5 moments that cemented Roman Reigns as a top star in WWE

When he burst onto the scene as a member of The Shield, Roman Reigns seemed destined to become one of the top stars in professional wrestling. However, the audience turned on him during a disastrous babyface run, and his character was in need of rejuvenation.

Vince McMahon finally relented in 2020 and turned the Georgia Tech product heel. This decision proved to be a masterstroke as Reigns has come into his own during his run as The Tribal Chief. His work on the microphone has improved tremendously, and he's one of the most entertaining performers in professional wrestling.

Roman Reigns will also headline The Show of Shows with Brock Lesnar in a title unification match, which has featured one of the best builds to a WrestleMania main event in a few years.

With that being said, here are five moments that cemented Roman Reigns as a top star in WWE:

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#5 His impactful debut with The Shield

The Shield made an impactful debut at Survivor Series 2012 when they interfered in the main event and helped CM Punk retain the WWE Championship. The trio were immediately presented as a high-priority act and it was evident that all three members had the potential to become main eventers.

The upstart faction had a meteoric rise to the top of the card. They even stole the show in their first pay-per-view bout at TLC 2012. While Jon Moxley and Seth Rollins have made their mark in professional wrestling, Roman Reigns has become a bigger star than both of them.

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#4 Joining forces with Paul Heyman

Even though there was little doubt regarding Roman Reigns' talent, WWE jumped the gun and attempted to position him as the face of the company too soon. The audience was still invested in seeing Daniel Bryan as the top babyface and rejected the Georgia Tech product.

After assaulting Braun Strowman and The Fiend at SummerSlam 2020, Reigns aligned himself with Paul Heyman and finally turned heel. The Tribal Chief has been presented as the focal point of WWE programming since then and has consistently been one of the most entertaining performers in all of professional wrestling.

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#3 Pinning Edge and Daniel Bryan simultaneously

The Tribal Chief reigned supreme at WrestleMania 37

After winning the 2021 Royal Rumble, Edge challenged Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 37. Daniel Bryan also finagled his way into the match, making it a triple threat. The circumstances had the fans attendance dreaming of a repeat of The American Dragon's heroics from The Show of Shows seven years prior.

The stars put on an incredible match and took the fans on a thrill-a-minute ride. While Edge and Bryan appeared to have hope of coming away with the title at various points, Reigns came away with an emphatic victory, stacking his foes on top of each other and pinning them simultaneously.

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#2 Beating John Cena at SummerSlam 2021

After Roman Reigns retained the Universal Championship in the main event of Money in the Bank 2021, he was confronted by the returning John Cena. The West Newbury native had been away from WWE programming since WrestleMania 36 and was eyeing a record-breaking 17th world title.

After a heated build, the two megastars collided in the main event of SummerSlam in front of over 50,000 people at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Cena proved that he hadn't missed a beat and played his part in an excellent match. Reigns retained the title after two Superman Punches and a Spear.

However, The Tribal Chief's celebrations were short lived as he was immediately confronted by Brock Lesnar.

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#1 Roman Reigns has had the longest reign as Universal Champion

The Tribal Chief's reign as Universal Champion has been extraordinary

On January 16, 2022, Roman Reigns broke Brock Lesnar's record for the longest reign as Universal Champion at 504 days. He's WWE's longest-reigning world champion of the modern era and the longest since Hulk Hogan in 1984.

If The Tribal Chief retains the strap against The Beast Incarnate at WrestleMania, he might hold the title for quite a while. Nobody on the main roster is ready to dethrone Reigns, and WWE will want to keep him strong if a rumored match with The Rock comes to fruition down the line.