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Love him or hate him, Roman Reigns is undoubtedly one of the most successful WWE Superstars of his generation.
On November 18, 2012, three up-and-coming WWE Superstars – Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins – burst onto the scene at Survivor Series. Dressed in all black, the trio helped CM Punk retain the WWE Championship by putting Ryback through an announce desk.
The three men, who later became known as The Shield, established themselves as the top WWE faction of their era. Following their break-up on June 2, 2014, it was clear that every Shield member would achieve huge things as singles competitors.
Roman Reigns, in particular, has exceeded expectations. The Muscle of The Shield was still a rookie when he debuted at Survivor Series. Within three years, he had already won the Royal Rumble, headlined WrestleMania, and won his first WWE Championship.
As of the time of writing, Roman Reigns is a four-time WrestleMania main-eventer. He has also held five World Championships, as well as the Intercontinental Championship, United States Championship, and Tag Team Championship.
Roman Reigns’ most important battle came in October 2018 when he announced that he had been diagnosed with leukemia for the second time. Fortunately, he made a full recovery and returned to action just five months later.
In this article, let’s reflect on Roman Reigns’ career by counting down one backstage story from each of his main-roster years.
#9 How Roman Reigns created his name (2012)
The man behind the Roman Reigns character, Joe Anoa’i, was known as Leakee and Roman Leakee in 2010 and 2011. Three months before his WWE main-roster call-up, the rookie Superstar became known as Roman Reigns for the first time.
Speaking on Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast in 2017, Roman Reigns revealed that Corey Graves had a role in his name change. Graves suggested that his friend should change his surname to Reigns following the departure of Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) talent Calvin Raines.
“I was going through it and Corey Graves, he was down in FCW, still working at that time, he's actually one of my good buddies and our families are like really good friends. He told me, he was like, 'Hey, I heard you saying 'Roman Raines'. What if you spelled it like, 'Reigns', like a king reigns.' And I was like, 'Whoa, I like that.' And there you go. And total heel name too!” [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
Roman Reigns picked up wins over C.J. Parker, Chase Donovan, and Gavin Reid on NXT after his name change. He then joined forces with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins to form The Shield on WWE’s main roster.
#8 Roman Reigns’ reported heat with Randy Orton (2013)
Bryan Alvarez wrote in the F4W Newsletter in July 2013 that Roman Reigns got into a “shouting match” with Randy Orton. Seth Rollins was also reportedly in trouble backstage with WWE’s higher-ups around the same time.
“There was heat on The Shield in recent weeks. It was said that Rollins and Reigns were the two the office was upset with…” [H/T Bleacher Report]
Alvarez added that Roman Reigns allegedly botched a spot with Orton at a WWE live event, leading to a disagreement.
“Another WWE source said the issue with Reigns was that there was a house show tag match which Reigns and Randy Orton were in, and they botched up a spot and got into a shouting match about it backstage. A guy in Reigns' spot arguing with a guy in Randy Orton's spot is a great way to get massive heat on you.”
Although this could have been a coincidence, The Shield were not booked on the main SummerSlam pay-per-view one month after this report. Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins supported Dean Ambrose from ringside during his Kickoff Show match against RVD.
#7 The Undertaker wanted Roman Reigns to end ‘The Streak’ (2014)
Brock Lesnar ended The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania 30, but should that role have gone to Roman Reigns instead?
The Undertaker and Kane agreed on WWE Network show Brothers of Destruction in 2020 that Roman Reigns should have conquered ‘The Streak’. It is worth noting, however, that they did not say when Roman Reigns should have picked up that big win.
In 2014, WWE originally planned for Lesnar to face The Rock at WrestleMania 30. That would have opened up a spot on the card for Roman Reigns to potentially face The Undertaker.
Either way, whether he meant 2014 (WrestleMania 30) or 2017 (WrestleMania 33), ‘Taker wanted The Big Dog to end his legendary winning run.
#6 Bret Hart had a huge compliment for Roman Reigns (2015)
Roman Reigns has always cited Bret Hart as one of his biggest childhood wrestling heroes.
At WrestleMania 31, The Big Dog was expected to defeat Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship in the main event. However, much to the WWE Universe’s surprise, Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and walked away with the title.
Speaking on Talk Is Jericho in 2017, Roman Reigns revealed that he caught up with Hart backstage after the show. The Hitman had two very complimentary words for the former Shield member, “Instant classic.”
#5 Roman Reigns was not supposed to face Triple H (2016)
Roman Reigns’ cousin, The Rock, was originally due to face Triple H at WrestleMania 32. However, much like the Brock Lesnar situation at WrestleMania 30, The Rock’s schedule did not allow him to train for a WWE return.
Instead, The Rock ended up defeating Erick Rowan in six seconds, while Triple H main-evented against Roman Reigns.
Given the star power of a Triple H vs. The Rock match, it is safe to assume that they would have headlined WrestleMania 32. If that did happen, then Roman Reigns’ run of four consecutive WrestleMania main events would have been cut short after just one main event.
#4 Vince McMahon did not like Roman Reigns’ white shoes (2017)
Vince McMahon ultimately has the final say on everyone and everything that appears on WWE television, including Superstars’ appearances. The WWE Chairman’s micromanagement can be summed up by his reaction to the Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman match at Fastlane 2017.
Although Roman Reigns won the physical contest, this was a breakout match in the early days of Strowman’s career.
Roman Reigns decided to alter his attire slightly by wearing shoes with a white trim, matching the white logo on his vest. He said on NotSam Wrestling in 2017 that he thought the new gear “looked sweet”. However, McMahon did not like the appearance change and he “shot down” the idea of Reigns ever wearing the shoes again.
#3 Roman Reigns pitched a storyline with Daniel Bryan (2018)
One of Roman Reigns’ most impressive in-ring performances came when he defeated Daniel Bryan at Fastlane 2015. Unfortunately, Bryan had to retire the following year and the rivalry between the two men could not be revisited.
In 2018, Roman Reigns mentioned in interviews that he wanted to face Bryan again. The Leader of the Yes Movement returned on SmackDown after a three-year absence, while Reigns was assigned to the RAW brand.
The Big Dog repeatedly stated in out-of-character interviews that he was keen to go one-on-one with Bryan at WrestleMania 35. However, WWE booked Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre and Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston instead.
#2 Roman Reigns did not like the Hell in a Cell main event (2019)
Roman Reigns admitted in an interview with Forbes that he was not a fan of the WWE Hell in a Cell 2019 main event. The final match of the night, Seth Rollins vs. The Fiend, ended in a no-contest after Rollins used a sledgehammer on his motionless opponent.
The finish sparked lots of controversy amongst WWE fans, both inside the arena and online, as cell matches usually have a No Disqualification stipulation.
Despite the questionable storytelling, Roman Reigns reminded fans that The Fiend only tried to do his job as a performer.
“I didn’t like the Hell in a Cell finish either, but I wasn’t about to cuss some guys out who got hit in the head over and over. Bray Wyatt put his health on the line to entertain some fans to the best of his ability. I didn’t like it, but I respect Bray’s effort and willingness to go out there and do what you have to do. So, if you can, just a little bit of respect.”
Due to the abrupt finish, Rollins retained his Universal Championship at Hell in a Cell. He went on to lose the title three weeks later against The Fiend at Crown Jewel 2019.
#1 Tamina created Roman Reigns’ Tribal Chief lei (2020)
Roman Reigns was presented with a lei by his father (Sika) and uncle (Afa) after his win over Jey Uso at Hell in a Cell. The symbolic gesture confirmed Roman Reigns as The Tribal Chief of the Anoa’i family – something that, in storyline, The Usos refused to accept.
Another member of the family, Tamina, appeared in a ‘WWE: Day of’ video which revolved around Hell in a Cell. Although she did not feature on the pay-per-view, Tamina revealed that she stayed up until 2.00 am making the leis that her family members wore.
