WWE surprised many with the decision to not have Roman Reigns defend the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Sunday's WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view.

Instead, Reigns and The Usos (SmackDown Tag Team Champions) went up against Drew McIntyre and RK-Bro (Raw Tag Team Champions) in a standard six-man tag team match. There was no special stipulation whatsoever in this bout, which The Bloodline won after Reigns hit Riddle with a Spear.

Excluding Survivor Series events, WrestleMania Backlash 2022 marked the first WWE pay-per-view without a world title match on the card since Elimination Chamber 2020. And according to a new report, it's going to be a while until Reigns defends the title on live WWE programming again.

In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required), Dave Meltzer reported that Reigns is not scheduled for the upcoming HIAC pay-per-view for June 6. The current plan is for Reigns to next defend his championship at an upcoming pay-per-view.

Meltzer added "as of this week", The Tribal Chief's next scheduled title defense will be at Money in the Bank 2022 on July 2 (at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada). Although plans can always change, Meltzer noted, the current plan is to have McIntyre challenge Reigns for the title.

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Roman Reigns Drew McIntyre WWE WrestleMania Backlash 2022

As previously noted, Reigns signed a new contract with WWE which includes a reduced working schedule. Though he'll remain a full-time performer on television, the longest-reigning Universal Champion in history will be working less house shows going forward.

Reigns vs. McIntyre Has Been In The Making For A While

Since their thrilling bout at Survivor Series 2020 (a victory for Reigns), countless WWE fans have anxiously awaited a McIntyre-Reigns rematch. It's finally right around the corner.

Reigns and McIntyre have been squaring off at many recent WWE house shows. Meltzer previously reported that WWE would rather wait until one of the upcoming stadium pay-per-views to run the McIntyre-Reigns singles bout. After Money in the Bank, WWE will perform SummerSlam 2022 (July 30) at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. WWE will then travel overseas and run the Clash at the Castle show (Sept. 3) at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

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