Ever since Endeavour’s acquisition of WWE, the Stamford-based promotion’s interactions with UFC have increased significantly. The two companies are now both subsidiaries of TKO Group Holdings, and there was a huge superstar crossover between them. The arguable faces of both companies, Roman Reigns and Alex Pereira, were shockingly seen together before SmackDown.
Alex Pereira made an appearance at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. The venue was the host for the latest episode of SmackDown, and the UFC fighter attended the show in the live crowd. He was also seen checking out the WWE ring as well as interacting with some fans in the front seats.
While at the show, the Brazilian met up with Roman Reigns backstage. The combat sports superstars were seen exchanging T-shirts with each other, similar to how athletes exchange jerseys after a match. The UFC light heavyweight champion presented the WWE superstar with a Poatan shirt. Meanwhile, the former WWE Universal Champion gave Pereira an OTC shirt.
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira meets Roman Reigns at WWE SmackDown pic.twitter.com/5xbUISL220
— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) November 9, 2024
This episode of SmackDown was quite eventful for Reigns. Alongside meeting Pereira, he also had a confrontation with Sami Zayn after more than a year. Although the show started off with some differences still evident between them, they have temporarily been able to mend their relationship. The Underdog from The Underground saved his former stablemates from The Bloodline, and the rivalry clearly seems to be headed towards War Games.
Roman Reigns recently teamed up with The Usos to take on The Bloodline at Crown Jewel. Unfortunately, he got pinned by Solo Sikoa and lost the match. A few days later, he has now shared some behind-the-scenes footage of his preparation for his match in Saudi Arabia.
In the video, he could be seen doing push-ups ahead of his match and recharging with some Gatorade. There was also some footage of the OG Bloodline getting a photoshoot together. There was also great attention to detail in these photoshoots. In the photos, Jey Uso was seen standing next to and on par with Reigns. Meanwhile, Jimmy Uso stood a step behind him.
This is likely because the Intercontinental Champion has declared that he is no one’s lackey and is now an equal to the SmackDown Superstar. Meanwhile, Big Jim possibly still sees Reigns as his Tribal Chief. He was also seen pointing at the 39-year-old as a sign of respect and threw up the ones to acknowledge him.
