Roman Reigns Beaten at Merch Sales by WWE Star Despite Huge SummerSlam Return

Under “Bloodline Rules,” anything was possible in the main event of SummerSlam 2024 in front of over 57,000 spectators in the Cleveland Browns stadium. Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa first tried to exert influence, but Randy Orton and Kevin Owens neutralized both. Jacob Fatu then tried to lead his “Tribal Chief,” Solo Sikoa, to victory.

With a splash from the top rope, Fatu sent himself flying on the “American Nightmare,” who lay on the commentary table. Fatu apparently injured himself in the process. Rhodes remained on the offensive shortly afterward. He hit a Cody Cutter when a theme that the WWE universe was eager to listen to again brought everyone on their feet.

Roman Reigns appeared since his defeat at WrestleMania and intervened in the decisive phase of the match. He ran and hit Solo Sikoa with a Superman punch. He then hit a spear to allow Rhodes to finish with a Cross-Rhodes. And surely, as many expected, this return earned massive crowd pop and buzz online, leaving fans in a frenzy.

However, it seems like Reigns might need another appearance before he can call himself the most over superstar in the WWE. According to Fightful, he has yet to defeat Cody Rhodes in merch sales to be called the most popular. Something that he could achieve in a few days. In their Fightful Patreon, they reported, “As is tradition, Cody Rhodes topped the internal WWE merchandise shirts for the Superstore and the venue. We’re told Roman Reigns didn’t crack the top three, but they’re expecting that to change upon his return.”

Well, seeing the popularity and massive crowd reaction Reigns earned through his return, he surely would dethrone the American Nightmare in terms of merchandise sales. This can further be estimated by a recent sale by the WWE merchandise team, as they perfectly capitalized on the much-awaited return of the Big Dog.

WWE’s big gains thanks to Roman Reigns

The WWE immediately capitalized on the return of the Original Tribal Chief, putting on the market new merchandise dedicated to his new moniker. Reigns spotted a T-shirt with the letters OTC, signifying his status as the Original Tribal Chief. Apart from selling this tee, the Stamford-based wrestling promotion decided to sell a personalized belt dedicated to the reign of Reigns as the legendary Universal champion.

The company has opened the pre-order in its shop and limited it to only 1316 pieces, i.e. the number of days for which the Original Tribal Chief held the championship title. As expected by many, the belt quickly sold out. With each belt costing about 600 dollars, this allowed the Stamford-based federation to earn about 800 thousand dollars. The Tribal Chief can now embark on a babyface run as was the plan all along since his debut. However, this time there remains no question as to whether he could get organically over as the WWE Universe as they hang on to every word of Roman Reigns. So what do you think? Would Reigns dethrone Rhodes as the most loved superstar on the roster? Let us know in the comments.