Ranking the 6 Biggest Threats to Roman Reigns' World Heavyweight Championship in WWE

Roman Reigns has been booked so strongly during his latest run as WWE heavyweight champion that it's hard to imagine almost anyone on the active roster eventually dethroning him for the title.

The Tribal Chief last reigned as world champion for nearly four years, and it took an army for Cody Rhodes to take that title from him at WrestleMania 40. This time around, Reigns is rewriting history by winning matches on his own and conquering all of the opponents he previously needed help to beat.

Following his successful defense against LA Knight at Money in the Bank, fans are looking ahead to who could be next to step up for a shot at the prestigious prize, even with Reigns focused on battling Sami Zayn for the Men's Crown Jewel Championship at Crown Jewel on November 7.

In the meantime, expect to see several Superstars stake their claim at a championship opportunity. More dominant than ever before, Reigns won't be going down without being pushed to his absolute limit and put down decisively.

From Penta lurking in the shadows with his newly won Money in the Bank briefcase to Oba Femi continuing to call him out, these are the six biggest threats to Reigns' World Heavyweight Championship.

Drew McIntyre is currently out of sight, out of mind in WWE, but he can't be counted out completely as a potential threat to Reigns and the World Heavyweight Championship he once held—albeit for five minutes.

Of course, the two of them have no shortage of history with each other. Their rivalry includes matches at WrestleMania 35, Survivor Series 2020 and Clash at the Castle 2022.

Reigns won every encounter, and in the latter two contests, the rest of The Bloodline got involved to ensure The Tribal Chief had his hand raised in victory. McIntyre hasn't forgotten about those shortcomings, going so far as to deem himself "The Bloodline Hunter" in early 2025.

Although the Scot managed to exact revenge on The Usos, he never got his rematch with Reigns. That could be coming now that Reigns is world heavyweight champ and many of his old rivalries are being revisited.

The Scottish Warrior hasn't been seen on WWE TV since WrestleMania 42, but he could reemerge at any moment, and when he does, there is a slight chance of him finally getting that elusive win over his archrival.

Despite experiencing a slow start in WWE, Royce Keys has amounted to main event stardom relatively quickly.

He made a memorable debut in the men's Royal Rumble match, won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, emerged victorious in six-man tag team action at SummerSlam and is now running rampant on Raw as the leader of The 946.

The formidable faction laid waste to The Usos and Solo Sikoa on Monday's Raw and has consistently been presented as a legitimate threat since arriving on Raw at the end of August. All signs point to the group battling The Bloodline in WarGames at Survivor Series—and ideally winning.

The finish should see Keys pin Reigns to earn an opportunity at the World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble. On paper, Keys may appear to be a filler opponent for The OTC ahead of WrestleMania 43, but what if WWE capitalized on his hot momentum by having him walk away with the gold, even if the reign was brief?

Keys has had serious singles potential since his days in All Elite Wrestling. At the rate The 946 is taking over Monday nights, he just might fulfill his destiny by becoming champ sooner rather than later.

It's no secret that Bron Breakker has had an underwhelming 2026, especially coming off his electric end to 2025 where he betrayed Seth Rollins and pinned CM Punk to win WarGames.

Nonetheless, he'll be wearing world title gold before long, as it's more a matter of when and not if. He just failed to win the men's Money in the Bank ladder match but could certainly be contending for the World Heavyweight Championship again by the beginning of 2027.

Although Reigns spent much of last year feuding with The Vision, he never actually squared off with Breakker one-on-one. WWE wisely held off on that first-ever encounter, and when it does finally happen, a world title should be up for grabs.

Reigns vs. Breakker could just as easily headline a WrestleMania, so there is the possibility of WWE going with that as one of next year's main events over Reigns vs. Oba Femi. That would serve as the perfect crowning moment for Breakker and put him back on the right path.

The company could do something drastic by having Breakker take the title from Reigns at the Royal Rumble and having him defend it against Femi at 'Mania instead, but The OTC being left out of that Night 2 main event simply doesn't seem to be in the cards.

Matches We Need After Money in the Bank 🏦

Penta winning a No. 1 contender's tournament and challenging Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship on Raw in Mexico City didn't appear to be anything other than a fun side quest for the masked marvel.

However, the stellar showing he had on that night convinced the powers that be at WWE that Penta did indeed belong among the elite toward the top of the card. Less than a month later, he won the men's Money in the Bank briefcase, guaranteeing him a future title shot at any time of his choosing.

Penta established not long after he lost to Reigns that he wanted a rematch, and with the contract now in his possession, he can get that rematch with Reigns whenever he wants. He can announce his title shot ahead of time or decide to cash it in on a whim and dethrone him for the belt that way.

It's strongly assumed Reigns will walk into WrestleMania as the world heavyweight champion, but Penta being Mr. Money in the Bank could derail those plans. The Tribal Chief can't rest easy knowing Penta is watching his every move and is ready to strike when he least expects it.

Penta may ultimately cash in on a SmackDown Superstar to capture the Undisputed WWE Championship, but his unfinished business with Reigns makes targeting The Tribal Chief particularly enticing.

Reigns was one day into his run as world heavyweight champion when he was confronted by Jacob Fatu and challenged to a match at Backlash.

The OTC barely came out on top in that outing, as well as in their Tribal Combat rematch at Clash in Italy.

Fatu's loss in the latter bout resulted in him having to "fall in line" and acknowledge Reigns by becoming a member of The Bloodline again. He's cooled off considerably since then, but he does remain an integral part of the main event picture on Raw by virtue of the group's ongoing rivalry with The 946.

Enough tension has been teased between Reigns and Fatu in recent months that a third match feels inevitable, specifically once Fatu is ready to break away from the rest of the group.

Reigns' poor treatment of The Samoan Werewolf should culminate in Fatu snapping on him once and for all and fighting him for the World Heavyweight Championship.

This could happen en route to WrestleMania 43, if not at the event itself with the big payoff being that Fatu is the one to ultimately unseat Reigns as champion. Their story will have come full circle in that case, cementing Fatu's status as a main event fixture.

Fatu won't be taking abuse from Reigns for much longer, and when he sets his sights back on the belt, The Tribal Chief better be ready.

Oba Femi was a threat to every top title in WWE the moment he debuted on the main roster in the Royal Rumble at the onset of 2026.

He was clearly coming for the championship in the wake of his WrestleMania win over Brock Lesnar, but Lesnar returning from his "retirement" to target Femi and avenge that loss at Clash in Italy put those aspirations on pause.

Femi reigned supreme in the King of the Ring tournament but decided to forgo the guaranteed title shot so he could face Lesnar inside Hell in a Cell at SummerSlam.

His destruction of The Beast Incarnate at the event was impressive, but it didn't explain why he opted to put the World Heavyweight Championship on the back-burner.

Even now, there's nothing holding him back from going after the gold other than the booking. He knocked off Bronson Reed at Money in the Bank and is once again stuck in limbo until it's time for him and Reigns to wage war over the world heavyweight title.

Reigns vs. Femi feels like a lock for WrestleMania 43, but The Ruler fulfilling his full potential by procuring the prestigious prize isn't set in stone. Reigns could find a way to win so WWE can create more adversity for Femi to overcome, but there really is no reason to delay something that should have already happened.

This will be a massive matchup once it comes to fruition, and although Reigns is in mild jeopardy of losing his coveted title before then, Femi has the greatest chance of seizing it from him.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant , and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.