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SHOULD ROMAN REIGNS STILL BE THE FAVORITE TO WIN AT WRESTLEMANIA 34?

Like it or not, Roman Reigns is very much the face of the WWE franchise, and in all fairness, he’s got himself there fair and square. The mountain of a man has faced tough opponents, wrestled well, and professionally gone about his business. His rise to power, however, is somewhat controversial in the eyes of some fans, with some hoping that he is dethroned. But is there anyone who could legitimately take the title of Universal champion other than Reigns after WrestleMania 34?

Is there anyone else?

Source: Solo Wrestling, via Twitter

Over the last three years, Roman Reigns has risen to the very top of the WWE pyramid. Headlining three WrestleManias, Reigns has defeated other huge names of the WWE scene on his way to the top, including The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33, and John Cena at No Mercy ’17 – having successfully teamed up with Cena on two Monday Night Raws the month prior.

With so many superstar scalps and clearly being the apple of the franchise’s eye, his 4/6 odds to be the Universal champion after WrestleMania 34 looks to be a wise use of bookmakers' £20 money-back free bets. Having said this, there are, potentially, a few other contenders who could peep into the picture.

The reigning champion

Having claimed the title at WrestleMania 33 by defeating Goldberg, Brock Lesnar remains the Universal champion – and the first to win both the Universal and WWE titles. He’s a formidable force and came out on top at SummerSlam ’17 when in the ring with Roman Reigns. In fairness, it was a Fatal 4-Way also featuring Braun Strowman – who recently got one up on Reigns with the help of Kane on Monday Night Raw – and Samoa Joe.

It’s already expected that Lesnar versus Reigns or Lesnar versus The Shield will be the main event of WrestleMania 34. Speaking of which, The Shield reunion should prove to be a strong and exciting move on Reigns’ behalf after three years apart, potentially bringing another dimension to his upcoming fights. He, of course, missed to first planned reunion bout due to illness, which was spreading around the Raw camp.

Calling out a legend

Some, including Roman Reigns, were surprised that he took on superstar John Cena at a No Mercy event, given that they were both such elite-level wrestlers at the time. The fight effectively moved Reigns above Cena in current standings in a passing of the torch-type result, so now he has his eyes set on a fan-favorite and legend of the ring: The Rock.

Speaking of the Cena fight and a potential showdown with The Rock, Reigns said: “I immediately was thinking 'man, let's save [the Cena fight], let's do this at WrestleMania.' But when the time is right, the time is right. But in the same light, I can only see me and Rock going at WrestleMania.”

It seems fitting that The Rock and Roman Reigns would fight on the biggest stage of all, but to enhance the mega-fight even further, Reigns would want to get Brock Lesnar's Universal Championship strap successfully.

Then again, given Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s jam-packed schedule, it may not be feasible for him to become the champion potentially; thus, it makes more sense for Lesnar to battle Reigns as the headline fight of WrestleMania 34 and Reigns to take the 40-year-old’s title.

However, there are plenty of other legitimate contenders knocking around, such as John Cena, Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe, and the much-loved surprise return of Jeff and Matt Hardy – which may have a role to play in the running to WrestleMania 34. 

 

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