WWE News: Roman Reigns Calls Out John Cena During ‘Today’ Show Appearance

Roman Reigns is the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion thanks to his main-event victory over Triple H at WrestleMania 32 Sunday night. Despite heavy resistance from internet wrestling boards and the vast majority of live audiences (including the Dallas crowd), WWE stuck with their plan of pushing Reigns to the top. And with the exception of an inadvertent spear to Stephanie McMahon, there were no hijinx, no interference, and no double-turns, as many expected. The night ended with a relatively clean finish and a modest Reigns celebration with some accompanying pyrotechnics.

As has become customary recently, whoever is holding the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at night’s end is slated to appear on the Today Show the following morning. Roman Reigns appeared along with the WWE Women’s Champion, Charlotte, to recap their evenings, discuss their big victories, and promote the company, as reported on by Wrestling Inc. Reigns was asked who his first challenger would be for his newly won title. You can scroll down for the full video.

“Anybody and everybody. Like we said earlier, WrestleMania is full of superstars, a-listers. We had The Rock. We had John Cena there. If they want some… Hey John Cena, the champ is here.”

John Cena is a frequent guest host of the Today Show, including recent appearances leading up to Sunday night’s extravaganza. He’s been out of action due to injury, but did make a surprise appearance in a segment involving The Rock and The Wyatt Family right before Reigns’ main event match with Triple H. The hosts came to Cena’s defense, claiming that the Today Show was Cena’s house. That didn’t seem to affect Roman Reigns, however.

“Not if I’m in it. I’m in your living room. I’m about to go in your fridge and eat your food. So you tell me what to do. You tell me what to do.”

Here is the video clip of Roman Reigns calling out John Cena as posted by the Today Show’s official Twitter account.

Uh oh, @johncena! @WWERomanReigns has a message for you! #TODAYsTake https://t.co/lqYwv9pZtD

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) April 4, 2016

A Roman Reigns-John Cena feud would certainly be an interesting dynamic considering the polarizing reactions both receive. The WWE has long been hoping that Reigns would be the successor to Cena’s place atop the roster, with a torch-passing match considered an inevitability. But with both receiving negative reactions for the majority of their in-ring work, a simple babyface vs babyface main event would likely not be received very well.

Fans have clamored for heel-turns from both Cena and Reigns, with Cena detractors begging for such a move for nearly a decade. Cena has made the company (and himself) so much money in merchandising, not to mention brought positive PR to the company through his charity work, that they’ve been hesitant to pull the trigger without a can’t-miss replacement. Reigns was groomed for that role, but WWE may be forced to turn Roman to the dark side (perhaps as early as the Monday Night RAW the night after WrestleMania).

Anything can, and usually does, happen the night after WrestleMania. It’s become an attraction all it’s own thanks to the smart-mark audience that descends on WrestleMania’s host city for the entire weekend. Yes, Triple H and Stephanie will remain in power thanks to the Undertaker defeating Shane McMahon inside Hell in a Cell. But does that mean The Game will go after Reigns and try to avenge his championship loss? Is Cena even ready to return to the ring full-time? Reigns said he’s willing to defend his title to anybody and everybody, and RAW should provide a clearer picture on who will become his first challenger for it.

[Image via WWE]