If you’ve read my blog from the start, you would know just how highly I rate Roman Reigns and how much I enjoyed his 1,316-day reign as Champion. From Universal Champion in August 2020 to Undisputed WWE Universal Champion at WrestleMania 38, The Tribal Chief went on a hell of a run! In this article, I’m going to breakdown Roman’s historic Reign by giving my Top 15 Reigns PLE Matches as The Head of The Table, but I will give a quick shout-out to his match with Daniel Bryan on SmackDown as that was also really good!
15: Kevin Owens (Royal Rumble 2023)
Whilst the ending of Royal Rumble 2023 with Sami Zayn turning on Roman Reigns is the more memorable moment and quite frankly one of the most iconic moments in the entire Bloodline story, Roman Reigns VS Kevin Owens is also a really good match. It’s very hard-hitting, both men were clearly fired up after fighting in front of no one a few years ago, and there was a genuinely good near-fall following a KO Stunner. There was also a nasty, nasty spot where Roman slammed Kevin’s neck into the steel steps, and yeah, this was a good way to start this list, with Reigns retaining off a Spear (get used to me saying that).
14: John Cena (Summerslam 2021)
What I remember about this match the most is it started out quite slow (typical Roman style), but went absolutely mental the last 5 minutes! All the big moves were hit, and there were plenty of good near-falls, especially given it wasn’t out of the question that John Cena couldn’t win this match, and Reigns even managed to kick out of a Super AA which is always impressive! In the end, Reigns got the win before Brock Lesnar’s music hit, something I’m sure we’ll get to later on!
13: Kevin Owens (Royal Rumble 2021)
Whilst their clash at Royal Rumble 2023 was good, their match two years prior was more fun! Reigns-Owens took place in a Last Man Standing Match after both a TLC and Steel Cage Match in previous months, and this was pretty chaotic as it took place in the Thunderdome. Not only did we get a brawl around the screens (which was a pretty cool visual), but we also then headed backstage into the stadium area which resulted in Roman running over KO with a Golf Cart in one of the best and craziest spots I’d seen in years! We then get Owens jumping off a forklift before Reigns Speared his rival through the LED wall in another crazy spot! In the end, The Tribal Chief narrowly escaped with his Universal Championship after choking out KO in the Guillotine.
12: Logan Paul (Crown Jewel 2022)
Whilst this doesn’t make my Top 10 for best matches during Roman Reigns’ historic reign, it certainly was one of the more fun and enjoyable ones! Logan Paul was just starting to prove himself as a decent talent at this point, but here he really stepped up his game against the brilliant Tribal Chief. We got an awesome moment where Logan delivered a Frog Splash onto Reigns through a table whilst holding a phone, we got another really good near-fall following a Paul Frog Splash, and we also had an awesome entrance from Solo Sikoa! So overall, this is a fun one to look back on, with Roman retaining (of course) following a Superman Punch/Spear combo.
11: Seth “Freakin” Rollins (Royal Rumble 2022)
I remember this match fondly for a couple of reasons. One, Seth “Freakin” Rollins came through the crowd in full-Shield style which was just such good character work! Two, Seth was all over Roman in the first few minutes, even coming super close to winning with a very early Stomp. Thirdly, Rollins actually won this match via DQ, which was such a genius storytelling move and made Seth Rollins look brilliant whilst still keeping the Universal Title on The Tribal Chief! This is simply a lot of fun!
10: Cody Rhodes (WrestleMania 39)
Ah, the infamous WrestleMania 39 bout between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes! Whilst this match got a lot of hate for the finish, I personally think this was a superb match, the storytelling was on point, and the drama was clearly there for all to see! The Usos as well as Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn getting involved was also nice, and Reigns’ late kickout following a Sami Helluva Kick was perfect! Of course, the ending was contentious, with Roman “stealing” the win after Solo Sikoa Spiked Cody Rhodes, but as a massive fan of The Head of The Table, I personally loved this ending, and I hope people can look back at this match more fondly now given the ending to WrestleMania 40.
9: Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (Night of Champions 2023)
At Night of Champions, Roman Reigns teamed up with his cousin Solo Sikoa to battle Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships. Now rather fittingly, this was Roman’s 1,000th day as Champion, which only made this whole thing feel even bigger! There were good near-falls here, but it all hit top gear when Roman saw The Usos accidentally Superkick Solo. Reigns then berated his Right Hand Man before Jimmy Uso nailed Reigns with not 1, but 2 amazing Superkicks before Sami floored Sikoa with the Helluva Kick to pick up the win whilst a confused and emotional Tribal Chief watched on! This was the clear example as to why Roman and The Bloodline Saga went on for so long because it was just so brilliant!
8: Edge and Daniel Bryan (WrestleMania 37)
In his first WrestleMania as Universal Champion, Roman Reigns had to put his Championship on the line in a Triple Threat against both Edge and Daniel Bryan. This was such a superb match, one of the best Triple Threat’s I’ve ever seen! Not only did all 3 guys bring it, but there were genuinely good arguments as to how and why all of them could and would win, something that very rarely happens in WWE. We got that great moment where Edge locked Roman in a cross-face whilst using a metal bar as assistance before Jey Uso returned to stop The Rated-R Superstar from securing the W. And that’s also when we got the brilliant visual of Reigns “Smashing, Stacking, and Pinning” both Edge and Bryan in what was genius storytelling, especially as it continued The Tribal Chief’s run of doing everything he said he would!
7: Seth “Freakin” Rollins and Cody Rhodes (WrestleMania 40)
In Night 1 of WrestleMania 40, Roman Reigns teamed up with his cousin The Rock to take on the pairing of Seth “Freakin” Rollins and Cody Rhodes. This was such a terrific match, everyone involved brought their A-game, and it was just a lot of fun, even if it did go on for 45 minutes! There were plenty of good spots, with Roman Spearing Rock on accident and putting Rollins through the barricade after Cody had just dropped Rocky through the announce table. The Rock ultimately picked up the W for The Bloodline, and that’s probably the only reason why this match isn’t higher on this list. Still, the visual of The Rock and Roman standing on the ramp to close Night 1 was memorable (as was Roman's hair)!
6: Brock Lesnar (Summerslam 2022)
Summerslam 2022 was a statement show as it was the first Triple H booked PLE, and it’s Main Event between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar ruled! Not only did Roman catch the microphone without even looking in one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen, but there were so many table spots, and of course, a tractor! Brock picking up the ring that Roman was in was such an amazing and incredible visual, and we also got Theory attempting to cash-in his Money in the Bank Briefcase which was pretty hilarious! Paul Heyman was also sent through the announce table, and the Last Man Standing bout finally ended with Reigns standing over a pile above Lesnar, and yeah, this was flipping bonkers!
5: Bloodline Civil War (Money in the Bank 2023)
In the Main Event of Money in the Bank 2023, Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa teamed up to take on The Usos in The Bloodline Civil War. The storytelling in this match was absolutely superb, and my favourite bit about it all was after Roman and Solo delivered a brutal Samoan Spike/Spear combo, Reigns stacked his cousins, only for them to kick out! Jey then delivered a low blow to The Tribal Chief whilst kicking out (something Roman loves to do) before The Usos floored the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion before “Main Event” Jey Uso nailed Reigns with an Uso Splash to pin his cousin for the 1,2,3! Everything about this was special, such a brilliant moment for everyone involved!
4: Drew McIntyre (Clash at the Castle 2022)
For the first time in 30 years, WWE headed back to the UK for a major stadium show as Roman Reigns put his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship on the line against Drew McIntyre. The crowd were absolutely brilliant throughout this, as were both Roman and Drew. We also got some wacky things like Karrion Kross throwing a water bottle at McIntyre and Tyson Fury punching Austin Theory (who was once again attempting to cash in his Briefcase). We then got a quite brilliant moment where McIntyre delivered a Spear followed by a Claymore, only for the debuting Solo Sikoa to pull the referee out of the ring at the last possible second! This obviously eventually resulted in The Tribal Chief retaining, but the reason this match is so special to me is this was the only time in Reigns’ entire reign (besides the ending of Mania 40) that I thought he was done!
3: Sami Zayn (Elimination Chamber 2023)
Whilst Roman had people against him in Wales, this was very much away territory for The Head of The Table as Reigns put his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship on the line against his former “Honorary Uce”, Sami Zayn. The entrances alone were superb, with Reigns getting booed throughout whilst the crowd were going mad for their hometown hero! Of course, we got some great near-falls, but it was the trash-talking between Roman and Sami’s Wife that really made this feel like an attraction! Jey Uso then arrived and got into a bit of an argument with his cousin, only for Sami to accidentally Spear Jey before Reigns delivered a Spear of his own to beat Zayn for the 3 count. I can’t say enough good things to describe how awesome this match was!
2: Jey Uso (Hell in a Cell 2020)
Despite how brilliant The Bloodline Saga became, you have to go back to Hell in a Cell 2020 for the first glimpse of how special it could be. Roman Reigns and Jey Uso squared off in a Hell in a Cell, I Quit Match, for both the Universal Championship and the right to The Head of The Table. This was a nasty match in the sense that there were plenty of hard-hitting strikes and Roman hit at least 4 Spears! However, the moment I remember the most is when Jey Uso made Reigns pass out, but that of course didn’t win him the match as The Champion didn’t say “I Quit”. At the end, Reigns was about to crush Jey’s skull with the steel steps, only for Jimmy Uso to arrive to stop everything. However, after Reigns appeared pretty emotional, he locked in the Guillotine on his injured cousin before Jey said “I Quit” to protect his brother. This was absolutely sensational, and is very much one of the Greatest Matches I’ve ever seen!
1: Cody Rhodes (WrestleMania 40)
Whilst it was a real toss-up as to what should be my Number 1, I’ve gone with Roman Reigns VS Cody Rhodes from this year’s WrestleMania for one reason and one reason only, the best ending! Both superstars had great entrances (Reigns’ might be the best ever) and it was just complete and utter chaos! The Usos, John Cena, Solo Sikoa, The Rock, Seth Rollins, The Undertaker, everyone was around and it was just brilliant! And most importantly for me, Roman Reigns lost his precious Undisputed WWE Universal Championship because he still hasn’t gotten over Seth’s betrayal, and that is simply perfect storytelling! So, in summary, Roman Reigns truly is The Greatest of All Time!
Comments