Seth Rollins calls Roman Reigns’ World Heavyweight Championship claims ‘complete bullsh*t’

Seth Rollins did not hold back when discussing Roman Reigns’ claims about elevating the status of the World Heavyweight Championship. 

In an interview with Big Nick Turturro on Delivering Happiness Rollins hyped his unfinished rivalry with Reigns and his shortened World Heavyweight Championship reign.  

“So, now Roman Reigns is walking around with my title, right? Talking about how he made the title relevant, which is bullsh*t. I’ll just say it. It’s complete bullsh*t. He knows it. I know it. Everybody else knows it. He sounds like an idiot when he says it.” 

He also discussed the formula that worked and currently works with top WWE stars 

“I think one of the things that’s really underrated in top talent and you kind of look at it through the history is there’s a level, there’s an intelligence that exists. There’s an understanding of people and how to read people, how to read a room, and how to kind of manipulate that reaction and that  feeling.”

“You look at guys from all different eras and they have it and they may not be traditionally the smartest guys in the world, like, you know, math scientists type things, right? Like Dusty Roads was incredible at it, the American Dream. You look at Ric Flair, you look at Bruno Sammartino, you look at Stone Cold Steve Austin, you look at The Rock, you look at all these generations, Triple H, these guys, John Cena, myself, Roman Reigns, the common denominator, aside from the desire for greatness, there’s a hunger to be at a level above other people, right? There’s an intelligence. There’s a knowhow with a way to get people to do what you want them to do.”

“And I don’t mean that in a negative manipulative way. I’m not trying to trick you or anything like that, but I understand what you want and what you don’t want and how to make those things work in conjunction with each other in the context of a story. And I think that’s the big thing that really, I think separates kind of that upper level from like the elite.”

Rollins was forced to vacate the World Title in October 2025 due to a shoulder injury that required surgery. He was the inaugural winner of the championship when it was re-introduced in 2023, and has had two reigns with it. 

Following his injury, CM Punk won the championship in his absence at SNME in November. At WrestleMania, Reigns defeated him for the title at the Night 2 main event. 

Following his injury, CM Punk won the championship in his absence at SNME in November. At WrestleMania, Reigns defeated Punk for the title in the Night Two main event. 

Jacob Fatu reportedly injured ahead of WWE Clash in Italy

Jacob Fatu might be injured heading into WWE Clash in Italy this weekend. 

According to PWInsider Fatu was spotted limping after his WWE live event match against Solo Sikoa in Liverpool last night. There is no confirmation on the legitimacy and seriousness of the injury. 

Fatu is scheduled to face Roman Reigns on May 31 for the World Heavyweight Championship in a highly anticipated rematch. 

Despite coming up short at Backlash earlier this month, Fatu remains obsessed on claiming everything Reigns has and the Bloodline legacy for his own. However, the stakes have been raised with their match now officially taking place under Tribal Combat rules. 

Jacob Fatu talks preparation and mindset heading into WWE Clash in Italy 

Jacob Fatu detailed his mindset heading into his WWE Clash in Italy match against Roman Reigns. 

In an interview with ESPN to hype his Clash in Italy bout, Fatu detailed the intricacies of a Tribal Combat, and what it means to his family, especially with their bloodline so deeply rooted in the feud. 

“Well, see, this is the thing about Tribal Combat you can’t really prepare for a sticky situation like this. When it comes to our bloodline, when it comes to our culture, when it comes to our family, we are the only ones that are able to go and we’re the only ones that’s able to go within the tribal combat and do what we and and and do what we do at such a high level, at such a great stake right now at Clash of Italy, especially going there for the first time.” 

Fatu also spoke on the opportunity for many firsts in his WWE run. More so going up against Roman Reign in WWE’s first Italy PLE is an honor. 

“If we could just pull the current back just a little bit besides everything else, it’s an honor and I wouldn’t have it no other way. You know, since I’ve been here in WWE, it’s been a lot of first times that I’ve been a part of everything. So for us to go for the very first time PLE in Italy against one of the greatest of all time, Roman Reigns, man, it doesn’t get no better at Clash in Italy. Cannot wait for it.”

The feud ignited on the Raw after Mania when Fatu challenged Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship at Backlash. However, unhappy with the result, Fatu vowed to get a rematch and complete his quest to take over what Reigns has achieved in his WWE career. 

The rivalry escalated into a Tribal Combat match leaving no escape from disqualifications and weaponizing anything against opponents. Additionally, on Raw this week, a contract signing between the two culminated in a heated exchange. 

Roman Reigns shares moment with fans after WWE Raw went off air 

Roman Reigns shared a moment with fans on his birthday after WWE Raw went off air. 

In footage posted by fans on social media, the crowd chanted ‘Happy Birthday’ to Reigns who expressed gratitude and appreciated their support. 

“Well, Colombus, you really know how to make your Tribal Chief feel special. You know it’s tough being in the WWE because it’s a family business. It’s hard to transition when you’re fighting with your family, so I just want to be grateful and have gratitude for all of you.”

“This ain’t bull**it. This is the real deal. Before I get out of here, man, it’s hard to describe this life. It’s hard to explain, and I just try to pray and be thankful every single day, man. This is the best. I hope everyone back there can feel the way I feel these days, but I feel like a lottery winner.”

“And like anybody that’s doing well, there’s a lot of hard work, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t happen without y’all. So whether it’s my birthday, whether it’s a Monday, a Wednesday, a Sunday, it doesn’t matter. It’s a blessed day. I just want to say thank you, everybody. Please get home safe.” 

In the concluding moments on Raw, Reigns and Jacob Fatu signed the contract for their World Heavyweight Championship match at Clash in Italy. He warned Fatu that only one can be the Head of the Table after their Tribal Combat this weekend. 

WWE releases footage of Roman Reigns after Raw goes off-air

After an intense conclusion to Raw, WWE has released off-air footage with a promo from Roman Reigns.

Reigns and CM Punk came face-to-face yet again ahead of their highly anticipated bout at WrestleMania 42. Following the end of the broadcast, Reigns grabbed a microphone and addressed the crowd. He called Punk a “hypocrite” for pretending to keep it real with the fans and proceeded to insist his genuine love for them, unlike his opponent. 

“Your Tribal Chief never lied to you. I’ve always kept it real,” Reigns said. “And there ain’t nothing real about that one there. I told you, he’ll say everything he can, but all you gotta do is jab him the right way and he’s a hypocrite.

“At WrestleMania, I remind him and the rest of the world who runs this company. At WrestleMania, in the main event, CM Punk will acknowledge me and he will apologize to my family. San Antonio, you’ve been wonderful. We love you. Look at this, all the way up, huh. This is what happens when the Tribal Chief comes to town. God bless you. Get home safe, your Tribal Chief loves you.”   

The friction between the two men has only increased ahead of their showdown at WrestleMania 42. However, it seems there were some creative changes made to their planned confrontation on Raw last night. Reports suggest that after Punk’s disrespectful comments about Sika Anoa’i, Reigns was originally supposed to retaliate with a “darker response” referencing Larry — Punk’s dog who passed away in December 2025. That ultimately did not happen with Reigns instead mocking Punk’s age.

After winning the 2026 Royal Rumble, Reigns chose to challenge Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 42. The two-night event is being held in Las Vegas on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19.

WWE seemingly confirms WrestleMania 42 main events

WrestleMania 42 is about a month away — and it looks like we now know the main events for each night.

On WWE’s official ticketing website, it’s indicated that Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton’s WWE Championship match will be taking place on night one of WrestleMania 42 on Saturday, April 18. A graphic for that match is used for night one of Mania on the WWE.com schedule. Subsequently, CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship is the graphic displayed for night two on Sunday, April 19.

These would be the expected main events for both nights of WrestleMania, though WWE has not officially announced the match order yet.

Punk vs. Reigns was confirmed for WrestleMania shortly after Reigns’ Royal Rumble victory. During the build, issues between the two have been heightened with Punk bringing up Reigns’ late father Sika Anoa’i. That then led to a confrontation between Punk and The Usos taking place on Raw last week.

The Rhodes vs. Orton match was confirmed when Rhodes defeated Drew McIntyre on the March 6 episode of SmackDown to regain the WWE Championship. Orton had already earned a WrestleMania title shot through his win at Elimination Chamber — and he turned heel last Friday by bloodying Rhodes ahead of Mania.

WrestleMania 42 is being held at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. On the WrestleMania page of WWE’s website, the graphics for Punk vs. Reigns and Jade Cargill vs. Rhea Ripley both have a blue color scheme. The Rhodes vs. Orton and Stepanie Vaquer vs. Liv Morgan graphics have an orange color scheme. It’s not known if that means those matches will be taking place on the same night.

There are five matches officially announced as of now:

WWE WrestleMania 42 card — 

  • World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk defends against Roman Reigns
  • Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against Randy Orton 
  • WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill defends against Rhea Ripley 
  • Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer defends against Liv Morgan 
  • Brock Lesnar open challenge (opponent TBA)

WWE crowns new number one contender to World Heavyweight title

CM Punk is getting a one-on-one-shot against Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship.

In the main event of Monday’s WWE Raw episode from Australia, Punk defeated Jey Uso and LA Knight in a triple threat match to earn the next shot at Rollins’ title. A date for the championship bout has not been officially announced yet, but it looks likely to headline WWE’s Saturday Night’s Main Event episode in Salt Lake City, Utah on November 1.

Punk will be his next challenger, but Rollins has a lot more to worry about than just that. Raw ended with an angle where Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed both betrayed Rollins after The Vision had laid out Punk. The final shot of the episode was Breakker, Reed, and a shocked Paul Heyman standing over Rollins as Breakker held the World Heavyweight Championship belt.

The World Heavyweight Championship has been in Rollins’ possession since he won it at SummerSlam. Rollins used his Money in the Bank briefcase to cash in on Punk and win the title — ending Punk’s reign before it had a chance to even really begin. Punk had defeated Gunther for the title right before having it stolen by Rollins.

Rollins and Punk have been rivals since Punk returned to WWE in 2023. At Clash in Paris at the end of August, Rollins was able to retain the World Heavyweight Championship over Punk in a fatal four-way match. Punk and his wife AJ Lee then got some revenge by beating Rollins & Becky Lynch at Wrestlepalooza.

Damian Priest added to World Heavyweight title match at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event

Damian Priest will get another shot at the World Heavyweight title.

After an opening segment that saw Balor standing tall over both Priest and Gunther, Raw GM Adam Pearce told Balor that the World Heavyweight title match would now be a three-way. Balor said that was fine as it would be more satisfying when he beat both men.

As Finn Balor and The Judgement Day were looking to attack Gunther on Raw, Priest came out and took out the rest of Judgment Day before throwing Balor into the ring, where both he and Gunther attacked him. However, the two quickly went after one another, giving Balor the opportunity to retaliate, finishing with the coup de grace on Priest.

Sami Zayn will also be in action this Saturday, taking on Drew McIntyre. After McIntyre made his return by attacking Zayn at the end of last week’s Raw, Zayn issued the challenge on this week’s show, saying he wanted to end this quickly. As Zayn headed up the rampway, he was jumped by McIntyre, who continued beating Zayn until officials stepped in.

The lineup for Saturday Night’s Main Event:

  • Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes defends against Kevin Owens
  • World Heavyweight Champion Gunther defends against Finn Balor and Damian Priest
  • Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan defends against IYO SKY
  • Sami Zayn vs. Drew McIntyre
  • WWE Women’s United States title tournament finals

Gunther vs. Randy Orton World Heavyweight title match set for WWE Bash in Berlin

The World Heavyweight title match for Bash in Berlin is official.

On Raw, Gunther was talking about his victory at SummerSlam when Randy Orton came out to confront him. He pointed out that his shoulders were not down at King of the Ring and while he knows that the referee’s decision is final, he wanted another shot at Gunther and challenged him for Bash in Berlin. Gunther accepted, setting up the match for August 31.

Gunther did get the victory at the King of the Ring finals back in May, but at the time there was controversy over the finish. Triple H was asked about it in a social media video following the show.

“Coming back here and seeing it back, I saw exactly what you saw. I saw what everybody saw. I saw what everybody is talking about,” he said. “Didn’t really even seem controversial to me, just seemed like Randy Orton’s shoulder wasn’t down. But I’m going to say this: the referee’s decision is final. Gunther is your King of the Ring.”

The Ring General went on to defeat Damian Priest to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time at SummerSlam after Finn Balor turned on Priest.

Here is the lineup so far for WWE Bash in Berlin:

  • World Heavyweight Championship: Gunther defends against Randy Orton

Gunther wins World Heavyweight Championship at WWE SummerSlam

Gunther has won the World Heavyweight title.

The Ring General defeated Damian Priest to win the World Heavyweight title for the first time. The finish involved Finn Balor coming out and putting Gunther’s foot on the rope as Priest went for a pinfall. As Priest turned his back to confront Balor over what he did, Gunther locked in a sleeper hold. Priest managed to escape, but Gunther powerbombed him and put him in the hold again. This time, Priest passed out and the referee stopped the match.

Backstage, Gunther took a picture with Triple H.

Priest had been champion since WrestleMania 40, when he cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Drew McIntyre after CM Punk laid him out. In the months since, he has defended the title among the likes of McIntyre and Seth Rollins.

When Gunther won King of the Ring, he earned a World Heavyweight Championship match for SummerSlam. He had spent the last several weeks dressing down Priest, refereing to him as ‘street trash’.

Balor turning on Priest wasn’t the only Judgment Day turn on Saturday’s premium live event. The opening match saw Dominik Mysterio betray Rhea Ripley, helping Liv Morgan to defeat Morgan and retain the Women’s World Championship;.

Drew McIntyre challenging for World Heavyweight title at WWE Clash at the Castle

In his home country of Scotland, Drew McIntyre is getting a shot at championship gold.

WWE has confirmed that Damian Priest will defend his World Heavyweight Championship against McIntyre at Clash at the Castle 2024. The PLE is being held at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow on Saturday, June 15.

The announcement of the match was made by Paul “Triple H” Levesque during WWE King & Queen of the Ring on Saturday.

Neither Priest nor McIntyre had matches at King & Queen of the Ring. McIntyre has been out of action since April due to an elbow injury. The injury forced McIntyre out of WWE’s King of the Ring tournament before it began. On the May 13 episode of Raw, Priest agreed to give McIntyre a title shot once McIntyre was cleared to return.

McIntyre briefly held the World Heavyweight Championship after defeating Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 40. Immediately after that match, Priest cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on McIntyre to win the title. The story was that McIntyre allowed his obsession with mocking CM Punk to cost him the title and his WrestleMania moment.

Ahead of Clash at the Castle, McIntyre has warned Punk not to show up in Scotland.

A title defense against Gunther at SummerSlam will be next for either Priest or McIntyre after Clash at the Castle.

Scottish star Piper Niven may also be featured in a title match at Clash at the Castle. On Friday’s SmackDown, WWE began building up a feud between Niven and WWE Women’s Champion Bayley.

Seth Rollins vs. Bron Breakker announced for NXT Gold Rush

Seth Rollins accepted Bron Breakker’s challenge on Tuesday’s NXT.

Breakker came out and told Rollins to come out and accept his challenge. After Ilja Dragunov attempted to come down and confront Breakker, Rollins appeared on the video screen as Dragunov was dragged away by security. Rollins at first scoffed at the idea of facing Breakker, but then liked the idea of returning where it all began. He accepted the offer for next week.

The end of last week’s NXT saw Breakker call out Rollins, issuing a challenge for him to defend the championship on NXT programming. Rollins became the first NXT Champion back in 2012.

On Tuesday’s show, Shawn Michaels announced that the next two weeks of NXT will be a special event called Gold Rush. Next week’s show will be headlined by the World Heavyweight title match. The second show two weeks from now will see Carmelo Hayes defend the NXT Championship against the winner of a match between Baron Corbin and Ilja Dragunov that will headline Tuesday’s show.

Seth Rollins: WWE roster too talented for ‘one champ who isn’t around’

Seth Rollins believes there is too much talent in WWE for there to be just one champion. 

The 37-year-old appeared on Mark Andrews’ My Love Letter To Wrestling recently and spoke about the new World Heavyweight title and what it means for the company. Rollins said that if WWE wasn’t as hot as it is at the moment that it “might be fine to just have one champ who isn’t around and didn’t want to make live events but that isn’t the case.” He also noted that calling the new belt a “work rate title” is underselling it. 

Rollins said:

I think just kind of calling it the work rate title is a little bit underselling it. At the end of the day, the title exists because our roster is so chock full of talent. There’s too much to have one champion that’s not around very much.

I think the fact that we have so many worthy contenders, people that could hold this championship, I think that is the reason the title exists. If we had a weak roster and things weren’t good and stuff wasn’t hot, it would be a different story. It might be fine to just have one champ who isn’t around and didn’t want to make live events but that’s just not the case. We’re selling out left and right. We’re hot from here to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Paris, France, Mexico City, it doesn’t matter, we’re selling out left and right and we need to have a world heavyweight champion on the men’s side to represent that level of competition.

We’re going to put in the work to build this title to be as big as any championship in wrestling. We’re not naive to think that we don’t need to put in that work, we know that it needs to happen but like I said, you’ve got the roster and the guys and the crew who are willing to put in time to make it feel as big as it is. 

With his victory at Night of Champions, Rollins has now held seven different world titles. He is a one-time and inaugural World Heavyweight Champion, two-time WWE Champion, two-time Universal Champion, one-time ROH World Champion, one-time FCW Heavyweight Champion, one-time and inaugural NXT Champion, and also held Chicago-based promotion AAW’s Heavyweight Championship twice. 

AJ Styles comments on whether new WWE World Heavyweight title is ‘secondary’

AJ Styles believes the World Heavyweight Championship is a secondary title.

Styles will wrestle Seth Rollins for the new belt Saturday at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia. He told the NY Post recently that since Roman Reigns holds all of WWE’s other world titles, it’s hard not to consider it secondary. 

“Is it a secondary?” Styles said in a Zoom interview. “Well if the Raw championship is held by Roman, the SmackDown championship is held by Roman, then how can you argue that it’s not? We had to make a new championship because Roman holds them all.

“What happens if he decides to wrestle for the World Heavyweight championship? It is what it is and we got what we got. If we make the best of it, and if and when Roman does challenge [for it], we beat the brakes off of him, whomever it might be, then we’ll see what title’s secondary.”

When Triple H unveiled the new title belt last month, he said that part of his storyline reason for doing so was that Reigns is only contractually committed to defending the title every so often. Styles continued to say he is more used to a world champion being a workhorse for the company. 

“This guy’s gonna be on the pay-per-views, he’s gonna be on the live events, he’s gonna do all these things that need to be done,” Styles continued. “When I was [WWE] champion I was on all the live events, I was on all the pay-per-views, all the TV’s. That’s what you do.

“The price for being the World Heavyweight champion is, yes, you get the recognition of being the champion, but you also have to do the job of being the world champion. You got to be there and you got to do the job.”

Styles has held world titles in several top promotions. He is a two-time WWE Champion, two-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and two-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion.

Additionally, Styles has twice been voted the Wrestler of the Year twice (2015 & 2016) in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards. He was also voted into the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame in 2017. 

Edge wants to win WWE World Heavyweight title, retire after losing it

Edge believes a run with the new World Heavyweight Championship would be the perfect way to end his career. 

The 49-year-old will face AJ Styles and Rey Mysterio in a triple-threat match on SmackDown this week as part of a tournament to determine the title’s first champion. 

Edge mentioned in a video he posted to Twitter on Thursday that the title belt looks much like the one he vacated when he was forced to retire 12 years ago.  

Edge said:

Some people have been running around saying they are going to finish their stories, and good for them. But it made me think a little bit about my story.

The introduction of the WWE Heavyweight Championship, if I look at that thing it even looks like the title that I never lost, it looks like Big Gold. 12 years ago I was forced to give that thing up, never had a chance to get it back. Now, I have a chance and it all comes full circle.

This ride, it’s going to end sooner than later, let’s face it, we all know that. I gotta get this done. It’s the last thing to do, it’s the period on the end of the sentence. It’s the last sentence in the book. 

All of you that are watching this, I assume you’ve been with me on this ride and I really appreciate it. It’s going to end soon and I gotta end it right this time and there is no better way to finish it than to win the World Heavyweight Championship and then when I lose it, that’s it, I’m done. So Rey, AJ, bring your best tomorrow, I know you will. Can’t wait to see you in there, to be honest. Let’s tear it up. 

Should Edge defeat Styles and Mysterio on SmackDown, he would advance to face the winner of Bobby Lashley vs. Austin Theory vs. Sheamus later in the show. The winner of that match then advances to face Seth Rollins in the finals at Night of Champions. 

During the Big Gold Belt’s run as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from 2002 to 2013, Edge was one of its most decorated champions. He held the title a record seven times. His 409 days spent with the title is third most all-time behind only Batista (507) and Triple H (616).