Roman Reigns was threatened on WWE SmackDown after refusing to put pen to paper on a contract for the 2024 Royal Rumble.
The Undisputed WWE Universal Champion will be in action at next week’s premium live event against Randy Orton, AJ Styles and LA Knight but the Fatal 4 Way was in jeopardy early on in Friday’s show.
At the beginning of the night, the contract signing was underway with three names on the dotted line, but Paul Heyman hinted the Tribal Chief may not sign if he didn’t approve of the paperwork.
However, SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis, who rose from the UK wrestling scene to becoming a world champion before joining WWE, wasn’t taking any nonsense from The Bloodline.
He insisted if Reigns wasn’t willing to sign the contract, he’d be happy to strip him of his title and turn the bout into a Triple Threat for the vacant prize.
Later on, Orton beat Solo Sikoa in just five minutes in a surprising main event, sparking a brawl between the Viper, Knight and Styles.
After a pair of RKOs, Orton was left standing tall before the Tribal Chief lad him out with a Superman Punch.
Reigns stared down Aldis before taking the Rumble contract and signing, making the Fatal 4 Way official for January 27.
Moments later, he tries to set up a Spear to Orton, only to run straight into another RKO as the 14-time world champion stood tall to bring SmackDown to an end.
Elsewhere on the show, Kevin Owens welcomed Logan Paul as a guest on The KO Show as the two rivals obliterated each other on the mic, before things took an intense turn.
The controversial YouTuber told Owens to take off his cast before their United States Championship match next weekend, before laying out the challenger and targeting his injured hand.
Fans also saw Santos Escobar, Angel and Humberto sneak a win over the LWO’s Carlito, Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro, Katana Chance and Kayden Carter retained their Women’s Tag Team Titles over the Unholy Union
Finally, British wrestling star Pete Dunne finally ditched the Butch moniker as he went back to his old name to team with British Strong Style partner Tyler Bate in a convincing win over Pretty Deadly.
WWE SmackDown airs Friday nights at 1am on TNT Sports 1.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.