For years, the WWE Universe refused to accept Roman Reigns as the company’s new John Cena-esque face. Finally, Reigns embraced his inner villain.
Coming out of (a brief) retirement, he attacked Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman at Summerslam. A few days later, the Big Dog revealed a surprising partnership with former nemesis Paul Heyman.
The result?
A 1,316-day run as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion for Reigns, which included four WrestleMania main events and victories over Seth Rollins, Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Logan Paul, Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, are more.
Reigns’ in-ring success worked in tandem with the flawless development of his Tribal Chief persona, which sprouted from a physically and emotionally abusive rivalry with cousin Jey Uso, and blossomed into a domineering, ruthless, gaslighting, and cult leader of the Bloodline faction.
Week-in and week-out, the Bloodline delivered can’t miss television–especially when Sami Zayn entered the fray–becoming a mini universe unto itself. Reigns commanded so much gravity that it even drew The Rock into his orbit.
Roman’s reign of terror came to an end in perhaps the greatest storyline payoff in WWE history. Cody Rhodes–with the help of Seth Rollins, John Cena, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, the Usos, and The Undertaker–finally beat the immovable object at WrestleMania 40 and won the WWE Championship to finish his story.
Without a Roman Reigns heel turn, the WWE today looks drastically different.