Roman Reigns' WWE rise to the top wasn't exactly smooth. Coming out of the Shield in 2014, fans quickly soured on The Big Dog. Over a decade later, The Tribal Chief is considered one of the best in WWE history, something Nic Nemeth and others never could've expected.After the break-up of The Shield, fans were initially supportive of both Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. It was clear that Roman was chosen as the next man up, but fan sentiment soured soon after the infamous CM Punk episode of Colt Cabana's The Art of Wrestling Podcast. Punk claimed he was repeatedly told to "make Roman look strong," a phrase that led to years of hatred from the WWE Universe. While Reigns eventually got past the worst of it, especially after rivalries with Braun Strowman, AJ Styles, and Seth Rollins, it wasn't until his rise as the Tribal Chief that he was finally embraced as THE guy. It wasn't just the fans, either. On today's Busted Open Radio, Nic Nemeth discussed Roman's growth and how the multi-time champion evolved into a true great."I knew Roman when he was good. Now, he's incredible. I'm blown away because for years, I was like, 'Alright, we're going with this guy. He's okay. This is fine.' And then watching him absolutely just bust out of that and become this unstoppable force, I'm very impressed with him. Slowly but surely, after those years go by, he's become everything that the boss thought he would be and then some," said Nemeth (H/T Wrestling Inc.)Nic Nemeth's incredible 2014 WWE run seemingly stalled for Roman Reigns' 2015 Rumble winRoman Reigns was unable to compete in the final months of 2014, dealing with an incarcerated hernia that kept him out of action from September to late December. It gave other stars a chance to step in and prove their worth. When it came time for the Survivor Series match between Team WWE and Team Authority, it was Nic Nemeth, then Dolph Ziggler, who got the biggest moment of the evening.To this day, fans bring up the what-if scenario regarding Nemeth, who had a star-making performance. After Big Show turned on John Cena and Team WWE, Nemeth was the sole member of his team against Kane, Luke Harper, and Seth Rollins. Nemeth managed to eliminate all three men in a 16-minute showcase, with a little help from Sting, to save the night. Fans were hot for Nemeth, but it was Roman Reigns who would win the Royal Rumble, with The Rock raising his hand amidst a chorus of boos. That decision definitely didn't help Reigns' relationship with fans. Thankfully, like Nemeth said, he grew into a next-level talent.