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The Roman Reigns versus Brock Lesnar rivalry is the most storied feud of the last decade. It has lasted seven years and filled multiple pages and chapters, with the most recent one being written this past Friday on SmackDown.
After Roman Reigns defeated Riddle in his first championship defense since WrestleMania 38, he told Minneapolis to acknowledge him. They acknowledged that he was in trouble, for out came hometown hero Lesnar to a thunderous ovation to confront the champion.
The Beast extended his hand for his longtime rival to shake after an intense staredown. The Tribal Chief fell for it easily, and no sooner had he done it did Lesnar hoist him up and plant him with a devastating F5 to exact some revenge for his loss at WrestleMania 38.
WWE later announced that the two titans would battle at SummerSlam in a Last Man Standing match, sending expectations through the roof.
Since Reigns and Lesnar first met at WrestleMania 31 seven years ago, their rivalry has been a staple of WWE's product. It is the most high-profile feud of the modern era, and even non-wrestling fans are aware of it in some capacity. However, given the long and storied history of the feud, there are a couple details that fans may not remember off their heads.
On that note, here are four things you may have forgotten about Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar's explosive rivalry.
#4. On our list of forgotten things about Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar's feud: Reigns broke Lesnar's Universal Championship record while feuding with him
From WrestleMania 33 to SummerSlam 2018, Brock Lesnar held the Universal Championship for a staggering 504 days. It was a record-breaking Universal Championship reign, but records are meant to be broken, and that's what Roman Reigns did with his own title reign.
Reigns won the Universal Championship at Payback 2020 and still has it around his waist. He has held it for over 650 days now. A lesser-known thing about the reign is that it beat out Lesnar's record while The Tribal Chief was feuding with him at the beginning of 2022. This is a poetic little stat, and one The Beast will be eager to avenge come SummerSlam.
#3. They wrestled the shortest SummerSlam main event in history
Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar will lock horns at this year's SummerSlam in a Last Man Standing match. Both men will look to make history when the show rolls around, but a slightly lesser-known piece of information is that they did it four years ago.
Reigns versus Lesnar main-evented SummerSlam 2018, and the match holds the distinction of being the shortest SummerSlam main event in WWE history. Their Universal Championship bout was explosive from start to finish, but it lasted just six minutes and ten seconds. Perhaps not a glorious piece of history, but history nonetheless. Maybe The Big Dog will care more than The Beast, having beaten him that night to become Universal Champion.
#2. Lesnar was angry about the WrestleMania 34 main event
Brock Lesnar walked into WrestleMania 34's main event for a rematch against Roman Reigns that was three years in the making. They failed to decide who the better man between them was at WrestleMania 31 and got a second chance at it in 2018.
Given WWE persistently pushing Reigns towards the Universal Championship and his victory over The Undertaker the year prior, everyone thought he would get his crowning moment and conquer Lesnar for good. However, the company pulled a swerve and had The Conqueror retain. The result was met with silence rather than anything resembling a good reaction.
WWE 24 showed footage of a furious Lesnar upset about winning the match and taking his frustrations out on Vince McMahon. Walking to the back, he threw the Universal Championship at the WWE Chairman in a fit of anger. No one said a word to him as he walked away, perhaps justifiably so.
#1. Roman Reigns has never pinned Brock Lesnar clean
This is perhaps the most interesting and least-known fact about the Roman Reigns versus Brock Lesnar rivalry. Reigns holds three victories over The Mayor of Suplex City one-on-one, but all of them have an asterisk next to their labels.
Reigns' first win over Lesnar was at SummerSlam 2018, where Braun Strowman's presence distracted The Conqueror long enough for The Guy to blast him with a Spear and take the win. Fast-forward to Crown Jewel 2021, and he had to take the help of The Usos to pin The Beast's shoulders to the mat for the three-count. The third and final one took place at WrestleMania 38, where he had to take the help of Paul Heyman to prevail over his opponent.
Given how long Reigns played the role of a resilient babyface, it's surprising to note that he never got the job done against Lesnar in clean fashion. Even as the dominant Tribal Chief who "smashes" one and all, he has failed to do it. Will he finally take a clean win over his illustrious opponent at SummerSlam 2022? Only time will tell.
