5 positives from Roman Reigns's WWE run in 2017

Anyone who has (not-so) secretly been hoping for the Roman Reigns project to come to an end must have spent most of 2017 feeling pretty disappointed. It has been quite the year for the Big Dog, coming face to face with legends, adding more silverware to his collection and teaming up with some old friends.

In a continuation of our Positive/Negative 2017 series, we turn our attention to WWE's resident Superman, asking what kind of a year he has had.

As Vince McMahon continues to scratch his head over how best to transform Reigns into the next John Cena, here are 5 positives we have listed from his run in 2017:

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#1 Eliminating The Undertaker from the Royal Rumble

Passing of the torch?

Given the fact that Vince McMahon still hasn't been able to win over Roman Reigns with the WWE Universe, the current policy appears to be to create big attention-catching moments that get the biggest reaction possible - positive or negative.

Reigns is here to stay and whether we like it or not, most of the WWE's main event storylines are going to be built around him.

At the Royal Rumble earlier this year, we were treated to a genuinely shocking moment when the Big Dog unceremoniously dumped the Undertaker over the top rope. The scene felt extra special given the fact that it was quite the novelty in itself to have Taker participate in the 30-man bout in the first place.

Most of the attention for the match was directed at Goldberg, Lesnar and The Phenom who all had interactions with each other. The fact that Roman came in right at the end of the match to stand his ground against the company's greatest performers was a clear sign that he had made it in the wrestling big leagues.

It might not have been the moment we wanted, but in terms of the company's future, it was definitely the one we needed.

#2 His post-Wrestlemania promo on RAW

Less is more.

This time last year, the idea of Roman Reigns being praised for a promo would have sounded fairly ludicrous. One of the major problems with Reigns as the WWE's top performer is that not many trust him to lead the company with his mic skills. He might have the look and a passable wrestling style, but he will probably never hold a candle to the great talkers of the past.

That being said, Reigns probably cut one of the most effective promos of the year on the post-Wrestlemania episode of RAW. While the audience was engaged in a collective rendition of 'thank you Taker', Roman's music hit and instantly triggered the loudest chorus of boos ever heard in a WWE arena.

Reigns was then forced to stand in the middle of the ring while the crowd repeatedly attacked him, with all manner of obscenities included. Every time the Big Dog raised the microphone to his mouth the boos got louder, drowning him out.

Whether it was pre-planned or not, Reign's promo only ended up being five words long - 'this is my yard now'. Despite the deafening hatred circling around the arena, Roman still managed to walk away from the situation looking like a man who was ready to get on with the rest of his career.

Sometimes you don't need to put together 15-20 minute monologues to deliver an effective promo, there are occasions where a handful of carefully selected words will do the job just as well.

#3 Reuniting with the Shield

Reunited,

It might be hard to believe now, but there was a time when the prospect of Roman Reigns becoming the next big thing actually excited fans. 2014 was a very different time as far as the Big Dog was concerned - his record breaking display at the Royal Rumble, for example, even had people chanting his name.

A major contributing factor to this was the popularity of the Shield, the three-man stable of Reigns, Ambrose and Rollins. Their post-Wrestlemania 30 run involved a very favourable feud with Evolution before the shocking Rollins heel turn forced the trio to go their separate ways.

In an attempt to finally get Reigns into the babyface position he is supposed to be fulfilling, the WWE decided to relive the magic of 2014 by reuniting the Shield earlier this year. With all three men babyfaces once again, the move made a lot of sense, as Rollins and Ambrose, for their part, were also struggling to make much of themselves as singles stars.

For a few brief moments, at least, Reigns was reminded of what it felt like to be in the WWE Universe's good books. Whether or not this sentiment will carry him into 2018 is another matter, but as far as storytelling is concerned, the Shield reunion was a positive move by the company.

#4 Becoming a Grandslam Champion

Numbers don't lie.

In order to be considered as one of the biggest names in Professional Wrestling, numbers and stats count for a lot. People who were not lucky enough to have lived through the careers of greats like Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels will at least get some sense of how much of an impact they had on the business by hearing of their past accomplishments.

So it was important for Roman Reigns to enter that exclusive club of WWE superstars who can claim to be grandslam champions - men who have held every major title.

With Roman's Intercontinental Championship victory this year, his name was officially cemented in the annuls of Pro Wrestling. He has now been trusted with all of the company's silverware, something nobody will be able to take away from him.

Sure, it did not make a lot of sense in itself for Reigns to become an IC Champion and it may have angered a lot of people to see Miz's historic reign ended in such unceremonious fashion, but this was about building for the future more than anything else.

In 10-15 years from now, all of the younger fans who have gravitated to Reigns as their new hero will be telling stories of the man who they saw add the final Championship belt to his collection.

#5 His feud with Braun Strowman

The feud of the year.

Every year Pro Wrestling has that one feud that stands out above the rest. In 2013 we saw Daniel Bryan come face to face with the Authority, leading to a huge revitalization of interest in the company. A year later, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins flooded fans with promise for the future by piecing together one of the greatest rivalries of the New Era over the WWE Championship.

As far as 2017 is concerned, the signature feud has to be Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman. It is unclear how long this programme was supposed to last or now much Vince really had invested in it. But for one reason or another, the two men gradually picked up more and more momentum and what we got as a result was pure gold.

Some will say that Strowman is the luckiest man in wrestling, feuding with Reigns at such a crucial time when the fans were desperate to place their energy into anyone other than the Big Dog. But given the fact that the Monster Amongst Men is still putting in appearances in the company's main event scene, all the credit must go to him as an individual performer in his own right.

Something about this rivalry engaged people's imaginations and elicited some of the loudest reactions of the year. And things all came to a head at the Great Balls of Fire PPV where the two future icons met in an Ambulance match.

There's a reason why this made our top 5 list of 2017's greatest matches, the action was brutal and fun in equal measure and both came away looking fully capable of carrying the company forward into the future.

Let's hope we get much more of Roman vs. Strowman in the years to come.