Has Roman Reigns' title reign fallen flat in 2022?

Roman Reigns' journey as The Universal Champion began on August 30, 2020, at WWE Payback. He spent the rest of that year attempting to find his footing as a heel champion. It was only in 2021 that Reigns fully unleashed his true form to become The Tribal Chief.

The first half of 2021 saw the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion score victories against Kevin Owens, Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, and Edge. He also had an intriguing rivalry with The Rated-R Superstar that lasted almost five months.

With his defeat to Roman Reigns, Edge became the first WWE Legend to fall victim to The Tribal Chief. Once Edge moved out of the way, Reigns was tasked with proving himself against the returning John Cena.

The Tribal Chief emphatically overcame The Cenation Leader at SummerSlam 2021 further establishing his dominance in the ring. With the emergence of exciting new challengers like Brock Lesnar, Finn Balor, and Seth Rollins, The Head of the Table's title reign became the hottest act in the industry.

But where did things go wrong in 2022?

Roman Reigns' title reign lost momentum in 2022

Roman Reigns had a fantastic 2021

Roman Reigns started the year 2022 impactfully by defending his title against his former Shield buddy, Seth Rollins, at the Royal Rumble. Following this contest, everything went downhill for The Bloodline's chief.

A few weeks before The Elimination Chamber, Goldberg returned to WWE television to lay down a challenge for Roman Reigns' Universal Championship. However, the feud between the two didn't match the high standards set by The Tribal Chief throughout his title run.

The superstars were expected to deliver a hard-hitting contest. Unfortunately, the dream match failed to live up to expectations.

Following this victory, The Tribal Chief put his entire focus on his WrestleMania 38 opponent Brock Lesnar. WWE heavily advertised this bout as "The Biggest WrestleMania match of all time." Naturally, the tagline made fans expect an instant classic from both the superstars.

Sadly, the match ended up being one of the most underwhelming WrestleMania main events of all time. However, it did serve its purpose by establishing Reigns as the undisputed "No.1 guy" in WWE.

The news soon broke that The Head of the Table had signed a new contract with WWE, allowing him to work lesser dates per year. This development meant that the Tribal Chief would be less involved in building storylines as much as he previously did.

Last week, The Big Dog defended his championship for the first time since WrestleMania against Riddle. The Original Bro carried this rivalry all by himself due to the absence of his Bromate Randy Orton.

Lack of thrilling opponents, less focus on building convincing stories, and the diminishing involvement of Roman Reigns have negatively impacted his image as an unified champion.

Another factor that has prevented The Bloodline from regaining any momentum is the injury bug looming over WWE. Names like Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton, who were being prepared for a world title shot, have been forced to sit on the sidelines due to their respective injuries.

WWE had to summon Brock Lesnar again to come back and renew his rivalry with Reigns to ensure a marquee main event for SummerSlam. However, the majority of the WWE Universe isn't interested in the story, as this rivalry has been restarted way too many times in the recent past.

With WWE wanting to have Roman Reigns as the champion until 2023, they'll need to take some necessary action to reinvigorate his title reign. Otherwise, a journey that has earned high applause from the wrestling world will end up having a disappointing payoff.