WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash believes Roman Reigns‘ involvement in the Street Fighter movie may have influenced WWE’s decision to have him retain the World Heavyweight Championship against LA Knight.
Roman Reigns successfully defended his championship against LA Knight at WWE Money in the Bank on October 10, 2026, despite speculation that the challenger could leave the event with the title. On an episode of his Kliq This podcast, Nash praised both competitors before offering his theory on why WWE ultimately kept the championship on Reigns.
“I thought LA Knight was great. I thought Roman was great. I thought there were some great false finishes. Come Monday, Street Fighter has its big premiere in Los Angeles … It’s Street Fighter. You’ve got Roman as one of the featured guys,” Nash said.
Kevin Nash Believes Roman Reigns’ Street Fighter Role Influenced WWE’s Decision
Kevin Nash suggested that WWE may have wanted Roman Reigns to appear at the film’s premiere as its reigning World Heavyweight Champion rather than someone who had recently lost the title. With Reigns playing Akuma in Street Fighter, Nash argued that maintaining his championship status would provide additional publicity for both WWE and the film.
“Do you want the water cooler jargon to be, ‘Hey, that guy in the movie, he used to be the WWE champion up until Saturday when he got beat,’ or do you just say, ‘Hey, man, that’s the WWE champion’?”
The Hall of Famer explained that opportunities for professional wrestlers to appear at major Hollywood premieres are relatively rare, making Reigns’ involvement particularly significant. Nash believes WWE would have recognised the promotional value of having one of its biggest stars attend the premiere while still holding a world championship.
“This is one of those moments in life where we don’t get these moments as pro wrestlers very often, to be on a red carpet and to be a star and to be our champion,” Nash added. “If you thought about it logically and had all this information at your fingertips, you could lay some money. Safe money that they’re probably going to want him to be the champ.”
Reigns’ victory over Knight came just days before the film’s Los Angeles premiere, with Street Fighter subsequently arriving in cinemas on October 16, 2026. The film also features fellow WWE star Cody Rhodes, who portrays Guile.
While Nash believes the movie’s release timing may explain WWE’s booking decision, his comments remain speculative. WWE has not publicly indicated that Reigns’ Hollywood commitments played a role in the outcome of his championship defence against Knight.
Nevertheless, Nash’s theory highlights the potential crossover benefits of having WWE’s top stars represent the company in major Hollywood productions while continuing to hold prominent television positions.
