Meanwhile, WrestleVotes noted that Reigns vs. LA Knight is reportedly being discussed for WWE Money in the Bank on October 10th. There is said to be a strong feeling internally that the match will happen and Reigns is expected to enter the event as the champion. Reigns vs. Knight has been teased on RAW in recent weeks.

Reigns is officially being advertised for the 2026 Survivor Series PLE. In recent years, Reigns has participated in the men’s War Games match at Survivor Series.

After speaking with a talent, @WrestleVotes Radio on @FightfulSelect has learned that the feeling backstage is that Penta will be the winner of the ongoing luchadores tournament to determine a challenger to Reigns' title on WWE Raw in Mexico City.

Full details are now available… pic.twitter.com/nfMeQIaBK2

— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) August 13, 2026

The post News regarding Roman Reigns’ WWE matches for the remainder of 2026 appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

“I respect the hell out of Roman. It has nothing to do with respect. I look up to him in a lot of ways, you know, as a human being. Look what he’s overcome. Look at his priorities. I don’t know Roman. I’ve maybe said four words to Roman in my life. So I don’t know him, but I know of him and I know what a priority his family is. I know what he’s gone through.

The post Eric Bischoff on Roman Reigns: “I’m bored with him, I don’t see a character evolving” appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

WWE has officially announced the tournament matches and they are as follows…

August 10th (RAW): Penta vs. Laredo Kid
August 15th (AAA): Psycho Clown vs. La Parka
August 17th (RAW): Dragon Lee vs. El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.
August 17th (RAW): Rey Fenix vs. El Fiscal

El Grande Americano, who was rumored to be Reigns’ opponent, and Dominik Mysterio are not part of the tournament.

The post Participants revealed for tournament to determine Roman Reigns’ opponent in Mexico City appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

“Roman Reigns has been nothing but professional, respectful, and hardworking every time I’ve shared a locker room or the ring with him. I worked with him quite a bit early on and at different points throughout my four years in WWE as Ryback, and I have nothing but respect for him.

Roman Reigns has been nothing but professional, respectful, and hardworking every time I’ve shared a locker room or the ring with him. I worked with him quite a bit early on and at different points throughout my four years in WWE as Ryback, and I have nothing but respect for him.…

— RYBACK (@Ryback) August 7, 2026

The post Former WWE star Ryback responds to claim that Roman Reigns is “overrated” appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

Now, let me get into a question that has been sent to me multiple times by loyal readers and that is about Conrad Thompson and his opinion about Roman Reigns being “overrated” and is like an “industry plant” would be in music (someone groomed for the position) but for WWE.

I’ve already answered this with multiple columns covering WWE’s current events. In my opinion, Roman was indeed “shoved down our throats” during the 2010s. Then, they finally turned him heel but not only that, gave him Paul Heyman and some creative freedom on promos. Add to that, the cool Bloodline storyline with the Usos, Solo, and Sami Zayn all playing important parts that literally fueled WWE’s happenings from 2021 through 2024 including adding the freakin’ Rock to the storyline and group during early 2024. After Wrestlemania 40, Roman Reigns hasn’t been the same effective draw without the group than he has been with the group. In addition to the price gouging, Roman and the Bloodline’s drawing ability hasn’t been there like it was through early 2024.

BUT – Roman Reigns learned from that 2021-2024 experience and has grown as a performer, and thus I believe he’s still the top WWE draw right now. We’re not getting to 50,000 Wrestlemania tickets or 30,000 SummerSlam tickets without him at the very top of the card against legitimate opponents in CM Punk and Seth Rollins. But again, shows during 2024 and 2025 with him on it and in prominent spots drew higher. Price hikes are there, but Roman isn’t as cool now as he was when he was the “head of the table” with the badass heel Bloodline group.

A more legitimate criticism would be “peaked” or “slightly past his prime”, but I’d argue that he has creatively suffered, too, because there was NEVER an adequate conclusion over what happened with the Bloodline during 2024. Oh, I know that Solo tried to take it over, but Roman was absent when the “new” Bloodline attacked Paul Heyman during late June 2024 and Roman didn’t appear until August. We never had that Rock vs. Roman “battle of the Bloodline” feud either, which could have made Roman into an absolute megastar had that headlined Wrestlemania 41 during 2025.

WWE’s two best matches for 2026 are, in fact, Roman vs. CM Punk from WM 42 and Roman vs. Seth Rollins from SummerSlam 2026. Who is the common denominator, again?

What I find more impressive about Conrad’s opinion is how much attention it caused. Congrats on a successful podcast network, Conrad, as your words appear to matter. Hopefully, everyone is buying stuff from your ads or getting their mortgages through you.

Truth is that I don’t listen to any of these “Ad Free” shows because the podcasts featuring Jeff Jarrett, Eric Bischoff, Jim Ross, or others feature more of Conrad’s opinions over what the wrestler or personality thinks. That, or it’s just reviewing what Dave Meltzer said in a past issue of the Wrestling Observer. I don’t need to hear the producer of the show hogging the spotlight, nor do I give a damn about the producer’s opinions when I’d rather hear the wrestler or wrestling personality’s opinion based on their past experiences or recollection. I didn’t tune in for Conrad’s two cents, and I believe Kevin Nash and Jim Cornette’s podcasts suffer, too, when their producers interject excessively about their opinions (though I think Brian Last complements Jim better than Conrad complements any of his podcast teammates). The only time that I don’t mind Conrad’s opinions is when he fact checks someone who is clearly lying or withholding information, such as Eric Bischoff. Eric deserves that!

Conrad has made his podcasts mostly about himself, hence why his opinion on Roman Reigns has become viral this week. While I applaud Conrad for giving such wrestlers or personalities a platform, he doesn’t have to spoon-feed them topics, walk them through something, or ask how they felt about what Dave Meltzer wrote 30 years ago. And then, insert his opinion. Jim Ross’s podcast was WAY BETTER when it was Jim on his own because his thoughts and his creativity driving where the podcast went. That, and he didn’t have someone interjecting their personal opinion on every topic.

That’s the issue… Not that “Roman Reigns is overrated”, but maybe we, as society, overrate the opinions of commentators or any shock value they may have. And that includes anything I say as a columnist, too, let’s be fair… Look at ESPN right now, as they are shedding actual journalists in favor of paying opinionated folks like Stephen A Smith or Pat McAfee more. What happens when people sour or get tired of their opinions, too? ESPN’s viewership is going to continue to swirl down the tubes.

It’s as Aaron Rift said on a recent episode of NoDQ Review… Conrad’s opinion about Roman Reigns might have been true during 2019, but is wrong now. Roman was a big part of that Bloodline group and yes, since 2024, he’s not as great as he was that year… BUT, I could say that literally about every wrestler on the WWE roster right now in comparison to 2024. WWE’s roster is tired, as there aren’t many key match-ups left to run and the wrestlers are looking worn out from this endless cycle of 2-3 hours of RAW, 2-3 hours of Smackdown, houseshows, and PLEs on the weekend plus traveling to each one. Nobody is drawing like they once did, and WWE lacks any younger wrestlers (or ones that could stay healthy) to replace the aging veterans.

Congrats again to Conrad for building a successful platform… But, just remember, with great power comes great responsibility. Your words are being played publicly and therefore, everyone is allowed to freely disagree with your opinions too and ridicule you if those opinions are ridiculous. For many who enjoy Roman Reigns and appreciate his work for the past 6 years, they have been very free to disagree with you.

Oh, and Conrad… You’re not a comedian. Your ad spots where you attempt to be funny are total cringe, especially those older ones with Manscape’s products. If you’re not legitimately funny, don’t try to be.

Onto your other questions.

ASK TITO: Your Questions, My Answer

Do you believe that Brock Lesnar has retired?

Nope… Between music and wrestling, we’ve witnessed many false retirements only for your old favorites to always come back. Hell, wrestling columnists do that too…

Until Brock Lesnar vs. Gunther happens, I’ll NEVER believe that Brock Lesnar has retired. Why? Because TKO can cut Lesnar a big check to wrestle 1 more match at any time. With WWE having up to 12 PLEs per year, there’s always a card that may need an impact player or a bigtime match-up, especially with the injury bug repeatedly biting or the need for guys like Roman to take so much time off.

I still project Gunther vs. Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 43 and maybe that will be it? I don’t know, but I think that improvised moment at Wrestlemania 42 has really lessened the effectiveness of if and when Lesnar retires.

*****

Do you believe that Oba Femi benefitted from working with Brock Lesnar?

I need more time to see what happens for the rest of the year and what feeds into 2027. Many are projecting Roman Reigns vs. Oba Femi at Wrestlemania 43, but I’m not there yet (still holding out hope that Rock vs. Roman happens).

To me, it seemed like Wrestlemania 42’s match was mostly well done to put over Oba and the push should have continued then. However, Lesnar jumped him and then defeated him to instantly kill that momentum. 4 months later, are things really better for Oba with a win over Lesnar at SummerSlam? I just don’t know and worry that damage has been done.

HOWEVER, I watched Oba Femi backstage on Season 3 of WWE Unreal. Maybe he was nervous around cameras backstage, but he seemed to lack confidence when talking with Triple H and others backstage. If you’re going to be a main eventer in WWE, you need to thump your chest and clearly be the men amongst men to take that top spot. I just don’t see that swagger with Oba yet in just his 5th year as a performer.

Remember from our above Roman Reigns discussion… Roman didn’t get good until 2020 with putting it all together, and that’s 8 years after his main roster debut and even further from his FCW/NXT work as a developmental talent.

We need to stop assuming that wrestlers like Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar are common. No, they are absolute freaks of nature who shouldn’t figure out MAIN EVENT pro wrestling that quickly. I don’t see Oba as that quick learner or someone who wanted it as bad as Angle did. He has the gigantic “larger than life” look, however, that you cannot teach… It’s up to having GOOD creative to make him look good moving forward, instead of backward like maybe the Lesnar feud did.

But again, I said that about Cody Rhodes during 2024 and Cody came out stronger after his “best of 3” Lesnar feud. But Cody was far more experienced and pulled out great matches consistently to make up for it.

*****

Thoughts on Chelsea Green becoming interim Women’s Champion?

I’m soooooo happy for her! She totally deserves it for being a unique and entertaining talent in the WWE. I’ve HATED the way she was just treated as a midcarder, despite her real toughness and height having to put over much smaller and not-as-tough opponents.

Could WWE have built her up stronger before winning the Women’s Title? Absolutely…

BUT, you cannot complain about Michael P.S. Hayes’s comments from WWE Unreal Season 2 on one hand and then complain when WWE actually gives you what you want with Chelsea winning a world title. The schizophrenic wrestling fans strike again, as they flip and flop on their opinions and are never clear on what they truly want.

I’m 100% for this and hope she has a satisfying run. She needs to start winning cleanly and consistently as champion and see where it goes. Women’s wrestling in the WWE needs a newer face at the top, as their roster is tired too with the same people on top for freakin’ years.

Chelsea deserves it.

*****

Do you think that WWE will get in trouble with Rockstar Games over attempting to trademark “Vice City”?

No. WWE is using it in a different context and I suspect that if there is an issue, WWE will resolve it with Take-Two Interactive who owns both 2K Sports (WWE’s video game publisher) and Rockstar Games.

In fact, I’m willing to bet that WWE already reached out to said corporate partners and cleared it.

This isn’t a big deal. WWE is using it in the context of a pro wrestling character with the last name of “Vice”, while Vice City is the Miami-like area in the Grand Theft Auto series. Used differently, won’t interfere much at all.

On a side note, GTA Vice City was such a fun game… Just silly, stupid fun back in its day.

*****

What do you think will happen with many AEW wrestlers with contracts up for renewal in 2027?

Samoa Joe, Okada, FTR, Hangman Page, Jon Moxley, Young Bucks, Mercedes Mone, and Kenny Omega each have their deals up during sometime within 2027. I expect each to re-sign with AEW if they are offered close or slightly higher money than what they are currently have.

Easier schedule for equal or better money… What’s not to love?

The one that is interesting would be Jon Moxley because he’s the third member of the Shield. There’s value in WWE trying to get him back and being reasonable with how his character is presented.

With the way WWE hasn’t cared about Tag Team wrestling on the main roster, I would have maybe suggested FTR jumps, but not anymore.

Kenny and Okada going to WWE would be interesting, but I just don’t see their AEW work being that appealing to WWE officials to want to import into their promotion.

I’d love to see Sasha Banks back in the WWE, as Triple H is now in charge and Vince McMahon was the problem before.

I predict most, if not all, will re-sign with AEW with WWE showing some interest in those mentioned above before AEW offers each money to stay.

And that’s your AEW coverage in today’s column.

Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ

The post ASK TITO: Roman Reigns Overrated?, Brock Lesnar Retirement, Oba Femi, Chelsea Green, WWE Using Vice City, and AEW Contracts Up for 2027 appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

“I’m going to give you a hot take that’s going to annoy you and probably piss you off, but here goes. I think Roman Reigns is probably the most overrated main eventer in WWE history.

Bischoff responded by stating that he actually agreed with Thompson.

The post Podcast host says Roman Reigns “is probably the most overrated main eventer in WWE history” appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

While speaking on Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com noted the following…

“So, I can tell you this, guys: the rumored opponent, unconfirmed, not locked in, the rumored opponent is El Grande Americano. That could certainly change. El Grande is scheduled to face Dom for the Mega Title at TripleMania. And, you know, they got no problem beating that guy, clearly. I don’t think Roman Reigns should beat El Grande. They could always use some sort of schmas finish, or they could just have him face, like, Penta or somebody. So, we’ll find out.”

The post Who is rumored to be facing Roman Reigns on the September 14th episode of RAW in Mexico City appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

This is getting VERY interesting @luchalibreaaa | @WWERomanReigns | @reymysterio pic.twitter.com/5upOsynz19

— WWE (@WWE) August 4, 2026

The belief is that Reigns will be making an appearance for the AAA brand. While speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer of F4WOnine.com stated the following in regards to the segment…

“Obviously they’re going to put him on a show. Now, what I can tell you is it’s what it is not going to be the MGM Grand Show [AAA TripleMania], which would have been like my two first picks were the MGM Grand Show or Edenberg, Texas, which goes against, the one that goes against All-In, because those made sense as far as they’re fairly, the next two upcoming.

The post What is being said about Roman Reigns’ segment with Rey Mysterio at the end of WWE RAW appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

Jackie: “You said you needed this win over Seth Rollins. You got it. What is this moment against this guy? What does it represent for you?”

The post What Roman Reigns said to Seth Rollins at the end of their match at WWE SummerSlam 2026 appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

Sunday 8/2 – SummerSlam – Minneapolis, MN
Monday 8/3 – Raw – Des Moines, IA
Monday 8/17 – Raw – Buffalo, NY
Friday 8/28 – Raw & SmackDown – Cleveland, OH
Monday 9/14 – Raw – Mexico City, MX
Monday 10/5 – Raw – St. Louis, MO
Saturday 10/10 – Money in the Bank – New Orleans, LA

The post News regarding Roman Reigns’ schedule with WWE after the 2026 SummerSlam PLE appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.