WWE: Roman Reigns May Return At WWE TLC 2014, But Won’t Risk Missing WrestleMania 31

Roman Reigns may be missing in action now, but it’s claimed his injuries from the surgery may be healing up fast enough that he could make it for WWE TLC 2014. But Roman Reigns’ return will not be risked if it’s felt that doing so may hurt his chances at WrestleMania 31.

In a related report by The Inquisitr, the official WWE.com website once claimed Roman Reigns may take over The Undertaker’s streak at WrestleMania. Of course, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin thinks Reigns needs a little work in order to prove that he’s truly the anointed one.

The latest backstage update comes to us via the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, who states that Reigns’ return may come sooner than expected.

“Regarding Roman Reigns’ return, he is still expected back before Christmas and will be working the Royal Rumble but he is possible for TLC in December. Reigns won’t be rushed back because that would put WWE’s big WrestleMania 31 plans for him in jeopardy.”

Roman Reigns’ health is of primary concern because he suffered from an inguinal hernia, which required doctors to open up his abdominal cavity and mess with his intestines. Recovery time for such an operation tends to be in the months since they do not want to risk ripping any of the mesh that was installed in order to prevent a future occurrence. Doctors typically recommend between three to six months of rest, and since the surgery took place in September, that means a December return would be pushing it.

If Reigns does in fact make a WWE TLC appearance, it would be most likely happen in order to trigger some sort of rivalry or feud with another wrestler. It’s possible that it would be similar to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s return in Brooklyn where he smacked Rusev around a bit but otherwise was not involved in anything too dangerous. If Roman is not at the TLC PPV then there’s a good chance he’ll at least make some December or January showings for Monday Night RAW in order to jump start the story line leading up to WrestleMania 31.

At this point, it’s safe to assume that Roman Reigns will make WrestleMania 31 since promotional materials recently added him back into the lineup. The question remains for who he will fight. Everyone is assuming he will end Brock Lesnar’s reign as WWE Heavyweight Champion, but Jim Ross believes it’s fully possible that Vince McMahon and Triple H could have the Beast lose his title at Royal Rumble 2015 if contract negotiations do not go their way.