This week's episode of WWE SmackDown will see Roman Reigns defend his championship on television for the first time in more than two months.

The Tribal Chief will put the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship on the line this Friday against Riddle. The stipulation is that if he loses, Riddle will not be able to challenge for the title as long as Reigns is the champion. This will be Reigns' first televised title defense since WrestleMania 38, when he defeated Brock Lesnar in a title unification match.

Previously, it was reported that WWE was discussing a Reigns-Riddle championship bout for Money in the Bank 2022, which will run on July 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada. On Wrestling Observer Live, (h/t Ringside News), Bryan Alvarez explained why WWE is running the match on SmackDown instead of a marquee pay-per-view show.

Alvarez noted that WWE has "already made their money off Peacock", so placing Reigns on the Money in the Bank 2022 card "means absolutely zero to WWE". As previously noted, WWE moved Money in the Bank from Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Vegas.

"They don’t make one dime if more people watch it because Roman Reigns is on there," Alvarez stated. "But, if they do big SmackDown ratings as a result of Roman Reigns defending the title on the show, well, then it comes time to renew your television deal and you make even more money. So, we knew this was going to happen when they sold to Peacock, and that is that you ain’t going to get those pay-per-views you used to get."

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WWE Raw Superstar Matt Riddle and WWE SmackDown Superstar Roman Reigns

Reigns has appeared less frequently on WWE programming in recent weeks, as his new contract includes a reduced working schedule. He was absent from the June 5 HIAC pay-per-view, and it looks like he won't be competing at Money in the Bank 2022.

It has also been reported that Reigns will defend the title against Riddle's tag team partner, Randy Orton, at the July 30 SummerSlam pay-per-view. Of course, everything changes dramatically in the event that Riddle pulls off the stunning upset.

Smart Call By WWE

Even without Reigns, the Money in the Bank card will be stacked. Bianca Belair will defend her Raw Women's Championship against Rhea Ripley, and Ronda Rousey will defend her SmackDown Women's Championship against Natalya. The event will be headlined by the annual men's and women's Money in the Bank ladder matches. So in short, Money in the Bank should get enough of an audience even without Reigns on the card.

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