LA Knight is the name most often attached to Roman Reigns for Money in the Bank, and the obvious outcome is another successful defense. WWE should do the opposite, and Jacob Fatu is the piece that makes the upset work.
Reigns has held the World Heavyweight Championship since beating CM Punk in the Night Two main event of WrestleMania 42. Seth Rollins failed to take it at SummerSlam on August 2 in Minneapolis. Penta gets a crack at it on the September 14 Raw from Arena Ciudad de Mexico.
Knight called out the champion on the August 3 Raw and got told to wait his turn. WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select reported a “strong sense internally” that the match lands at Money in the Bank on October 10 in New Orleans. Wrestling Observer Radio described the same pairing as the tentative plan.
One caveat sits in front of all of it. Reigns has to get past Penta in Mexico City before any of the New Orleans plans matter.
History does not favor the challenger. Reigns and Knight have met once in singles competition, at Crown Jewel on November 4, 2023, and Sikoa and Jimmy Uso interfered to keep the title on the champion.
Fatu challenged Reigns at Backlash on May 9 and lost, then lost again in Tribal Combat at Clash in Italy before settling into an enforcer role. The Samoan Werewolf has spent the months since doing the dirty work and collecting none of the credit.
Cracks showed in the August Raw main event. Reigns handed the Usos black Ula Falas for delivering Sikoa, and Fatu stood there visibly unhappy. Reigns then blocked him from attacking Knight, and when Sikoa turned and spiked the champion in the throat, the enforcer never moved from his corner.
WWE posted footage after the show of Fatu walking to the back alone while Reigns watched him go. Nobody puts that on social media by accident. The company has been telegraphing the split for a month without pulling the trigger on it.
Reigns has beaten nearly every credible name on the roster during this reign, which is exactly the problem. Another clean retain against Knight tells the audience nothing it did not already know. A Fatu turn that costs Reigns the championship gives three stories a place to go at once.
Knight walks out of New Orleans as a first-time world champion with the loudest reaction of the night. Fatu graduates from enforcer to the man who ended the reign, which sets up a program with Reigns that has genuine heat behind it. The Bloodline splinters properly instead of drifting.
Sikoa is already outside the group and teaming with Knight. Fatu leaving too would leave Reigns with the Usos and a title he no longer holds, which is a far more interesting position than another month of denying challengers.
Money in the Bank also supplies its own complication. Two briefcases get handed out that night, and a brand new champion with a contract holder lurking is a better November than a champion nobody can touch.
Knight has never held a world championship in WWE, and the clock on that is not generous. The crowd reaction has been there since 2023, and the promo work has never been the issue. The window for a run at the top will not stay open forever. Money in the Bank in New Orleans is as good a stage as the schedule offers before the Royal Rumble.
Reigns losing does nothing to hurt Reigns. Losing the belt because family turned on him is the exact story that built the Bloodline in the first place. Fatu has been set up for it in plain sight. WWE just has to be willing to book the ending that nobody expects.
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