Ranking Every WWE Encounter between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar

WWE's Beast Incarnate and Tribal Chief's long and storied history continues as the two collide for the fifth time in WWE history. Universal Champion Roman Reigns will take on his greatest challenge, Brock Lesnar, later this month in Saudi Arabia at Crown Jewel.

From 2015 to 2018, the two men's paths seemed to be permanently intertwined. From Suplex City to King Saud University Stadium, the duo squared off in various matches, including four high-profile bouts spanning two WrestleManias, a SummerSlam, and one of the first trips WWE took to Saudi Arabia.

While split in multi-man match-ups, Brock Lesnar currently has Roman Reign's number when it comes to one-on-one contests. Lesnar currently sits with a 2-1-1 record against Reigns, winning both the main event match at WrestleMania and a Steel Cage match at Crown Jewel; both for the Universal Championship.

Which match was the best so far? Which were lackluster? Let's go through each singles match and see how they rank against one another!

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#5) WWE's Brock Lesnar Defeats Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34

Widely panned as their worst encounter, Brock Lesnar took on Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans. In contrast to their epic and memorable clash at WrestleMania 31, this bout felt deflated from bell to bell.

The match seemed destined to be the official anointing of Roman Reigns as the top dog in WWE, as rumors suggested that Lesnar was looking at another run in UFC at the time. With fans fearing an all too straightforward "Roman Reigns Win" on the horizon, the arena echoed with boos from start to finish.

The entire match seemed like the perfect set-up for a Roman Reigns come-from-behind win. Lesnar bludgeoned Reigns at the start, and Reigns began making his comeback in the middle. However, the fans in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome had zero interest in seeing the Big Dog finally get his win over Lesnar.

In the end, WWE made the shocking decision to NOT pull the trigger on Reigns winning. Many reporting that the decision was made on the fly backstage during the bout.

Lesnar ended up hitting a total of six F-5s, numerous Suplexes, and several vicious elbows to the skull of Regins forcing him to bleed more than the WWE Universe had seen before up to that point.

Despite Reigns hitting spear after spear on Lesnar, he was unable to defeat the beast.

While fans were surprised at the outcome, they were more indifferent than anything else. They were possibly more irritated that the two would most likely face-off again at a later date.

#4) WWE Roman Reigns ALMOST defeats Brock Lesnar at 'The Greatest Royal Rumble', The Beast Steals one!

Not a month after their less than favorable match at WrestleMania 34, WWE set up a rematch between the two at The Greatest Royal Rumble pay-per-view.

The pay-per-view served as the first installment of the 10-year strategic partnership between WWE and the Saudi General Sports Authority in support of Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia's social and economic reform program.

While many criticized the decision to work with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the company forged ahead anyway ensuring a rematch between Reigns and Lesnar for the Universal Championship.

If WrestleMania 34 looked like the right time to give Reigns a win over Lesnar, The Greatest Royal Rumble seemed even better. Reigns would be in front of a much friendlier crowd, meaning Reigns' celebration would not be showered with boos. Additionally, the Steel Cage stipulation meant that Reigns wouldn't have to pin Lesnar to win the title. Lesnar could look strong, and Reigns could capture the belt.

However, WWE once again decided against making Reigns Universal Champion. Instead, WWE created a semi-controversial finish, which gave Lesnar the victory.

The finish saw Roman Reigns spear Brock Lesnar through the Steel Cage and, in doing so, Lesnar's feet hit the ground giving him the win despite Reigns' efforts. While the final decision took some time to be declared as WWE referees reviewed replays of the finish, The Beast was eventually given the win.

While the match was a significant step up from their previous encounter at WrestleMania 34, it was still a tad under par.

#3) Roman Reigns Finally Defeats Brock Lesnar for WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam

2018 should have been renamed 'The Year of Brock and Roman' as the two warriors faced off in a WWE ring for yet another main event championship match. This time at one of WWE's biggest pay-per-view of the year, SummerSlam. However, things went differently for the challenger as Reigns finally captured his first win against Lesnar in one-on-one matchups.

In the build-up to the show, then WWE superstar Braun Strowman began gaining tremendous momentum. Fans were in love with the Monster Among Men and his win at Money in the Bank gave fans hope that he would become champion.

This posed a dilemma for WWE as they wanted to maintain the strength and stock of all three superstars despite only one man being able to leave as champion.

In the lead-up to the event, there was growing concern that the WWE Universe would hijack the main event if Strowman didn't appear. But, even with the possibility of yet another misstep, WWE found a way to book themselves out of it.

The relatively short match was highly chaotic, even before the opening bell. It all began when Braun Strowman marched to the ring before the match. He made his intentions clear that he was going to cash in on whoever won the Universal Championship.

As soon as the bell rang, Reigns got on the offensive. A distracted Lesnar ate four superman punches and three spears. With momentum swinging in Reigns' favor, Lesnar acted quickly and hit Reigns with a flurry of suplexes.

Towards the end, Lesnar decided to take out Strowman and hit him with a vicious F-5 before throwing the MITB briefcase up the entrance ramp eliminating the threat of a cash-in.

When he entered the ring again, Reigns hit him with a thunderous spear and secured his first reign as WWE Universal Champion in the process.

#2) Multi-Man matches involving Reigns and Lesnar in WWE

While this list is solely focused on the singles matches between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar in WWE, it'd be wrong not to mention the few multi-man contests they've competed in. Removing Royal Rumble matches, Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar have been involved in two main event multi-man matches.

Reigns vs. Ambrose vs. Lesnar at WWE Fastlane 2016

They say three's a crowd, but you probably won't complain when the third is your best friend helping fight off The Beast of WWE. The former Shield brothers worked together in their triple threat contest against Brock Lesnar at Fastlane.

The winner of the match faced off against Triple H for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 32. Reigns lost the title at the 2016 Royal Rumble when Triple H entered the rumble and won.

The match allowed Roman Reigns to win without having to pin Brock Lesnar. Lesnar didn't have to be involved in the finish at all. Reigns would go on to win the match by pinning Dean Ambrose, then face-off against the COO of WWE in the main event of WrestleMania.

Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman at WWE SummerSlam 2017

WWE booked a fatal four-way match for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam 2017

In one of the biggest matches for the WWE Universal Championship (both figuratively and literally), Universal Champion Brock Lesnar was forced to defend his title against three very worthy challengers in Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns, and Braun Strowman.

The match was highly praised as an action-packed bout that kept fans guessing. All four men had legitimate claims to the championship, and all would easily be seen as credible champions moving forward.

Despite valiant efforts from all challengers, Brock Lesner would win the bout by pinning Reigns following his signature F-5.

1) Roman Reigns takes on Brock Lesnar for the first time at WWE: WrestleMania 31

As it goes with most things in life, nothing truly ever tops the original. The same goes for Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar's matches in WWE.

The build-up to their match at WrestleMania 31 was shrouded in controversy as WWE fans of all stripes highly criticized WWE's booking of Roman Reigns.

2015 was a very different time in WWE, as this was just the beginning of WWE's mission to push Roman Reigns into super-stardom. While WWE would eventually get it right in 2020 and 2021 with Reigns' heel persona, WWE's first attempt to push Reigns didn't go as planned.

Fans were concerned that the whole match would just be an attempt at making Roman Reigns look strong. But, much to the delight of the WWE Universe, the company pulled the ultimate bait and switch.

The match became more of a humbling experience for Reigns. Brock Lesner tossed Reigns around like a ragdoll for 90% of the match. The company knew exactly what the fans wanted, and they gave it to them.

After a full year of Reigns winning nearly every big encounter, WWE allowed fans to watch the goody-two-shoes get beat up. It was on this night that Brock Lesnar would take Roman Reigns to Suplex City.

While Reigns would mount a decent comeback towards the end, he was never able to take firm control. In the final stages, Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase making the match a Triple Threat. Rollins, earlier in the show, had lost to Randy Orton making fans consider him a nonfactor for the rest of the evening.

After a sequence that included Rollins being inadvertently saved by Reigns from an F-5, Rollins eventually set Reigns up for Curb Stomp and complete the "Heist of the Century" winning his first WWE Championship in the process.

While the match became a Triple Threat, in the end, the majority of the match was Reigns and Lesnar battling it out. Reigns played his role perfectly, showing resolve in the face of intense brutality at the hands of The Beast.

There is no doubt that this match is, so far, their best in WWE. It's simply ironic that their best match was not only their first but a match that neither man won