WWE superstar Roman Reigns has been sidelined since October has he continues his fight with Leukemia, and he'll unfortunately be forced to miss WrestleMania 35 in two months.
Reigns had headlined the last four WrestleMania events, and the "Big Dog" was sure to make it five. But just two months after he defeated Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam to become the new Universal Champion, Reigns was forced to relinquish the title and take leave of absence.
As it turns out, there were big plans for Reigns at WrestleMania 35 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the plan was for Reigns to go up against Dean Ambrose, his long-time Shield counterpart.
After Reigns went on hiatus, Ambrose began a heel turn and feuded with Seth Rollins, the third member of The Shield. The Lunatic, of course, is set to leave the WWE following WrestleMania 35. WWE confirmed Ambrose's looming departure when his contract expires.
RELATED: ROMAN REIGNS COULD BE CLOSE TO WWE RETURN [RUMOR]
Pro Wrestling Torch was first to report that Ambrose was on his way out of WWE, with one unnamed superstar saying that he grew tired of portraying a "hokey" character. Ambrose has been rumored to join All Elite Wrestling when his contract expires, given his close ties with Cody Rhodes and Chris Jericho.
Both Reigns and Ambrose have had feuds with Rollins, but the former two never engaged in such a rivalry. They went up against each other in singles matches, but they stayed close in storyline. Seeing a heel Ambrose go up against a babyface and Universal Champion in Reigns would have been something incredible, but it's not meant to be - with the former about to leave WWE.
What This Means
An Ambrose heel turn was rumored to happen around WrestleMania 34 last year, but he had suffered a torn triceps four months earlier. It sounds as though WWE had planned a Reigns-Ambrose feud for a while, but the timing just didn't make it possible. It's a shame that Ambrose is going to leave before having the chance to feud with Reigns one last time.