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Ever since The Shield broke up, all three former members have broken out to become huge singles stars. All of them have gone on to become Grand Slam Champions in WWE by winning every possible title in the company. To simply show how important Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns have been for WWE let me present you with a simple statistic:
There have been 59 WWE pay-per- view events since The Shield broke up after Payback 2014. Out of the said 59, at least one member of the Shield has been in the main event of 39 events. Out of the remaining 20, there have been four Royal Rumbles. There had also been six Smackdown exclusive PPVs in 2017-18 which no members of The Shield on the roster. A grand total of 10 PPVs have not seen a member of the Shield in the main event since June 2014. That is surreal.
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But out of the 39 PPVs main-evented by Shield members, Roman Reigns had been in 20. Most among the Shield and anybody on the roster. The over-pushing of Roman Reigns has resulted in several feuds for 'The Big Dog' (Enter Michael Cole voice here) atop the card as well as on the mid-card. He is set to face Lesnar in the main event of Summerslam on Sunday as well. Let us take a look at five of his best and five of his worst feuds in the four years he has had as a solo performer.
Honorable Mentions:
Worst vs Rusev - Rusev was chosen as Roman Reigns' mid-card opponent once Reigns was relegated to the position in mid-2016. The two feuded for the US Title and had 3 PPV matches. Their first match at Summerslam didn't start due to a brawl. The next two were won by Roman convincingly. Roman would carry the US Title and challenge for the Universal Title at the same time, thus turning the US Title into an afterthought. The feud did nothing but bury both Rusev and the US Title.
Best vs John Cena - John Cena returned to Raw after Summerslam 2017 and immediately involved himself in a feud with Roman Reigns. The duo provided one of the best promo segments of 2017 as both shot from the hip with little regard to Kayfabe. The promos were enough to generate enough fan interest for their match at No Mercy. The match was really good although it had an over-booked finish.
Worst vs Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho - Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns had 2 matches for the Universal title in late 2016 and early 2017. The problem was that Reigns held US Champion at the time and that title was completely forgotten about. The matches did nothing for KO as he was made to look stupid and weak in front of Roman.
Every win KO got was via blatant interference from Jericho or Braun Strowman. Roman finally lost his US title to Jericho in a very poorly booked match on Raw to end their feud. The only good thing that came off of this was the launching of Roman's feud with Braun Strowman.
Best vs Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose - This would have been on the main list but the feud wasn't really personal. Roman was the WWE World Champion when Seth returned from injury to challenge him. He beat Roman and became the champion only for Ambrose to cash in his Money in the Bank contract on him, something Ambrose had won barely an hour ago.
The result was all three members of the Shield holding the WWE Championship in the span of a few minutes. Due to the 2016 draft, Ambrose headed to Smackdown while the other two stayed on Raw. A triple threat match was booked between the three at Battleground which was amazing. Ambrose retained to put an end to their feud.
#5 Worst - Brock Lesnar
Whether you consider their 2015 Wrestlemania feud or their 2018 one, both are just bad. If nothing, the 2018 feud at least had a proper build up to it. Their 2015 match really had no build as WWE didn't expect Reigns to get such an incredible amount of heat from the fans. Their only face off on Raw ended with the pair playing tug of war with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
Their 2015 feud ended with an incredible match at WrestleMania which really nullifies the poor build up. Their 2018 match, however, was far from that, so that is the one I will be considering. A complete snooze-fest for 20 minutes, the match was boring and very poorly booked. Brock continued his monotonous suplex laden style while Roman mounted his usual Superman-esque comebacks. The match ended after Lesnar hit a 4th F5 on Roman for the pinfall.
We thought it would end there but no. The feud would continue to The Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia where Roman would technically defeat Brock but due to a 'refereeing error' Brock would retain. We thought it would end there but, again, no. They are booked to fight again at SummerSlam as mentioned earlier. Hopefully, that will be the last time we ever see Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar in a ring together.
#5 Best - The Undertaker
This should be controversial, but I think the feud between Reigns and Undertaker was really good. If we forget for a moment that it was Roman Reigns on one side, the feud had a great build up and a good pay off. The match was weak but given Taker's physical condition no one really expected the match to be a classic. What made this match awesome was the aftermath of this feud. Reigns' 5-word promo on next night's Raw and his character portrayal thereafter was better than any Roman Reigns we had seen till then.
The feud began at Royal Rumble 2017 where Reigns eliminated The Undertaker and mouthed "This is my Yard" to the camera. From there, the two met in several segments on Raw where they slowly built up to their WrestleMania encounter. The segments were good and some channelled the old Undertaker with the creepy graveyard videos. The match main event Wrestlemania and was nothing special with Roman not being able to carry Taker to a good match. But the ending to the match was one of the most emotional moments in WWE history.
The pay off of the match was the biggest part of the rivalry as it elevated Roman to a role he is much more suited to play. Rather than his underdog babyface thing, his current gimmick is much more suited to The Big Dog and we can be thankful to this rivalry for it.
#4 Worst - Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe vs Roman Reigns seemed like a rivalry destined for greatness. Both men are ironically named Joe and are of Samoan descent. Both are great workers in the ring and possess that natural charisma required to shine at the big stage. Reigns and Joe somewhat feuded for the entirety of late 2017 and the start of 2018.
Joe had always maintained a presence in Reigns' personal issues while the Big Dog had been feuding with other people. The situation came to a head when they were booked in a singles match at Backlash 2018, which would be their last match as Joe headed to Smackdown.
Reigns and Joe had a few Raw matches previously. While every one of those matches has been great, their match at Backlash was one of the worst PPV main events ever. Both men basically used rest holds for 20 minutes before Roman hit a spear to end the match. The decision to put the match on last was universally panned as well. Their very poor and lacklustre performance even made the fans attending the event walk out during the match. Usually, a bad match provokes the crowd to chant names of other people, but here they straight up left.
With viewership already dwindling, Backlash basically cost WWE millions in TV ratings and the main event between Reigns and Joe is partially responsible for it. The best moment in their entire feud was Joe's promos. His intensity is unmatched. Although both men still are main event level talent with both of them having World Title matches at SummerSlam, this match at Backlash hurt them a lot.
#4 Best - The Miz
There is just something about The Miz. Almost everything he touches turns into gold. Whether it's his ability to blur the line between kayfabe and reality, or whether he is just that talented. Reigns was thrown into a feud with The Miz in September of 2017 solely for one purpose: The Shield reunion.
But their feud would continue till January and they would have some fantastic matches. Their rivalry would begin when Miz insulted Reigns on an episode of Miz TV and they would have a match with Reigns winning but receiving a beat-down afterwards. Things got interesting right after that.
Cesaro and Sheamus got involved and they just happened to be feuding with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose for the Tag Titles. The heated rivalry was coming to a head when the final piece of the puzzle was introduced: Braun Strowman. On an electric episode of Raw, Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose reunited to battle the 4 heels and was greeted with one of the biggest pops of the year.
Kane would somehow end up on the Heel team but before the match happened, Roman would get ill and miss the PPV. He returned for Survivor Series where The Shield challenged the New Day and won. From there Roman turned his attention to Miz's Intercontinental Championship and won it becoming a Grand Slam champion in the process.
Reigns would hold open challenges with his IC title every week defending against the likes of Jason Jordan, Elias and Samoa Joe. He would carry the title into January where Miz would invoke his rematch clause at Raw 25. In one of the worst episodes of Raw in a long time, Miz beat Reigns in one of the best moments of the show and became an 8-time Intercontinental Champion. Their feud ended there but gave us some incredible moments including The Shield reuniting after 3 years.
#3 Worst - Sheamus
Oh boy. This was so bad it is hard to explain. 2015 was a down time for WWE as Seth Rollins as Champion didn't draw and numbers were dwindling. To make matters worse Seth got injured and a tournament was held to crown the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion at Survivor Series.
Roman Reigns won the tournament and defeated Dean Ambrose in the final to win the vacant World title. But Sheamus cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and won the title from him moments later.
Thus began a convoluted story where WWE attempted to get Roman over by mixing the anti-authority Stone Cold and rising underdog Daniel Bryan characters into him. It didn't work. After losing to Sheamus and his League of Nations, Roman brutalized Triple H at TLC. Then Vince McMahon got himself involved and gave Roman a career vs title match against Sheamus.
In the feud's best moment, Reigns won to a huge ovation from the crowd after assaulting Vince. From there the feud made no sense as Roman was portrayed as a huge underdog who is bigger and stronger than every opponent he faces. He defeated Sheamus on almost every Raw from then on with the odds stacked drastically against him, at the same time portraying an underdog.
The feud culminated when Reigns was forced to defend his title in the Royal Rumble match, after eliminating almost every member of the League of Nations by himself, Roman lasted from #1 to being the runner-up to someone we will come to further down the list.
#3 Best - Bray Wyatt
After Roman Reigns got that overwhelmingly negative reaction in his first WrestleMania Main event, he was slowly sent down the card. Once he was ready for a mid-card feud, everyone's favorite baby-face fodder Bray Wyatt was called upon to fight him. Their rivalry began when Bray cost Roman the Money in The Bank ladder match.
From there, the duo had 4 PPV matches against each other, twice in tag team bouts. The reason why this feud is ranked this high is because this feud was booked just right. Roman didn't win all the time and The Wyatt family looked stronger than ever.
Their first match was at Battleground. Bray Wyatt defeated Reigns after Luke Harper made his return from injury. Their next bout would be at Summerslam where Reigns and Ambrose would defeat Harper and Bray. The next night on Raw, Braun Strowman would debut as the new member of the Wyatt Family.
Reigns went on to lose to the Wyatt Family teaming with Ambrose and the returning Chris Jericho at Night of Champions. Their final encounter was a Hell in a Cell match which Roman won to end the feud. Almost all the matches were great with their Hell in a Cell match being one of the better matches on the card.
The Wyatt family would go on to have high profile feuds with the ECW Originals and The Undertaker. While Roman would go on to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. This feud worked well for both parties involved and elevated them to a higher level than they already were.
#2 Worst - Jinder Mahal
Roman Reigns and Jinder Mahal had a feud in 2018. I think this one sentence alone can make you understand just how bad this was. After a disastrous main event clash with Samoa Joe at Backlash, Reigns needed a different opponent before moving on to Bobby Lashley which eventually lead to Brock Lesnar. Who was chosen as a desperate attempt to get Roman cheered? Jinder Mahal.
Their feud began when Mahal cost Reigns a Money in the Bank qualification match against Sami Zayn and Finn Balor. Roman would attack him backstage and a match between the two was booked at Money in the Bank. The match went on for 15 excruciating minutes. The highlight of the match came when Sunil Singh stood up from his wheelchair, where he was feigning an injury, and Corey Graves shouted out "It's a Miracle." Except for that the match was forgettable and filled with rest holds. Reigns won after hitting a spear and pinning Mahal clean.
This match did nothing for either men as the Big Dog would have gone on to challenge the beast whether he beat Jinder or not and Jinder just got stuck in limbo never to appear on PPV again.
#2 Best - AJ Styles
When AJ Styles lost his WrestleMania debut match against Chris Jericho, a lot of us were concerned about his future. But WWE eased our worries by making him the #1 contender to Roman's WWE World Championship the very next night. What followed was two incredible matches and foreshadowing of one of the best heel runs of the year.
Their first encounter was a regular Champion vs Challenger bout with no personal story involved. But the match was so nicely booked, their rematch felt like the most important match of the year. The match first ended after Reigns was counted out following a Phenomenal forearm through the announce table. Shane McMahon restarted the match with a no count-out stipulation.
But Reigns was disqualified for an accidental low blow. The match was again restarted by Stephanie McMahon, this time with a no DQ stipulation. Gallows and Anderson interfered on Styles' behalf and the Usos came out to even things up for Roman. Roman eventually won after dodging a forearm and hitting a spear.
The second encounter was an Extreme Rules match. Styles had been flirting with a heel turn and played his character perfectly here. The Usos and Gallows & Anderson were an integral part of the match. After all six men had an amazing sequence, Styles and Reigns found themselves alone in the ring. Styles went for a Phenomenal Forearm but Reigns speared him mid-air for the pin. To put the icing on the cake, Seth Rollins made his triumphant return just after the match. Not only did we get two great matches, Reigns went on to have another awesome feud with Seth and Styles started one of the best heel runs in recent memory.
#1 Worst - Triple H
What happens when you throw in two men, who the crowd has no interest in seeing, to fight? That too in the main event of WrestleMania? You get a total disaster. That is exactly what it was when Roman Reigns faced Triple H in the main event of Mania 32. The crowd chanted for Bayley, NXT, Enzo Amore, Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura etc. What felt like a poor Raw match main evented 'Mania in front of the biggest WrestleMania crowd ever.
The two started feuding when Triple H returned to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the Royal Rumble match from Reigns after being kayfabe injured at TLC. He would defend it against Dean Ambrose at Roadblock while Reigns beat Brock Lesnar and Ambrose at Fastlane to get his rematch at 'Mania.
The crowd instantly made it clear that they wanted no part in this match but WWE still tried to make a personal build-up to the match. Reigns and Triple H brutalized each other on Raw to mild reactions from the crowd and finally, when their 'Mania match came up, it was obvious that it would be bad. But no one expected it to be that bad. Widely considered as one of the worst Mania main events of all time, the match was easily the worst PPV match of the year.
The only high point came when Stephanie was speared by Reigns. Reigns eventually overcame the odds and speared The Game for the pinfall. The match was advertised as No DQ but they seemed to forget about that as rope breaks and regular rules were followed. But then Triple H brought in a sledgehammer and the referee did nothing. Everything seemed like a confusing mess and we can't be more glad it's over.
#1 Best - Braun Strowman
Once in a while, a superstar comes up who just has that X-Factor. Braun Strowman was one such individual. Coming in as part of the Wyatt Family, his solo run starting mid 2016 was something we are never going to see again. Easily the most entertaining part of Raw, Braun elevated himself to a entirely different level. His first major singles feud started when he attacked Roman during his Universal Title match at Royal Rumble. They had a match at Fastlane which Roman won giving Braun his first pinfall defeat. But everything changed after Mania.
Once done with Taker, Roman resumed his feud with Braun and this is where Braun became a legend overnight. In an exchange on an episode of Raw, Braun beat down Reigns and injured him. While Reigns was being loaded in an ambulance, Braun attacked the medics and tipped over the entire vehicle with Reigns still in it. Such antics followed in the coming weeks and he defeated Reigns at Payback. Strowman got injured for real after this and he returned to beat Reigns in an Ambulance match. Following the match, Strowman was put in an ambulance and Reigns drove a pickup truck into the said ambulance.
This attitude era style feud elevated both men into legendary status. Braun became the favourite to fight Lesnar for the Universal title instantly. Both men gained a huge amount of credibility following the feud. Their final encounter was in the main event of that year's Summerslam when the pair alongside Samoa Joe challenged Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title putting an end to the year's best feud.
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