5 Biggest Beneficiaries Of Roman Reigns' WWE Suspension
Roman Reigns' suspension might have actually fixed WWE's plans.
All things considered, it has been a newsworthy and exciting summer season for WWE. For all the flack the company has received in recent years for not creating new stars, they made an incredible effort to do so these past few months with the likes of Finn Bálor, AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, and others. But what would this summer have looked like had Roman Reigns not been suspended?
Less than 48 hours removed from his loss of the WWE World Championship at Money in the Bank, Reigns was suspended by WWE for 30 days due to his violation of the Wellness Policy. All of a sudden, his unexpected defeat at the hands of Seth Rollins made perfect sense.
Not only did it halt his hot momentum as world champion, but his royal screw-up virtually changed the entire company, as WWE was forced to change up their plans for the summer season. While that would ordinarily be a bad thing, it ended up being for the better, and only then did the product start to heat up.
More importantly, several superstars benefited from The Big Dawg being in the doghouse. With Reigns taking a backseat, these five men have had the most to gain.
5. Rusev
The long-term benefit of this particular pick remains to be seen depending on how his rivalry with Roman Reigns ends (if it has a proper conclusion at all), but so far, Rusev has received quite the rub from working with Reigns.
Rusev was sent spiraling down the card following his loss of the United States Championship to John Cena at WrestleMania 31. It wasn't until he regained the gold over a year later at Extreme Rules 2016 that he started to find his footing again. He has since reemerged as a force to be reckoned with.
The Bulgarian Brute was already on the ascent by the time Reigns was suspended, but once his program with The Man commenced shortly following Battleground, he went from defending his title against the likes of Titus O'Neil and Zack Ryder to facing off with a former three-time WWE World Heavyweight champion and WrestleMania headliner.
Although he fell short of defeating Reigns in their initial encounter on the final edition of Raw prior to SummerSlam, simply sharing a ring with Reigns has boosted his stock, as well as the prestige of the star-spangled prize. He could skyrocket up the card if he manages to score a victory over The Big Dawg at some point.