Roman Reigns successfully defended his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Jey Uso in a brutal tribal combat match at SummerSlam. However, the victory came at a cost, as Reigns suffered an injury early in the match that caused his elbow to bleed profusely.
According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, Reigns got hurt in the opening minutes of the match and continued to wrestle until the end as planned.
“Roman Reigns was injured in that match (at SummerSlam). I haven’t watched the beginning of the match again, but I heard it was relatively early. I don’t know the nature of the injury; I just heard he worked the match while hurt. He got hurt early in the match.” – H/T WrestlePurists
The tribal combat match was a brutal affair that saw both cousins use spears, superkicks, and steel chairs to inflict damage on each other. The match ended when Jimmy Uso pulled Jey Uso off Reigns after Jey hit Reigns with a spear and a Uso splash. Jimmy then superkicks Jey, costing him the match, allowing Reigns to pin him and retain his title.
THIS FRIDAY on #SmackDown
Jimmy Uso returns to the Island of Relevancy to acknowledge the Tribal Chief @WWERomanReigns! pic.twitter.com/20wQns1aHl
— WWE (@WWE) August 8, 2023
Despite the injury, Reigns is expected to appear on SmackDown next Friday night, where Jimmy Uso will return to the Island of Relevancy and acknowledge him as the Tribal Chief in the Hail to the Chief segment. It remains to be seen how Reigns will react to Jimmy’s betrayal of Jey and what will happen to their family feud.