A very warm welcome to yet another edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling’s WWE News Roundup. Today, we will cover exciting topics related to top names like former Undisputed WWE Champion Roman Reigns, Damian Priest, and Solo Sikoa.
The Tribal Chief has been on a sabbatical since he lost the WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes at Wrestlemania 40. In his absence, Solo Sikoa has taken over The Bloodline. The Street Champion even told Paul Heyman that he has spoken to Reigns. While it seems like Sikoa is lying, could there be truth in his words? A WWE expert believes so:
#1. Sam Roberts believes Roman Reigns could ally with Solo Sikoa upon his WWE return
On his Notsam Wrestling podcast, Sam Roberts shared two ideas for how Reigns could come back. He said that if Sikoa lied about their conversation, The Tribal Chief might return and cause chaos. But there is a chance that Sikoa was honest, and Reigns might react differently.
”And he [Reigns] goes: ‘Paul, my cousin told you that I talked to him but I didn’t talk to you.’ And Paul goes: ‘Yes, my Tribal Chief. That’s what he said my Tribal Chief. I’m so happy you’re back my Tribal Chief.’ And Roman goes: ‘That’s ’cause I did.’ And everybody goes: ‘Oh!’ And Paul Heyman goes [stuttering reaction],” he said.
Solo Sikoa was in Reigns’ corner throughout most of his reign and acted like an enforcer. However, the former NXT North American Champion has been leading the faction after attacking and barring Jimmy Uso from the group and adding Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa.
#2. Charlie Dempsey has been dethroned as the NXT Heritage Cup Champion
Charlie Dempsey’s 77-day reign as the Heritage Cup Champion came to an end on this week’s edition of NXT after he was defeated by Tony D’Angelo in the main event. This is the first singles title that D’Angelo has won in WWE.
D’Angelo won the match thanks to a major brawl that started outside the ring between their two factions. Dempsey is a member of the No Quarter Catch Crew stable. The two warring factions have been crossing limits on the developmental brand, and The Don becoming the Heritage Cup Champion is a win for The D’Angelo Family.
#3. Damian Priest reveals the truth about his in-ring name
During an interview on FOX8 Live, Damian Priest spoke about his name and said that he wanted to feel like a rockstar when he joined WWE. He also wanted a rockstar name, so he chose his current ring name. Priest was previously known as Punishment Martinez before joining the Stanford-based promotion.
”Then coming into WWE, it was like, ‘Who do I want to be here? What do I want to be here? I wanna be a rockstar, so I need like a rockstar name.’ Damian Priest, now that screams, that sounds frontman in a rockstar band and that’s how it came to be,” Damian Priest said.
He also revealed that his previous in-ring name, Punishment Martinez, was inspired by the Marvel comics character The Punisher. Priest is the current World Heavyweight Champion, which he won by cashing in his MITB Contract on Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 40.