Triple H Faces a 2026 Reckoning: John Cena Exits, Roman Reigns Goes Part-Time
As the year closes, WWE faces a star-power crisis: John Cena is long since Hollywood-bound, Roman Reigns is trending part-time, and Triple H needs a new franchise workhorse—fast.
WWE is staring down a familiar problem: the faces who carried the company are aging out or barely around, and the next wave of true main-event anchors is not fully baked. With the calendar winding down, Triple H has to figure out who actually carries the load week-to-week, not just pops a rating twice a year.
How we got here
John Cena was the guy through the mid-2010s. Then he did what top WWE stars tend to do when they hit that level: he went part-time and moved to Hollywood. Roman Reigns followed that same playbook and only pops up a handful of times a year now.
Back when Vince McMahon was calling the shots, Cena stepped up after The Rock left for movies, Stone Cold Steve Austin was forced out with a career-ending injury, and Brock Lesnar walked out of WWE. CM Punk could have been that next long-term centerpiece, but his relationship with management imploded.
That vacuum birthed The Shield. Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose broke in as a unit, then splintered off once they were big enough to stand on their own. Ambrose left over creative and other issues and reinvented himself in AEW as Jon Moxley. WWE rebuilt Rollins into The Visionary and elevated Reigns into The Tribal Chief, effectively running RAW and SmackDown on their star power for years. Lately, though, WWE has eased off making larger-than-life figures, in part because the second someone blows up, Hollywood calls. The pipeline thins, the schedule gets lighter, and here we are.
The current pinch
Here is where it gets especially messy: Roman, despite being the company ace, is working so little that he is even opening premium live events instead of headlining them. That is a wild sentence to type, but it sums up the moment. And fans feel it.
'This show is so lifeless!!!! No Seth, Roman, Punk, CENA! No stars to carry the show... #WWERaw' - @bobbymonsoon215, Oct 21, 2025
TKO-owned WWE has Cody Rhodes as the standard-bearer on SmackDown. On RAW, Seth Rollins was supposed to be the constant. Then The Architect got hurt, and suddenly there is a big, obvious void. You can stock a roster with talent all day; without a few true main-eventers, casuals tune out.
Where the women have it figured out
The women’s side is doing a better job with depth. Stephanie Vaquer stepped right into the spot Naomi left. IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley are built to take the ball and run. Over on SmackDown, if Tiffany Stratton is out, you can credibly pivot to Jade Cargill, Alexa Bliss, and a couple more without melting down the show. That is the model the men’s side needs to copy, fast.
Who Triple H should bet on next
- Bron Breakker
The Dog of WWE wrestles like a wrecking ball who loves contact. During his second Intercontinental title run, he repeatedly fended off The Judgment Day when they swarmed him. Since aligning with The Vision, WWE has basically started marketing him as a future WrestleMania headliner. Dropping Seth Rollins put him right into the World Heavyweight Championship conversation, even if he is butting heads with Adam Pearce on TV. The only caveat: he still needs a bit of polish on the mic. The ceiling is obvious. - LA Knight
The second he ditched the Max Dupri persona, the crowd rocket-strapped him. Ever since he pushed Roman Reigns for the WWE Championship at Crown Jewel 2023, fans have been yelling to put him in the world title picture. He gets a guaranteed pop on entrance, his 'YEAH!' call-and-response is money, and he has the in-ring tools and look to hang on top. Reality check: you cannot slow-play this forever. If Triple H does not move soon, Knight’s prime window shrinks. - Gunther
He is already operating at that level. The Ring General is a two-time World Heavyweight Champion, a vicious promo who delights in cutting opponents down, and he is not shy about needling legends like Goldberg and Bret Hart. In the ring, he has that Brock Lesnar aura where you just assume he is not losing. Since hitting the main roster, only Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, Jey Uso, and CM Punk have pinned him. If you are looking for the safest bet to put the company on, it is him.
Wild card to watch
Jacob Fatu, the Samoan Werewolf, wrestles like a runaway truck and almost never gets finished clean. The hesitation is his promo reps are limited, and he is currently sidelined by a dental procedure. The expectation is he will be back after the calendar flips to 2026.
The bottom line
Triple H needs multiple top-of-the-card options ready at all times, because injuries and part-time schedules happen. Cena is essentially done as a full-time fix, Roman is barely around, and RAW is missing its anchor while Seth heals up. The women’s division shows how to build reliable depth; now the men’s side needs the same redundancy.
So, does WWE thread this needle or keep taping together shows around absences? And do you see your favorite name above when you picture a future WrestleMania main event?