Roman Reigns works a part-time schedule now, meaning we're never quite sure when and where the OTC will make his presence felt. However, an update from Dave Meltzer potentially reveals what's next for Reigns as the Road to WrestleMania approaches.
Talking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer explained that a syndicated TV listing for SmackDown may confirm WWE's plans for the former Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
"Roman Reigns should be back pretty soon. I saw on the scroll for SmackDown," Meltzer started. "Because it said, 'How Maxxine Dupri tries to recover from her loss to Becky Lynch' and 'Roman Reigns returns.' It could be the week after, but that’s the thing that WWE sent to the TV Guide people. They sent it for SmackDown. So somebody just screwed up."
He went on to say that it could be either this Friday (January 16) or next Friday (January 23), which does make sense when you consider that we're just weeks away from the Royal Rumble.
We're assuming that Reigns will be in the 30-man match, which could potentially set the stage for the rumoured Rhodes vs. Reigns III match scheduled for WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas.
WWE started laying the groundwork for the bout at Survivor Series: WarGames last November. Rhodes has since lost the Undisputed WWE Championship to Drew McIntyre, meaning his next clash with Reigns likely won't involve a title.
Both men have praised each other in the past, with the American Nightmare previously revealing that their first match is the favourite of his entire career:
"My favorite match is WrestleMania 39, which is the one where [I don’t win]. I probably would’ve been pumped to win, certainly, but there is something about that night where things are happening in the stadium that never happen. He’s got me in the guillotine choke and you hear these old timers, God bless them, talking about ‘just stay right there and the people will react.’ When you’ve seen the amount of cool flips and awesome stuff, sometimes it doesn’t like that’s real anymore."
"In that moment, I’m just slowly wiggling my head out and I can hear an entire stadium where the sound goes up start to move. I thought, ‘Oh man, they’re into it. How blessed am I that they are into this?’ When it’s that good, it feels completely real. Everything seems real. Roman is the greatest enemy of my life and I’m trying to climb a mountain that is impossible. That acoustic moment for me made it my favorite match of all time. I couldn’t tell anyone that because it’s the saddest ending, but it’s my favorite match."
This year's WrestleMania seems a fitting choice for Reigns and Rhodes to square off again, as they'll also share the screen in this October's Street Fighter movie...