Does Roman Reigns’ WrestleMania Record Make Him One of The Greatest of All Time?

Published 12/09/2020, 9:55 AM EST

Follow Us

via Getty

WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns, has more than a fair share of accomplishments. One of his biggest accomplishments is his run of WrestleMania main events. Reigns main evented the Show of Shows from 2015 to 2018 and faced some of the most iconic wrestlers in WWE history.

America’s Favorite Video Today

Reigns’ first WrestleMania came alongside the Shield

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Roman Reigns’ first WrestleMania was in 2013, while he was still part of the Shield. Alongside Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, The Shield beat the trio of Randy Orton, The Big Show and Sheamus in a fast-paced six-man tag team match.

The Shield would continue their dominance at WrestleMania at the following year’s event, smashing Kane and the New Age Outlaws.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest WWE stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

After Seth Rollins stabbed his Shield brothers in the back, he and Reigns were shot into the main event in an instant. Rollins held the Money in the Bank contract while Reigns won the Royal Rumble. The latter went on to main event WrestleMania 31, but the former had his sights set on the WWE Championship.

The Heist of the Century

In Reigns’ first WrestleMania main event, he was pinned by Seth Rollins. The Architect cashed in his contract during the Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns slugfest, taking advantage of the mauling Reigns took at the hands of Lesnar. Reigns was supposed to be crowned champion, but Seth shattered his dream.

Roman Reigns bested the Game

At WrestleMania 32, Roman would finally right the wrong of the previous year’s event. Triple H and Roman had quite the brutal rivalry in 2016, with the Game winning the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble.

He went on to face Reigns in a divisive main event, where the Big Dog speared both Stephanie McMahon and Triple H to win back the WWE Title.

Roman Reigns became the second man to beat Undertaker at WrestleMania

Roman’s biggest WrestleMania match was against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33. Reigns eliminated Taker at the Royal Rumble which sparked the rivalry between the two alphas of the locker room. Reigns smashed through the Deadman in an incredibly dominating display.

The win made Reigns look like an absolute beast, boosting his legitimacy as a no-nonsense mercenary. Who will ever forget his opening promo on Monday Night Raw the night after WrestleMania?

It only took five years for Reigns to look like the biggest heel in wrestling. It is baffling that WWE did not capitalise on the opportunity and turn Reigns heel at that point.

The disaster against Brock Lesnar

The Big Dog would finally make it back to the title picture at WrestleMania 34. He would once again cross paths with Brock Lesnar by winning the Elimination Chamber.

While the match failed to touch the greatness of the previous one by a large margin, Reigns made history by becoming the most booed wrestler on the planet.

You would think that kicking out of the F5 thrice is overkill. John Cena was put down with two. AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Braun Strowman and Kane were put down by one. The Undertaker himself succumbed to a third F5. Roman Reigns kicked out of five. The crowd saw through the forced attempt at generating sympathy for Roman and tore the match apart.

Returning for WrestleMania 35

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Reigns would win the WWE Universal Title from Lesnar at SummerSlam but would have to vacate the title due to leukemia. He made a triumphant return at Fastlane in a stunning six-man tag team match against Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre. Reigns would also beat McIntyre at WrestleMania 35.

Roman was to face Goldberg at WrestleMania 36. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic dashed his hopes of a WrestleMania coronation. Reigns’ history with leukemia rendered him immunocompromised and meant that he would be more susceptible to the coronavirus. Braun Strowman replaced Reigns, who beat Goldberg for the Universal Title.

Will Roman Reigns main event WrestleMania 37?

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

As the current Universal Champion, Reigns looks to be in prime position to main event WrestleMania. Will his record of 5-2 extend in the win column, or will he get his comeuppance? Reigns’ history at the Show of Shows makes him an integral part of WrestleMania’s legacy.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

ADVERTISEMENT

Written by:

Nathan Fulgado

1,400Articles

One take at a time

Nathan Fulgado is a WWE and AEW author at EssentiallySports. Having published close to 1000 professional wrestling articles, Nathan is currently pursuing his Journalism degree from Xavier's College. He has previously worked at Free Press Journal as a local journalist.
Show More>

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

EDITORS' PICK

America’s Favorite Video Today