Why Roman Reigns Is DISAPPEARING From WWE TV Again (WWE News)

Roman Reigns is set for another spell off WWE TV.

Roman Reigns OTC
WWE.com

With this week's Raw closing out with another brutal beatdown of Roman Reigns, it appears that this was done as a way to write the OTC off WWE TV for another spell.

For those who may have missed Raw, the main event saw Seth Rollins defending his newly won World Heavyweight Championship against LA Knight. The match itself ended in a DQ win for Rollins after CM Punk came through the crowd to attack the Visionary, which ultimately broke down into Rollins, Bron Breakker, and Bronson Reed fighting Punk and Knight. And then, just as Raw appeared to be going off the air, Roman Reigns' music hit, and the Tribal Chief made his way to save the day.

Of course, Reigns still had plenty of revenge to get on Seth after what went down at WrestleMania 41 and, more importantly, the attack on Reigns on the Raw after 'Mania. Then there was the sight of Roman being laid out by Breakker and Reed' group on the go-home Raw before SummerSlam. While Roman Reigns and Jey Uso may have picked up a win over the Bron-Brons at SummerSlam, the issues between Roman and the newly-crowned Vision faction are clearly far from over.

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However, rather than Roman taking out the heels and standing tall on Raw, the Vision turned the tables and brutalised Reigns. There, he was hit by a Curb Stomp, a monstrous Spear, and three Tsunami Splashes. As Raw went off the air, we had the visual of Rollins' group posing in the middle of the ring, as the bodies of Roman Reigns, CM Punk, and LA Knight were laid out on the mat.

WWE SummerSlam 2025 Jey Uso Roman Reigns
WWE

Speaking on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer believes that the attack on Roman was done as a way to write him off TV for the next little while so that he can go and film the upcoming Street Fighter movie.

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Directed by Kitao Sakurai, Street Fighter is due to start shooting imminently ahead of a 2026 release. The latest adaptation of the classic video game series, Roman Reigns will play Akuma in the movie, with WWE's Cody Rhodes on board as Guile. Sticking with pro wrestlers, former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Hirooki Goto is also involved, playing the role of fan favourite E. Honda.

It remains to be seen whether WWE does anything on this week's SmackDown to write Cody off TV, though it could simply be a case of the American Nightmare being able to juggle both his WWE schedule and Street Fighter filming duties, depending on how big a role Guile is given in the picture.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.