Roman Reigns medically cleared to return to WWE SmackDown
After a positive COVID-19 test forced him to be pulled from Day 1, Roman Reigns is returning to WWE television.
WWE announced on Thursday that Reigns has been medically cleared to return and will be appearing on this Friday’s episode of SmackDown. Brock Lesnar is also appearing on the show and is set for a face-to-face confrontation with Reigns.
Reigns was scheduled to defend his Universal Championship against Lesnar at Day 1 last Saturday, but the match couldn’t happen due to Reigns testing positive for COVID-19. Lesnar was instead added to the WWE Championship match at the pay-per-view. He defeated Big E, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, and Bobby Lashley in a fatal five-way match to win the title.
On Raw this Monday, a WWE Championship match between Lesnar and Lashley was made official for the Royal Rumble. Lashley earned the title shot by defeating Big E, Rollins, and Owens in a fatal four-way match.
Lesnar was interviewed backstage after Lashley’s win. But instead of acknowledging Lashley, Lesnar just said that he’ll see Reigns on SmackDown this Friday.
Lesnar and Paul Heyman also reunited on Monday’s Raw.
This week’s SmackDown is taking place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.