5 times Roman Reigns attacked WWE authority figures

Roman Reigns hit Vince McMahon with a Superman Punch
Roman Reigns hit Vince McMahon with a Superman Punch

The biggest move of the 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-Up was saved until the final segment of SmackDown Live when Roman Reigns interrupted Elias and Vince McMahon to become the final addition to the blue brand’s roster.

Before the show, WWE had teased that Vince would announce “the biggest acquisition in SmackDown Live history” during the episode. Then, to the disappointment of the Montreal crowd, he revealed that person to be Elias.

Reigns soon appeared and immediately made an impression by hitting WWE’s resident guitarist with an uppercut and a Superman Punch. He was then confronted by Vince, who received a Superman Punch of his own before falling into Elias’ arms.

As one of the most prominent Superstars on WWE programming in the last six-and-a-half years, it is only natural that Reigns has been involved in physical altercations with General Managers and the higher-ups within WWE on a few occasions.

In this article, let’s take a look at five specific incidents where “The Big Dog” attacked authority figures.


#5 Brad Maddox

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Brad Maddox burst onto the WWE scene in October 2012 as the crooked referee in the CM Punk vs. Ryback WWE Championship match at Hell In A Cell. The unknown newcomer hit Ryback with a low-blow, helping Punk to retain his title in the process, and he went on to become an on/off authority figure on Raw and SmackDown between February 2013 and May 2014.

Towards the end of his time as WWE’s on-screen decision-maker, Maddox took over as General Manager on the April 25, 2014 episode of SmackDown. Most blue brand shows in that era were nothing more than glorified live events, but this episode was particularly memorable because it was the night when The Shield wreaked havoc over the rest of the roster to send a message to Evolution.

Some of the highlights included a Triple Powerbomb on Fandango off the stage area and a 3-on-5 victory in the main event, and they were also involved in an altercation with Maddox backstage earlier in the night.

Roman Reigns picked the GM up by his tie and launched him over a sofa, knocking a Batista poster off the wall, and then Dean Ambrose followed up with a flurry of punches and kicks.

#4 Triple H

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After Roman Reigns split from The Shield and became one of the most polarising figures that WWE has ever seen, he finally won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the first time when he defeated Dean Ambrose for the vacant title at Survivor Series 2015.

During this time, Triple H had repeatedly attempted to persuade Reigns to join The Authority. “The Big Dog” refused multiple times on Raw and he did so again following his victory at Survivor Series when he hit “The Game” with a spear.

Sadly for Reigns, Sheamus appeared with his Money In The Bank contract and successfully cashed in to end the new champion’s tenure with the title after just 5 minutes and 15 seconds.

After attacking Triple H – WWE’s top authority figure at the time – at Survivor Series, Reigns went one step further the next month at TLC. Once again, he was screwed out of a title match, this time by Sheamus’ League of Nations buddies, so the former Shield member reacted by viciously assaulting HHH with a steel chair.

#3 Stephanie McMahon

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The rivalry between Roman Reigns and Triple H continued at the 2016 Royal Rumble, where HHH won Reigns’ WWE Championship in the 30-man Rumble match to become a 14-time world champion.

Two months later, after “The Big Dog” defeated Dean Ambrose and Brock Lesnar in a Triple Threat #1 contender match at Fastlane, the long-term rivals finally met one-on-one in the main event of WrestleMania 32.

Reigns won the match, ending HHH’s 70-day reign as WWE champion, and arguably the most notable moment from the 27-minute encounter came when Stephanie McMahon attempted to get involved towards the end.

Standing alongside the referee and Triple H in the ring, she found herself in harm’s way when both men moved to the side and watched on as Reigns sent her crashing to the mat with one of the most famous spears he has ever delivered.

The majority of the match was hijacked by irrelevant chants of “Nakamura”, “NXT” and whatever else the fans could think of, but Reigns’ spear on Stephanie was one of the standout moments that earned applause from the crowd.

#2 Baron Corbin

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Baron Corbin ditched his stale “Lone Wolf” persona after WrestleMania 34 and he became an authority figure on Raw between June-December 2018. First, he was the ‘Constable’, then he was ‘acting General Manager’, and he called himself ‘General Manager-elect’ before he was relieved of his duties towards the end of the year.

During the ‘Constable’ phase of his time as an authority figure, Corbin was present backstage on an episode of Raw when Kurt Angle informed Roman Reigns that he had to be escorted from the building to avoid a confrontation with Brock Lesnar.

Reigns had already reluctantly agreed to leave with police officers when he came face-to-face with a smirking Corbin. Before he was led away by the officers, “The Big Dog” had the last laugh by landing a huge right hand to the Constable’s face.

Needless to say, Corbin did not take kindly to the surprise attack, and he tried to gain revenge one month later when he unsuccessfully challenged Reigns for the Universal Championship on Raw.

#1 Vince McMahon

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The inspiration for this article obviously comes from Roman Reigns’ Superman Punch on Vince McMahon, but this week’s attack at the end of SmackDown Live was not the first time that the four-time WrestleMania main-eventer has been involved in a physical confrontation with his boss.

Back in December 2015, Vince sat at ringside to watch on as Reigns challenged Sheamus for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on an episode of Raw.

Sheamus’ fellow League of Nations members (Rusev, Alberto Del Rio and Wade Barrett) all got involved in an attempt to prevent Reigns from picking up the victory, but the former Shield member did everything in his power to fend the heels off.

When Vince tried to interfere towards the end, Reigns left the WWE chairman sprawled out on the ring apron after hitting him with a Superman Punch. He then went on to defeat Sheamus to win the title for the second time in his career.

Meet the man who called CM Punk the softest man alive HERE