Roman Reigns’s Five Best Career Rivals Thus Far

After reigning as Universal Champion for over 800 days, current Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns has cemented himself as WWE’s hottest and most dominant superstar.

The six-time world champion has defeated many big names throughout his career, both before and during his current historic title reign. Here we look at the superstars who have given us the best feuds with WWE’s Tribal Chief over the years.

5) Braun Strowman

It seemed fitting that Braun Strowman was the one Reigns recaptured the Universal Championship from after returning from his 2020 absence. During their days on Monday Night Raw as the “Big Dog” and “The Monster Among Men,” Reigns and Strowman have given us some of the best memories in their longtime heated rivalry.

Strowman’s famous “I’M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU!” line to Reigns echoed throughout the WWE Universe every time the two faced off. One would always get under the other’s skin and get in the other’s way, resulting in constant tension between the two from 2016 to 2019.

From their thrilling brawl at the end of the men’s elimination chamber match at Elimination Chamber in 2018 to their heated Hell in a Cell Universal Championship match, the two never failed to make the audience loud. While Reigns was the babyface getting a negative reaction, the two received heavy energy from crowds.

The feud even extended into a faction feud between The Shield and a team of Strowman, Drew McIntyre, and Dolph Ziggler. Not to mention, the Universal, Intercontinental, and Raw Tag Team Titles were all held by the six superstars involved in the rivalry. Every Monday night, these two would ensure chaos on Raw, making sure Strowman is on this list.

4) John Cena

16-time WWE Champion John Cena has made this list largely for what his feuds with Reigns did for the Tribal Chief.

In 2014, Reigns would get a taste of pure babyface fan popularity shortly after The Shield’s breakup when he was easily the most cheered in a Fatal-4-Way ladder match for the WWE World Title against Cena, Randy Orton, and Kane.

The two wouldn’t cross paths until late 2017 when a babyface-to-babyface passing-the-torch moment was envisioned when Reigns defeated Cena at No Mercy. Though Reigns won, fans simply didn’t welcome the storyline because the two babyfaces everyone was tired of at the time were put in a feud together, with both guys being the good guys.

A little less than a year into Reigns’s dominant Universal Title run, the leader of “The Bloodline” would defend his championship against the returning John Cena in the main event of SummerSlam in 2021.

The stipulations for both sides entering the match were huge. For Reigns, a loss meant he would leave WWE, so a win was all-time necessary for the storyline. For Cena, a victory over Reigns would have settled the score between the two from their 2017 No Mercy match, but more importantly, a record 17th World Title in WWE.

A face vs. heel storyline was going perfectly and resulted in Reigns winning a thriller match, continuing his powerful championship reign, and ensuring he remained in WWE.

3) Jey Uso

Reigns has had stellar rivalries that included WrestleMania showdowns. Some of those names are Daniel Bryan, Triple H, and Drew McIntyre - so it is surprising to see Jey Uso on this list, given that his feud with Reigns was not as long.

The Bloodline (currently consisting of WWE Universal Champion Reigns, on-screen advocate Paul Heyman, Raw & SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos, and Sami Zayn) is one of WWE’s most dominant factions in recent memory. Revisiting 2020 at the very beginning of Reigns’ second Universal Championship reign, his match with Jey Uso opened up a very personal and powerful storyline.

For the first time as a solo superstar, Reigns was finally presenting himself as a heel, and unsurprisingly, he showed he was meant for the big role.

Talk about family and respect centered around the feud, and the addition of Paul Heyman to the champion’s side only made the Head of the Table more powerful. Uso was the underdog the entire storyline, and the emotions evoked in the promos and fights were phenomenal. Reigns would seemingly finally get his (real-life) cousin to acknowledge him in their memorable “I Quit” Hell-In-A-Cell Match at Hell in A Cell in 2020.

Jey’s brother and tag-team partner Jimmy Uso was on track to return from injury, but not quite yet. He appeared in the match in an attempt to help his brother and stop Roman from more destruction. Reigns would end the match in physical and emotional torture for the Usos, forcing the “I Quit” and getting the victory.

Shortly after, the Tribal Chief would be acknowledged by his cousins, uniting the trio to form their supreme faction.

2) Seth Rollins

If there is any superstar who has gotten into Reigns’s head throughout his career, it’s his former buddy from The Shield, Seth “Freakin” Rollins. Rollins and Reigns accomplished a lot together in WWE, both side-by-side and as sworn enemies. Reigns and Rollins’ first titles on the main roster were when the two captured the WWE Tag Team Championships in 2013.

Reigns and Rollins would both serve as Universal and Intercontinental Champions in The Shield’s later runs years after the initial one. Rollins’ infamous betrayal of Reigns and Dean Ambrose to break up the group he created left professional wrestling fans stunned and paved for strong storyline hatred between Seth Rollins and the other two ex-Shield members.

Rollins was the first superstar to ever cash in a Money-In-The-Bank contract at WrestleMania. When he did so in the main event of WrestleMania 31, he completely spoiled the monumental moment that Reigns was supposed to have.

Rollins defeated Reigns and Brock Lesnar to start a memorable title run as a heel before dropping the title due to injury later on. When Reigns was supposed to even the score with Rollins and defeat him for the title at Survivor Series, Rollins got replaced by Ambrose in the match for the vacant title as he was sidelined for a long time because of the injury. By the time Rollins returned to recapture the title he wasn’t defeated for, Reigns was the current champion in his third world title run - Rollins missed quite a lot.

Rollins would make a statement in his return match by defeating Roman to take back the title in the main event of Money In The Bank 2016 before quickly losing it to Dean Ambrose via a contract cash-in. The night went perfectly storyline-wise, as all three members of The Shield held the WWE title that night.

Rollins would turn babyface and remain one for several years, and many of those years included remaining alliances with Reigns, with or without Dean Ambrose in the picture. A feud between the two wouldn’t be revisited until years later for their Universal Championship match at the 2022 Royal Rumble. From there, even as a heel, Roman had that same look from years earlier when Rollins would simply get under his skin and into his head.

Memories of The Shield were unsurprisingly visited, and even little things like Rollins’s signature heel laugh would visibly frustrate his former buddy. Rollins would make sure the Head of the Table knew that Reigns had never defeated Rollins in a title match.

What made things even better for the storyline was Rollins using the signature Shield entrance from the crowd in the iconic swat attire and music. The match would end in a disqualification, so Roman is still unable to say he has defeated his former brother in a title match. However, WWE’s Tribal Chief made his attitude towards Rollins clear by demolishing him with a steel chair post-match, similar to how Rollins did to The Shield in their 2014 implosion.

1) Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar landing on the top of this list was a no-brainer. Reigns and Brock Lesnar have had the most memorable bouts over the years, including three WrestleMania main events in seven years (WrestleMania 31, WrestleMania 34, WrestleMania 38).

The two have had several thrilling championship matches and never failed to deliver in the ring when working with one another. Reigns was slated to defeat Lesnar for a World Title twice at WrestleMania, with last-minute changes by former WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon being enforced on both occasions.

First at WrestleMania 31, when Rollins cashed in his Money In The Bank contract to win the WWE Championship in historic fashion, and the other at WrestleMania 34, when Lesnar shocked wrestling fans across the world by retaining his title in a match that was intended to solidify babyface Roman as the face of the company before Lesnar’s initial contract was up.

The 2018 Universal Championship storyline feud would run for several months after WrestleMania, ultimately closing at SummerSlam when Reigns would finally defeat Lesnar for the title.

Lesnar’s shocking return to WWE at SummerSlam 2021 following Reigns’s victory over John Cena shook the entire WWE Universe. Paul Heyman’s presence in the feud between his new and longtime former clients made it even more exciting.

The two’s bad blood also led to excellent matches in Saudi Arabia at events such as the Greatest Royal Rumble and Crown Jewel. However, perhaps one of Reigns’ biggest accomplishments was finally defeating Brock Lesnar on the “Grandest Stage of them All” at WrestleMania 38 to unify WWE’s two world titles.

Reigns is largely and rightfully recognized as the face of WWE, and finally conquering the beast may have been the final piece to solidify that.