Backstage News On Why Roman Reigns Missed Raw

Current WWE Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns missed this past Monday’s Raw, but he will be back next week, per Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

“Roman Reigns is supposed to be back [next] Monday,” said Meltzer. “He wasn’t on the show because he had just gotten this week off, I don’t think there’s anything else to the story. It was something that he’d asked for a ways back.”

Meltzer also said that the program going forward is Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe for the Intercontinental Championship. However, due to the injury to Dean Ambrose, things could get changed, and Reigns may go after the Tag Team Titles with Seth Rollins.

Samoa Joe, Sheamus and Cesaro brutalize Dean Ambrose in the trainer's room: Raw, Dec. 18, 2017

The long-term plan is still for Reigns to challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 34, which probably means that Reigns will end up losing the Intercontinental Championship to Samoa Joe at some point before next year’s show in New Orleans.