Roman Reigns‘ next World Heavyweight Championship defense is already generating buzz after WWE announced a tournament to crown his challenger for the September 14 edition of RAW in Mexico City.

While the field has yet to be revealed, one name has already emerged in early reports. Nevertheless, nothing is official just yet.

The tournament, featuring luchadores from WWE and AAA, begins on the August 10 episode of RAW and will determine who steps into the ring with “The Tribal Chief” in one of WWE’s biggest crossover matches to date.

Following AAA General Manager Rey Mysterio’s announcement, Bryan Alvarez discussed WWE’s reported plans on Wrestling Observer Live. According to Alvarez, El Grande Americano is currently the “rumored” favorite to win the tournament, although he emphasized that the plan is far from finalized.

“I can tell you this. The rumored opponent — unconfirmed, not locked in — the rumored opponent is El Grande Americano. That can certainly change.”

If those plans remain in place, El Grande Americano could enter the title match with extra momentum. He is already scheduled to challenge Dominik Mysterio for the AAA Mega Championship at TripleMania 34 on September 13, just one night before RAW takes place at Arena CDMX in Mexico City.

Alvarez also questioned whether Reigns defeating El Grande Americano would be the right outcome, suggesting WWE could protect the challenger with a different finish.

“I don’t think Roman Reigns should beat El Grande. They could always do some sort of schmoz finish. Or they could just have him face Penta or somebody. So we’ll find out.”



The announcement follows Reigns’ successful World Heavyweight Championship defense against Seth Rollins at SummerSlam. It also explains Rey Mysterio’s backstage interaction with Reigns on the August 3 episode of RAW, which initially left fans wondering what the Hall of Famer wanted to discuss.

For now, WWE has only confirmed the tournament and the championship match in Mexico City. Whether El Grande Americano ultimately earns the opportunity remains uncertain, but according to Alvarez, he is the leading rumored choice as the road to Mexico City gets underway. It may not be locked in, but the speculation is already picking up plenty of lucha momentum.