Ranking the Best Feuds for Roman Reigns and The Bloodline WWE Has Yet to Book

Sheamus should soon set out for revenge on Roman Reigns and the rest of The Bloodline.Credit: WWE.com

Roman Reigns has conquered many opponents as undisputed WWE universal champion, but several Superstars have yet to receive their rightful shot at the prestigious prize.

The Tribal Chief has made his fair share of enemies throughout his WWE career, specifically during the last three years. Scores have been settled and rivalries have been rekindled, but he's maintained his grasp on the gold throughout it all.

As his historic championship reign has progressed, his title defenses have gradually become more and more infrequent. Following his latest triumph over Jey Uso at SummerSlam on August 5, it doesn't appear he has any more matches scheduled for the remainder of 2023.

The Bloodline family infighting has seemingly stalled for now with Jey "quitting" the company and Reigns potentially on hiatus for the foreseeable future. That gives SmackDown a few months to build credible contenders to the champ in time for Royal Rumble season.

It's always possible he pops up again before then, and if so, there is no shortage of stories to tell with him and the handful of stars waiting in the wings to challenge him.

Neither Cody Rhodes nor Seth Rollins would be fresh matchups for Reigns, but both must be mentioned as possible opponents given their unfinished business with The Head of the Table.

Rollins and Reigns last waged war for the Universal Championship at last year's Royal Rumble. It marked The Tribal Chief's only title defense during this reign to end in a disqualification. And despite Rollins being declared the victor, the feud was abruptly dropped and never revisited.

Rhodes, on the other hand, was pinned by Reigns when they met for the undisputed title at WrestleMania 39. It's been evident since the moment he returned to WWE in April 2022 that The American Nightmare was the correct choice to eventually dethrone The Head of the Table, no matter how long it took him to "finish the story."

With Rollins and Reigns being world champions on their respective Raw and SmackDown brands, the odds of them mixing it up again any time soon are relatively low.

Rhodes renewing hostilities with Reigns on the Road to WrestleMania is much more likely, but how WWE gets them back on the same show (save for a second straight men's Rumble win for Rhodes) is unknown.

WWE has merely scratched the surface of these unresolved rivalries.

Despite Reigns retaining his title against Jey Uso at SummerSlam, the Bloodline drama remains far from over.

In addition to The Usos now being at odds after Jimmy cost Jey the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, tension has been teased between Reigns and group enforcer Solo Sikoa in recent weeks as well.

The next logical step in the story would be to pit all four family members against each other in a Fatal 4-Way with the gold up for grabs.

Of course, in such a situation, Reigns wouldn't have to be pinned to lose his title, making the outcome much more unpredictable.

His only title defense to take place in a multi-man match during this reign came at WrestleMania 37 when he decisively beat both Edge and Daniel Bryan in a Triple Threat.

We haven't seen the deck stacked against The Tribal Chief quite like that since, and a Bloodline Fatal 4-Way would an excellent opportunity to tell a similar story.

AJ Styles' absence from the world title scene these past few years has been nothing short of shocking given what he's still capable of at this stage of his career.

The 46-year-old came close to becoming the inaugural world heavyweight champion at Night of Champions in May but fell short in the tournament finals to Seth Rollins. Prior to that, he hadn't competed for a top title since an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship in February 2021.

In the meantime, The Phenomenal One has teamed with Omos, feuded with Edge and reunited with The O.C. SmackDown would benefit from having him back in the fold at the top of the card working with the best the blue brand has to offer.

It's been seven years since Styles and Reigns last went one-on-one, and interestingly, The Tribal Chief is the one major name Styles has never beaten. Their back-to-back PPV bouts in 2016 were exceptional and a modern-day matchup could be even better.

Styles' three straight wins over Karrion Kross should be enough to earn him a crack at Reigns before long.

Bobby Lashley is another familiar foe from Reigns' past who is overdue for a shot at the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

Following a strong run as WWE champ in 2021, The All Mighty regained the gold at the 2022 Royal Rumble. Due to suffering a legitimate injury inside the Elimination Chamber weeks later, he was never formally beaten for the belt and wasn't put in contention for it upon his return, either.

Regardless of whether he's been a babyface or a heel, Lashley has maintained his connection with the audience since his initial rise to superstardom, therefore cementing his status as a perennial main event player.

He can be taken seriously as a threat to any title at any time, especially now that he has The Street Profits backing him up.

Baron Corbin lays claim to being the last person to pin Reigns before Jey Uso did so in July, but Lashley was actually the last wrestler to beat The Tribal Chief one-on-one in clean fashion at Extreme Rules in July 2018.

Having done it before, who's to say he can't pull off the impossible again?

LA Knight vs. Reigns would have been booked as a glorified squash match six months ago, but The Megastar has gotten himself over with the audience at such a level that the bout is worthy of a big stage at some point.

Sami Zayn followed a similar trajectory. Reigns beat him in under a minute to retain his title on a December 2021 edition of SmackDown due to Zayn being booked as a midcard heel at the time, but the uber-popular Canadian had a real chance of coming out on top at Elimination Chamber in February.

The biggest difference is that Zayn had the year-long Bloodline storyline to help endear him to the audience, while Knight was directionless when crowds started taking to him. His unmatched mic skills and charisma organically got him over as a fan favorite, and he's now one of WWE's most popular acts.

Knight will need to prove he can soundly defeat The Miz before he can be considered a contender to Reigns' title, but WWE having him work his way through the ranks and be on the cusp of dethroning The Head of the Table would make for quite the satisfying story.

It's criminal that Sheamus and Reigns haven't had a single one-on-one match in the near-three years they've spent on SmackDown together.

Both men have managed to reinvent themselves in totally different ways since 2020. Their battles over the WWE Championship in 2015 are well-documented, but that was long before they reached their respective final forms.

Sheamus has delivered a string of stellar in-ring performances during his most recent run, and fans would rally behind him opposite a heel as hated as The Tribal Chief.

The Irishman also ended Reigns' first reign as world champion in November 2015, so it would be appropriate for Reigns to attempt to avenge that loss all these years later.

The Celtic Warrior will wage war with Edge on Friday's SmackDown, and if he can secure a win against the WWE Hall of Famer, that should put him next in line for a marquee match with Reigns.

Reigns retaining would essentially be a foregone conclusion, but the storyline potential of Sheamus chasing the championship and the buzz it could create coming off his recent comments to Inside The Ropes about his longtime rival would be well worth it.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.