Roman Reigns' Declaration on WWE SmackDown Just Laid the

Roman Reigns’ Declaration on WWE SmackDown Just Laid the Foundations for One of the Biggest WWE Matches in History

Last night’s WWE SmackDown has made a few headlines with the Wiseman Paul Heyman delivering a blockbuster announcement on behalf of Roman Reigns, shaking up the road to WrestleMania. The former WWE Undisputed Champion is officially entering the 2025 Royal Rumble match, joining a field that already includes John Cena and CM Punk, which should make the match one of the most anticipated in history with those three huge names entering with the chance of getting a main event slot for WrestleMania.

Standing in the ring looking like a cosplaying Oz Cobb from The Penguin, Heyman addressed the crowd in his usual, bombastic manner, introducing himself and reminding everyone of Roman Reigns’ position as the Tribal Chief. He went on to explain that Reigns has unfinished business with the WWE Champion, Cody Rhodes, and the Royal Rumble will be the Tribal Chief’s path back to WrestleMania glory. Heyman revealed that Roman Reigns’ ultimate goal is to reclaim the title he lost to Rhodes at WrestleMania 40.

Reigns hasn’t competed in a Royal Rumble match since 2020, where he came agonisingly close to victory, finishing as the runner-up to Drew McIntyre, who went on to WrestleMania and dethroned Brock Lesnar to become the WWE Champion. His last Rumble victory came in 2015 in one of the most controversial endings in Rumble history, marked by waves of boos raining down on Reigns and his cousin, Dwayne Johnson. Reigns’ presence on WWE television is very limited. His contract status allows him to pick and choose his appearances, which helps keep him as a star attraction, but declaring for the Rumble ahead of time means we’ll see plenty of him.

Who Else Is Entering the Royal Rumble 2025?
With Cena and Punk entering too, we’ll probably see the three biggest stars in WWE in the same ring at the same time. Cena last competed in the Royal Rumble in 2018, where he reached the final three before being eliminated by Shinsuke Nakamura. Punk’s last Rumble appearance was in 2024, where he finished second and was injured in the match. But the stakes couldn’t really be much higher. Cena, on his farewell tour, is looking for one last shot at WrestleMania glory, while Punk is looking to finally achieve his dream of main-eventing WrestleMania.

WWE Royal Rumble will stream on Peacock on February 1 from Indianapolis. WWE Raw streams on Netflix on Monday nights, while WWE SmackDown airs at 8 PM ET on USA Network every Friday.

While appearing on The Pat McAfee Show, Roman Reigns shared his perspective on the singles success of his cousin, Jey Uso. “The Tribal Chief” took credit for seeing Jey’s main event potential long ago but also expressed his ongoing frustration with both of The Usos for not heeding his guidance.

Reigns began by stating that he always knew Jey was capable of becoming a top star, comparing his foresight to his recognition of Sami Zayn’s talent during his time with The Bloodline. “I saw this from the beginning. Just like Sami, I saw this beautiful opportunity within Jey a long time ago, and we’re just now kind of seeing that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow with him,” Reigns said. “But there’s so much more left to do with him. There’s so many more accolades and more opportunities for him to capitalize on.”
However, Reigns tempered his praise with a stern warning about the difficulties of remaining in the main event scene. “He got there, that’s one of the hard parts. But the hardest part is staying there,” he explained. “The hardest part is staying relevant and staying at the tip top of the mountain, to be able to breathe at that altitude, and to do it like I did.”

This led to him voicing his frustration with his cousins. “I wish he would listen to me a lot better. I wish his brother would just shut up and listen to me as well. It would make life a lot easier, because at the end of the day, I got the proof of concept. I’m the one who’s mapped this thing out,” Reigns declared.

“I’m the only one that understands how to get back to the new land. I’m the only one that can cross the ocean and come back. So I’m the only one that understands how to navigate these waters. And I just wish they would listen to me,” he concluded.

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