Jacob Fatu challenges Roman Reigns to title match at WWE Backlash
Jacob Fatu didn’t waste any time in calling his shot, challenging new champion Roman Reigns to a World Heavyweight title match for next month’s WWE Backlash.
Reigns came out to close Monday’s Raw after WrestleMania, flanked by The Usos. Reigns discussed the issues the three had with people like CM Punk and rapper/podcast Cam’Ron calling them out, but that’s not happening anymore with Reigns as champion.
Enter Fatu, fresh off his WrestleMania 42 Saturday win over Drew McIntyre in their unsanctioned match. He said he doesn’t just want what Reigns has, but he needs it. That was why he was challenging Reigns for the title at Backlash.
Reigns didn’t commit to the match, but gave Fatu a week to think about what he was doing, questioning whether he was ready for everything that comes with being the World champion. He and The Usos then departed, leaving the show on a bit of a cliffhanger.
While not official, it would appear Fatu has now moved over to Raw after being solely a SmackDown wrestler where he was a former United States Champion and Tag Team Champion. His only Raw match came in a dark match street fight against Cody Rhodes in October 2024.
The two men were on opposite ends of The Bloodline implosion from late-2024 but have never had a singles match. Reigns defeated CM Punk on WrestleMania 42 Sunday for the World Heavyweight title.
Backlash takes place on May 9 from Tampa, Florida.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.