Threat. Of course, that would require Reigns to eat a pin for the first time since December 2019, and it doesn’t seem like WWE is willing to do that just yet.
To play devil’s advocate, though, the WWE has delivered some of its most entertaining moments of the last two years in the past month since SummerSlam. While WWE won’t directly address its growing rivalry with AEW, there definitely seems to be a feeling that these title changes on Monday Night Raw, and insane match-ups and recent signings, are a result of that rivalry. My point being, the most surprising thing the WWE could do tonight is book Bálor to win though, again, it’s just not a scenario that seems incredibly likely. There are other ways for the WWE to stun fans at Extreme Rules and perhaps, save any shocker for Reigns to drop his title for his upcoming bout with Brock Lesnar.
WWE Extreme Rules kicks off on Peacock at 8:00 p.m. ET. For more on pro wrestling, read up on Bryan Danielson’s exit from WWE and the odd request the he’s surprisingly honored upon his departure from the company.
