Smackdown Has Nobody Other Than Drew McIntyre To Feud With Roman Reigns

We're now over a month away removed from the 2021 WWE Draft, and there's already a particular and rather obvious problem that stands out over on SmackDown.

More specifically, a lack of potential opponents for Roman Reigns outside of Drew McIntyre, who looks to be next in line for a Universal Championship opportunity.

Most of the proven main event stars were drafted to Raw. Obviously, this included WWE Champion Big E (Reigns' opponent for Survivor Series 2021) as well as Hall of Famer Edge, Bobby Lashley, Kevin Owens, Rey Mysterio Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Riddle and The Miz, among others.

When you look at the male superstars on the SmackDown roster who could realistically challenge Reigns in the not-so-distant future? There's McIntyre, free agent Brock Lesnar (whom Reigns defeated at Crown Jewel) and not much else.

WWE Won't Split Up The New Day

Kofi Kingston and Xavier woods

Kofi Kingston had a highly successful and thrilling run as the WWE Champion in 2019, but Brock Lesnar ended it abruptly on the Oct. 4 episode of SmackDown. His tag team partner, King Woods, just won the King of the Ring tournament.

It's safe to say that the WWE Universe would be fully behind a major push for Kingston and/or Woods. But it's all too obvious that vince McMahon isn't keen on breaking them up. He already has Big E flourishing as the main babyface and star of Monday Night Raw, and it has been reported that the trio haven't been keen on splitting anyway.

The New Day are too popular among the fans and too valuable of a tag team to split apart now. One could easily make the case for splitting them up and giving one of Kingston or Woods a main event push against Reigns, but it's just not going to happen.

The Usos need a top-tier tag team to feud with long-term, and Woods and Kingston fit that bill perfectly.

SmackDown Has Too Many Heels & Not Enough Babyfaces

wmla-3

Take a brief look at the male stars on SmackDown who have spent some time in the main event scene. This includes Kingston, Happy Corbin, Shinsuke Nakamura, Jinder Mahal, Jeff Hardy, Sami Zayn, Sheamus and Cesaro.

Most of those wrestlers are currently performing as heels. As previously noted, Kingston isn't an option since he's working with Woods in the tag team division. Cesaro already feuded with Reigns earlier this year, and WWE hasn't done much with him ever since.

With Nakamura shining as the Intercontinental Champion, there's not a path for him and Reigns to clash any time soon. So we can probably rule Nakamura for now, even though he's long overdue for another main event push.

Unless WWE is planning to make any of their heels a babyface in the near future — and they absolutely should consider it — Hardy stands out as the only other realistic candidate to challenge Reigns. But WWE hasn't at all used Hardy in the main event scene since his return to WWE in 2017, so it's difficult to envision having him feud with Reigns over McIntyre right now.

The Part-Timers Aren't Options Right Now

John Cena Vs Roman Reigns SummerSlam 2021 Cropped

John Cena already returned for a brief program with Reigns, losing to The Tribal Chief at SummerSlam 2021. The 16-time World Champion won't be walking through that door any time soon, so you can rule out Cena as an upcoming opponent for Reigns.

Lesnar is serving a storyline suspension, and WWE reportedly isn't planning to have him wrestle again until the Jan. 29 Royal Rumble pay-per-view. It sounds like WWE is planning to run Lesnar vs. Reigns at WrestleMania 38 weekend, so you can rule out the Beast Incarnate as another feud for Reigns over the next few months.

Edge — another marquee part-timer — is a member of Raw and already (unsuccessfully) challenged Reigns for his Universal Championship. It's unclear where WWE will go with Edge next, but he's obviously not about to enter another program with Reigns.

Goldberg recently stated that he only has one match left on his WWE contract. The Hall of Famer is an option to face Reigns, but Vince McMahon may prefer to use him for the Royal Rumble or the next event in Saudi Arabia. The bottom line is iff WWE decides to run Reigns vs. Goldberg, it's unlikely to happen before the new year.

So when you take all of this into account, it's clear that McIntyre is the only option to feud with Reigns after Survivor Series and before the Royal Rumble. That's unless WWE creative is willing to pull off a surprise twist or two, whether that means turning a longtime heel into a face or splitting up a top tag team division.

And there's little reason to think any of those scenarios will happen, meaning it's likely McIntyre vs. Reigns after Survivor Series.