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WWE's new poster boy has enjoyed all the perks of being the top guy. Since making his debut as part of The Shield, Roman has already become a Grand Slam Champion, a Royal Rumble winner and has main-evented Wrestlemania four times in a row.
There may just be no stopping to the kind of push he is receiving, although some of his matches have been very entertaining to say the least.
A three time WWE World Heavyweight Champion and a one time Universal Champion, Roman Reigns has defended the top belts on numerous occasions and has mostly come out victorious.
As of this moment, Reigns has relinquished the title due to leukemia, a long battle he has been fighting against since 2008. Our prayers are with him and his family.
While all his championship reigns have been short, here are five instances where he put his championship on the line. The Royal Rumble 2016 hasn't been considered for this list. These matches have been ranked in terms of match psychology and wrestling involved.
#5 Roman Reigns vs Sheamus
Roman Reigns won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on the 4th of December 2015 for the second time, defeating Sheamus in a title vs career match, where Reigns would have been fired if he had lost.
His first title defense came on 4th January 2016 and Vince McMahon was the special guest referee. Reigns had to overcome not just Sheamus, but Vince McMahon and Stephanie McMahon. Reigns ran through all of them, including hitting Vince with a Superman Punch.
It seemed like WWE would pull a swerve, as Sheamus hit a Brogue Kick after Reigns hit McMahon but Roman eventually kicked out. It took three referees to end this bout and incredibly however, the crowd got all hyped up by the end. A very decent match for weekly television, this match had some solid wrestling and continued the story of Reigns fighting back against the authority figures.
#4. Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles (PAYBACK 2016)
AJ Styles and Roman Reigns are the flag bearers of their respective brands today, but none would have expected WWE to even let AJ get a title opportunity mere months after his debut. The fact that his first chance at gold would come against Reigns was very surprising.
Heel AJ Styles was as entertaining as is his current face run. On one hand we had Styles and The Good Brothers, and on the other Roman and The Usos. Their series of promos and tag team match ups eventually led to a title match at Payback.
While the match was a bit underwhelming by AJ Styles' standards, the chemistry between him and Reigns was solid and the match produced some great action. Stephanie McMahon was yet again involved, making the match a no disqualification bout, which led to the involvement of The Good Brothers and The Usos.
Maybe this match, and the subsequent rematch (we'll get to that) laid the foundation on which AJ Styles garnered faith with WWE officials.
The match was very well paced and some spots in this match were breathtaking. In the end, after some incredible sequences, Reigns stood tall.
#3. Roman Reigns vs Finn Balor
24 hours after conquering the beast Brock Lesnar at Summerslam this year, Reigns turned his attention to a particular individual who hadn't received a rematch for the Universal Title, which apparently he had never lost.
The two babyfaces had been amicable towards each other on screen, which made it seem like Roman was doing his part of the deal and giving Balor his well-deserved chance. In reality, it may have been just a way to end a long awaited rematch clause and push Balor back in the line of title contenders.
Whatever be the issue outside the ring, inside the squared circle however, the match was electric. Balor and his innovative move-sets are always admirable to watch. Reigns too, came blazing forward.
A nice back and forth affair and some Braun Strowman shenanigans got the audience up their seats. In the end Balor's failed Coup De Grace was converted into a Spear from Reigns to end his first Universal Title defense.
#2. Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins (Money In The Bank 2016)
On a night where all three members of The Shield held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at some point, Roman entered this match as champ, lost to Seth Rollins and eventually Dean Ambrose left the event as Champion.
In the preceding pay-per-view, Seth Rollins made his shocking return since he got injured 7 months ago. He came back and straightway targeted Reigns to reclaim the title that he had relinquished.
This was good booking and made sense in many ways, given that Rollins was a red-hot heel in this feud and Roman was embroiled in a wellness policy violation. It would eventually lead to Rolllins capturing the win in a very well contested and intense match.
Dean Ambrose cashing in his Money In The Bank contract on his Shield brethren was amazing story telling.
#1. Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles (Extreme Rules 2016)
The Styles-Reigns saga came to an end when the Phenomenal One was speared into oblivion in a match that was certainly one of Roman's best performances.
Tensions between these two reached its climax at Extreme Rules where the match lived up to the pay-per-view gimmick. One of the best matches of 2016, the psychology and build up was perfectly matched with in-ring action. Styles lived up to his reputation of making a normal match seem exciting. And he made this match 'phenomenal'.
Reigns on the other hand was very solid and intense as he normally is, but this match seemed to have raised the stakes. With Extreme Rules stipulations, this bout was pretty much the same as their previous affair at PAYBACK, which was also a no disqualification match only this time there were more chairs involved.
Styles went berserk on The Usos who kept interfering throughout the match. Reigns also laid waste to The Good Brothers when they tried to initiate a sneak attack on him.
The ending saw AJ Styles launching himself to hit the Phenomenal Forearm but got caught in a mid-air Spear. It was a devastating finish to the match and also ended a storied rivalry.
This was an excellent match between the best characters in WWE combined with a Seth Rollins return after the match ended. This certainly had many fans realize that Roman Reigns can be effective when booked well and paired alongside equally compelling opponents.
