Why will Roman Reigns’ title reign go down as the greatest ever in WWE history?

Roman Reigns finishes his historic title reign on the 1316th day.


Why will Roman Reigns’ title reign go down as the greatest ever in WWE history?

Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman at WrestleMania 40 (via WWE)

It would take a heavy heart to state Roman Reigns as the former Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. However, the fate has been accepted by the WWE Universe who will forever be grateful for the Tribal Era. The 1316-day historic reign of Roman has been ended by Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania XL Night 2. That being said, Rhodes’ win was made remarkable due to the widely acknowledged Tribal Chief’s reign.

What is more poetic is that we met this version of Reigns inside an arena with no real audience and yet had the whole world off its feet during his historic reign. The business boomed during his reign and drew more people towards the product.

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There’s no denying the fact that Roman delivered a banger match to end his title reign. But what needs to be acknowledged is the character work that uplifted his run. His dedication to the portrayal of The Needle Mover while sustaining his prestigious title is far more than commendable. With every showcase of his dominance in front of the crowd, Reigns gave the fans exactly what they came to see. At times his cockiness received love from the WWE fans as they understood his importance to the company.

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The Bloodline leader never received this kind of respect from the fans in his past. But now, a battle with leukemia, a 360 switch in his persona, and the earth-shattering title reign made him a man with no haters. There will not likely be any instance in the future of WWE when a superstar will defeat 17 World Champions, 4 Royal Rumble winners, and mainevent consecutive WrestleMania within the same title reign.

In the end, this run has solidified his legacy by putting him among the greatest superstars and title reigns. To make The American Nightmare’s victory feel like a dream come true and have his ‘banner made of pain’, he needed to defeat the beloved villain of WWE. There might be numerous megastars planned by WWE, but no one might even come close to ‘Roman and his reign’.

Roman Reigns’ ‘historic’ title reign over the years

The saga began in August 2020 when Roman Reigns was back ‘here to change the game’ after five months of absence. It was the second time he had turned heel in his career but this time with a singles approach as the Tribal Chief. Within a week of his emphatic return, he won the Universal Championship and was aligned with Paul Heyman. In the first few months, he worked on forming The Bloodline stable with The Usos’ addition until mid-2021.

Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns (via WWE)

A successful year into this reign, he was already the shared top champion and the face of the company. It was at WrestleMania 38 in 2022 when he overcame Brock Lesnar and began his reign as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. With many formidable opponents in this year of his reign, Reigns still got past the adversities and came down to his penultimate test against Rhodes.

With The Bloodline’s support, he got out of his worst nightmare at WrestleMania 39. 2023 was truly the year when the storyline peaked and had Honorary Uce Sami Zayn as well as their own Civil War angles. Reigns gained the maximum resilience here after multiple betrayals from the ones he had by his side. The final chapter before getting down to his title loss was written by The Rock.

The long-term storytelling paid off by going through The Final Boss’ siding with The Head of the Table in 2024. It was a task seemingly impossible for The American Nightmare to earn a victory in a match where The Bloodline Ruled at WrestleMania XL. But as all good things come to an end, Roman’s reign was dealt the ultimate blow when multiple good guys showed up for Rhodes and allowed him to close on the reign with 1316 days of glory.

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