Roman Reigns has plenty of challengers post-WWE WrestleMania 42 | Opinion
Roman Reigns did what he set out to do at WWE WrestleMania 42 Sunday — to both beat CM Punk in his first ever Mania main event and take away his World Heavyweight Championship in the process.
Following the win, there is plenty of talk on who could be next for Reigns including WWE’s interest in pitting him against Gunther after his big win on Saturday over Seth Rollins.
Two years after a dominant 1316-day reign as Universal Champion, the WWE roster has undergone an shakeup with new names and new challengers since that run.
While Jacob Fatu appears to be up first, here’s a few other contenders who could challenge Reigns for the title this year.
Oba Femi
In the WrestleMania post-show, Femi called out the new champion fresh off his own win over former Reigns rival Brock Lesnar. When Reigns made his appearance on the panel later, fans started chanting for Femi and ‘Oba’s gonna kill you’ (in addition to an anti-TKO chant). Reigns acknowledged them, claiming that Femi did a big thing at WrestleMania 42 with his performance but he had already accomplished that multiple times.
After checking Lesnar off from his list of dominated opponents, it seems inevitable that he will challenge Reigns for the title at some point. However, WWE needs to let the feud develop gradually as a rushed match between the two, especially a premature title match, could do more harm than good.
Seth Rollins
When The Vision turned on Rollins in October, he was forced to relinquish the very title Reigns just won. Since Rollins never actually lost the title in a match, it’s a natural that he gets his shot back at some point. But, that opportunity might take a while especially after Bron Breakker’s return at WrestleMania where he cost Rollins his match against Gunther.
Even if Rollins challenges Reigns for the title later in the year, their long and complex history ensures plenty of unfinished business. The last time they stood opposite each other in the ring in a singles match was at the Royal Rumble in 2022 and at WrestleMania 40, Rollins sided with Cody Rhodes to take on Reigns and The Rock.
A key takeaway from their last singles match is that Rollins defeated Reigns via DQ. Rollins’ mind games – making his entrance to The Shield’s theme song, wearing the disbanded group’s signature gear and taunting their gesture of bumping fists during the bout led to Reigns snapping.
LA Knight
Knight was one of the many stars who stood up to Reigns in 2023 and challenged him for the then-Universal Title, squaring off at Crown Jewel that year.
In the buildup of their feud, Knight was unfazed by Reigns’ status with one memorable instance being Knight interrupting Reigns’ entrance for their contract signing.
Since then, Knight has received mixed reactions from the WWE fans. While some still root for him to get his main event spotlight, a few remain hesitant on whether he should be there.
The possibility of Knight facing off against Reigns again this year carries major implications. He made it clear to Gunther on Monday’s Raw that is where he is looking.
Bron Breakker
In the aftermath of WrestleMania last year, Rollins’ new alliance with Paul Heyman led to The Vision’s origin. They were joined by Bron Breakker and a couple of months later, Bronson Reed joined the fold.
By July 2025, during the budding rivalry between Jey Uso and Reigns against Rollins, Breakker and Reed, Reigns warned them about confiding in Rollins which Breakker took issue with and called him the “old dog” in the yard, mocking his relevancy dating back five years ago. At SummerSlam last year, Uso and Reigns defeated The Vision.
Breakker has already announced his thirst for winning a World title. Challenging Reigns for the title would capitalize on his momentum and give him a chance to prove himself against an established, dominant competitor. Win or lose, Breakker squaring off against Reigns would signal him as a top tier talent on the WWE roster. He just needs to get past Rollins first.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.