WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash believes Roman Reigns’ involvement in the new Street Fighter movie may have influenced WWE’s decision to keep the World Heavyweight Championship on him at Money in the Bank 2026.
Reigns successfully defended his championship against LA Knight at the October 10 premium live event, despite speculation that Knight could capture the title.
During the latest episode of his Kliq This podcast, Nash discussed the match and offered his theory about why WWE ultimately decided against a championship change.
Nash began by praising both competitors and highlighting the effectiveness of the match’s near falls. “I thought LA Knight was great. I thought Roman was great. I thought there were some great false finishes,” Nash said. However, Nash suggested that WWE may have considered Reigns’ upcoming Hollywood promotional commitments when determining the outcome. “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.”
According to Nash, having Reigns attend the film’s premiere as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion would provide WWE with a more valuable promotional opportunity than having him appear shortly after losing the championship. “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’?”
Nash argued that major Hollywood opportunities remain significant moments for professional wrestlers, particularly when they can represent their promotion while holding its top 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,” he explained.
The former WWE Champion went on to suggest that, when considering the timing of the film’s release and the promotional opportunities involved, Reigns retaining the championship would have been a logical business decision. “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.”
The new Street Fighter movie, which also features WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes, was released on October 16, 2026.
The film currently holds a 40% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
While Nash believes Reigns’ Hollywood involvement may have factored into WWE’s decision, his comments represent personal speculation rather than confirmed information regarding the company’s creative plans.
WWE has not publicly indicated that Reigns’ role in Street Fighter influenced the outcome of his championship defense against LA Knight.
