Sidney Akeem (Reggie) Says He Was Originally Supposed To Main Event WrestleMania With Sasha Banks & Bianca Belair

In 2021, Bianca Belair challenged Sasha Banks for the SmackDown Women’s Championship in the Night One main event of WrestleMania 37. This was just the second time women had ever headlined WrestleMania, and no woman has main evented the show ever since, making it a very historic matchup. However, things were nearly very different as it is claimed that WWE planned a triple threat match… with a man. 

On the road to WrestleMania, “Reggie” or “Reginald” was involved in the storyline between Banks & Belair, with this poorly received storyline overshadowed by the acclaimed match. Sidney Akeem (the former Reggie), has revealed in an interview on Rewind, Recap and Relive, that Vince McMahon originally planned to have Reggie added to the match in order to make it a triple threat.

“I almost main evented WrestleMania. It was an intergender match. If I would have been in this match, I would have gotten so much heat from everyone because this was a huge match, a first. Vince wanted a triple threat between Sasha, Bianca, and myself. I was with Carmella, and she was feuding with Sasha. Bianca came into the picture and Vince was saying something like, ‘I want you to play the role like you’re in love with Sasha. You want to buy her puppy.’ This is basically me getting away from Carmella because Sasha had beaten Carmella so many times and I just got enamored with Sasha, so Carmella fired me, and I was supposed to fall in love with Sasha.

“Vince calls all of us into the office; me, Sasha, and Bianca with some producers and writers there. He says, ‘This is what I’m thinking. Reggie buys her a dog. She loves you. You’re playing in the middle. You have an endgame. You come out and announce that this is no longer a singles, this is a triple threat.’ When he said that, Sasha had a look on her face, and Bianca had the same look on her face. I was like [blank stare] ‘I don’t know what the hell is happening right now. I’m not going to look at anyone or say anything.’ Vince said, ‘Sasha and Reginald, you have great chemistry.’ Sasha kept asking Vince, ‘What is this chemistry?’ ‘I don’t know, just chemistry.’ ‘What makes us have this chemistry?’ ‘I don’t know, damnit, chemistry!’ We didn’t get an answer, just chemistry. They came to their senses. It would have been stupid to throw me into that match. They went on to have a great match that will live in WWE history for a long time.”

Reggie ultimately left WWE a few years later as his contract was not renewed in 2024 after working under a new gimmick, SCRYPTS. 

H/T Fightful