WWE is running the King of the Ring tournament with a future world title shot on the line for SummerSlam 2026. The tournament will see the winner getting to challenge either Cody Rhodes or Roman Reigns for their respective world championship at the second biggest premium live event of the year. Sixteen men entering the tournament creates a lot of interesting options to get the huge victory and face one of the two biggest stars in WWE.
Seth Rollins was trending on social media over his victory against Bron Breakker on Raw tonight amidst growing speculation of his future. Despite this match not being part of the King of the Ring tournament, Rollins defeating his younger rival has set him up for a bigger push coming from it. Most expected Breakker to score the big win, but WWE clearly wants Rollins to have momentum for something bigger in the upcoming months.
Rollins is one of the top stars in the King of the Ring tournament and makes a lot of sense as a challenger for Reigns. Wrestling reporter Bryan Alvarez implied that Rollins should be considered a favorite when the bracket was revealed. The month-long tournament will conclude in Saudi Arabia at the end of June to start the build to SummerSlam.
Why Seth Rollins Vs Roman Reigns Makes Sense
The history between Reigns and Rollins went all the way back to their WWE main roster debuts as part of The Shield. Both men aligned with Dean Ambrose aka current AEW star Jon Moxley to become a trio of breakout stars thriving together.
All three became Hall of Fame worthy singles stars and are each thriving in prominent wrestling roles today. Rollins and Reigns have played into their long feud at various points after Seth betrayed Roman to officially end The Shield and start their singles careers.
WWE booked Reigns vs Rollins at the Royal Rumble 2022 event just to end it in DQ. The big singles rematch has yet to come since that night. A triple threat at WrestleMania 41 involved CM Punk to change the overall story. SummerSlam 2026 could see the rematch finally happening in a huge main event match for a world championship.
Negatives To Booking This Match
WWE fans were excited about the young stars all over the bracket when forecasting potential King of the Ring winners. Rollins’ path will see him defeating multiple young rising stars after he already just defeated Breakker to end their feud for the time being.
Fans hoping to see a new star made from this tournament will likely be out of luck if Rollins wins, as many now expect. Past King of the Ring tournaments were used to launch rising stars into main event roles.
Bret Hart, Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, and Steve Austin are just some names that used the tournament to become icons in the industry after the victory. Rollins or another established star winning the tournament strips away the potential of using it to build someone new. However, nothing is certain, and Rollins winning is currently just a rumor.
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