Interim Challenger For Roman Reigns Revealed On WWE SmackDown

Roman Reigns turned down John Cena's challenge on SmackDown, but accepted another.

Roman Reigns Paul Heyman Finn Bálor
WWE.com

Finn Bálor opportunistically fired out a challenge to Roman Reigns on the latest episode of SmackDown.

Earlier, John Cena (as he had on Raw) reiterated his desire to face Reigns at SummerSlam on 21 August. That didn't go over well with the 'Tribal Chief' - Roman emphatically said that he "can't see [Cena], doesn't want to see [Cena]" and won't accept the pay-per-view challenge.

Cue Bálor, and cue an alternative.

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Finn chucked his hat into the ring towards the end of the show after first beating Sami Zayn. Now, it looks like Bálor will be installed as Roman's interim challenger, but WWE didn't put a date on that particular match. It's likely, however, that Finn vs. Reigns will happen on SmackDown in the lead-up to SummerSlam.

Then, everyone can get down to business on Cena vs. Roman. Put it this way: WWE will book that match. This Bálor business is a minor curveball designed to kill time before the next big pay-per-view, albeit a good one.

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Fans in attendance for SmackDown also chanted, "Roman's scared" over and over before the Universal Champ accepted Finn's bold challenge.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.