13 New Directions For WWE After SummerSlam 2026

9. “All Loose Ends”? Not Quite!

Michael Cole said that “Roman Reigns has finally tied up all loose ends” as the 'Tribal Chief' posed for the cameras post-win over Seth Rollins. Maybe in The Shield’s story, but that’s not strictly true either because Jon Moxley/Dean Ambrose isn’t there to beat. Also, he hasn’t avenged his loss to Cody Rhodes from WrestleMania 40, so maybe they’ll explore that story but with Cody as a heel in the future.

Regardless of what's next for Roman, this has to be the endpoint for his beef with Seth Rollins though. Coming out of SummerSlam, there isn't much else they could do after a main event like that one. It felt for all the world like they exhausted the plot by utilising some of Moxley/Ambrose's moves (the springing clothesline off the ropes and his 'Dirty Deeds' DDT, for example), then Shield fist bumping right at the end once everything was settled.

Cole, bless him, was talking out of his rear end when he said that Reigns had concluded all ongoing business and avenged prior moments. He was talking about Seth's treacherous steel chair shot from 2014, of course, but the announcer should've been more specific. Mike made it sound like Roman is about to retire, or something.

Not yet.

The Cody story is ripe for another chapter, albeit with the aforementioned twist of Rhodes being the worst of the worst when it was Reigns filling that role in 2023 and 2024. They've got serious chemistry together, and Cody being the bad guy would add a new wrinkle to their matches.