5 Roman Reigns’ Best Matches as WWE Universal Champion

Roman Reigns is The Head of the Table. The Tribal Chief has worked his way into being one of the dominant personalities in the WWE. His two-year reign began on the August 30th, 2020 Payback pay-per-view. It must be noted that he defeated the then defending champion The Fiend and Braun Strowman in a triple threat match for the Universal Championship.

He has been an undefeated Universal Champion since that date, however, he added the WWE Championship to his credit during the WrestleMania 38 event. He defeated Brock Lesnar for the title on the second night of the show and became the first superstar to hold both the WWE and the Universal Championship for the first time.

Roman Reigns has impressed with his work over the months, but one cannot deny that his championship reign as the WWE Universal Champion hasn’t been long as it started at WrestleMania 38 and may end by or before WrestleMania 39. Notably, his Universal Championship reign has been the longest in the history of the company. He held the title since August 30th, 2020.

WWE has never spoken about this fact during his championship reign and continues to push him as a fighting champion. He is a fighting champion as he took down every opponent in his path. During his two-year Universal Championship, and 5-month WWE Universal Championship reign The Needle Mover has fought some excellent matches and we are going to take a trip down memory lane with two happening recently.

So without further ado, let’s get down to it:

#5 Royal Rumble 2022 – Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs Seth “Freakin” Rollins

The build-up to this storyline was smooth. The storyline started with a knock on the door, and the former Shield member showed up with an interest in the titles. It continued for a considerable time until Roman Reigns got challenged where his cousins The Usos wouldn’t be able to help him.

The entire turn of events heading into the storyline is in the video above. The two left no stone unturned to entice the fans and involve them in the conversation. Fans know that when Seth and Roman come together, magic is bound to happen. This magic involving their new looks and gimmicks made it all the more interesting.

While Seth Rollins couldn’t win the championship, the return in The Shield gear was a sight to witness during the initial moments before the match. WWE knows how to pull off some quality storylines and let’s look at some others that happened in the 2-year timespan.

#4 Survivor Series 2020 – Roman Reigns vs Drew McIntyre – Champion vs Champion match

Roman Reigns is a champion that has helped others rise above the ranks. His work has been exceptional and he continues to do exceptional work. It continued during the pandemic when there were no fans in attendance. He took on the then WWE Champion on Raw, Drew McIntyre.

Drew McIntyre was not the champion days prior to the championship match. He struck gold on the 16th November episode of Raw after defeating the then WWE champion Randy Orton. It changed “The Game” as The Tribal Chief had a meeting with The Scottish Psychopath.

The match saw the two champions come to blows and take every move in the book to put the opponent down. Despite repeated attempts of trying to pick a win over one another, the two couldn’t succeed. It was during this time that Roman Reigns mistakenly hit a referee.

With the referee knocked out, Roman Reigns hit his opponent with a low blow while his cousin Jey Uso hit a superkick to make things better. Roman Reigns then applied the Guillotine and McIntyre passed out. It made him look strong even in defeat. We should get part two of this feud because the two have unfinished business.

#3 Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2020 – Kevin Owens vs Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship

It takes two to Tango, and if you have a partner like Kevin Owens in a story then things become all the way better. The story between the two started when Jey joined Reigns and started considering him The Tribal Chief. Owens, who was a part of Team SmackDown for Survivor Series didn’t take kindly to this approach.

Team SmackDown lost and it infuriated Reigns who said that because people didn’t respect Jey, they didn’t respect Reigns either. Jey found it insulting and challenged Owens to a match on SmackDown. He got himself disqualified by attacking Owens with a steel chair in the main event. The Prizefighter attacked Jey and challenged Reigns for a match at Tables, Ladders and Chairs for the Universal Championship.

The match went well after Reigns accepted the challenge. The two left no stone unturned to give the fans what they paid the money for to be in the arena or at home. Owens attacked Reigns even before the match began. Jey Uso interfered in the match, but Owens was quick enough to counter Uso’s superkick and blocked it with a chair. He then stomped Jey’s leg on the chair.

The medical personnel came out to help Jey, but he returned later to assist The Needle Mover. The former NXT champion gave The Universal Champion a stunner while Jey received a pop-up powerbomb over the announcer’s table. Reigns had recovered from the attack on himself and sent Kevin Owens through the table with a chokeslam and through another one using the Samoan Drop.

The champion thought he had the match won and decided to ascend the ladder. Kevin Owens had made his way back to the ring. Reigns performed the first spear on Owens through a table, but the second one which was about to happen outside the ring was missed and Roman ended up hitting the barricade.

Kevin’s opportunity was right in front of him and he decided to ascend the ladder only to be intercepted by the champion. The former Universal champion performed two superkicks on Roman, but his pop-up powerbomb was intercepted by Roman Reigns with a Superman punch.

The Tribal Chief attempted a spear on Owens, but it got countered by a pop-up powerbomb through the table. Kevin was in the driver’s seat at this time and he thought he had the match won until Jey intercepted him on the ladder. Reigns joined his cousin and hit the low blow on Owens before applying the guillotine choke on his opponent on the ladder.

Kevin couldn’t counter the choke and fell off the ladder. Reigns had the perfect opportunity to unhook the title and he did the same to retain and remain your Universal Champion.

#2 WWE Clash at the Castle 2022 – Drew McIntyre vs Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship

Drew McIntyre makes it the second time on this list thanks to his excellent performance since returning to the main roster. Drew was scheduled to face Sheamus on the 8th of July episode of SmackDown.
The match didn’t happen as The Irish performer sham illness.

It was moved to the July 29th episode of SmackDown where the two faced off in a Good Old Fashioned Donnybrook match which McIntyre won. The following night at SummerSlam Reigns retained his title against Brock Lesnar thereby setting up a match between McIntyre and Reigns at WWE UK show Clash at the Castle.
The match began at the show and it was the first time in 30 years that WWE was doing such a big event in the United Kingdom. Cardiff, Wales came alive for this main event match. Reigns attempted a Superman Punch on his opponent, but McIntyre countered it with his version of the Future Shock DDT. Reigns then speared McIntyre for a nearfall. Reigns knew that this was his moment to shine, and he applied the Guillotine on McIntyre which McIntyre escaped.

McIntyre used Claymore on Reigns, but during this move the undisputed champion bumped into the referee. The referee was down and it was the perfect (or so he thought) opportunity for Austin Theory to cash in his Money In The Bank contract. His wish wasn’t granted as The Gypsy King, Tyson Fury was ringside and his punch knocked out Theory unconscious. Reigns wanted to use this moment to sneak attack on McIntyre with a chair, but Drew had other plans. Drew hit the claymore for another nearfall. The fans were already excited for this match and these near pinfalls made things exciting.

Reigns knew it was his moment as he got up, and performed another Superman Punch on his nemesis which McIntyre speared Reigns. It was McIntyre’s moment as he hit Reigns with a Claymore, but before the referee could count three to the mat, Reigns’ cousin and The Usos younger brother Solo Sikoa pulled the referee out of the ring. Reigns then performed a spear on McIntyre and retained his title.

If you thought, we are over, we have saved the best for the last where everyone came off the ground, including the ring itself. Read on to know more!

#1 SummerSlam 2022 – Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship

Roman Reigns became the undisputed WWE Universal Champion after he defeated Brock Lesnar in a Winner Takes All match at WrestleMania 38. On the June 17th episode of SmackDown, Reigns retained his title against Matt Riddle. After the match, Roman took to mic to announce that there’s no one left for him to face as all have been defeated.

Little did Roman know that someone was about to take an exception to this, as Brock Lesnar’s music hit. He came to the ring after a hiatus and offered a handshake to The Tribal Chief. It looked like the two have mended fences, but wait, Brock Lesnar attacked Reigns and The Usos. A Last Man Standing match between them for the titles at Summerslam was announced quoting it as their last match against each other.

The match between the two started with Lesnar jumping off of the tractor that The Box-Office attraction brought to the ring. The Beast Incarnate gave German Suplexes to the reigning champion at ringside. Lesnar’s former advocate Paul Heyman distracted him and it gave Reigns the opportunity to perform a Samoan Drop on his nemesis through a table at ringside. Lesnar got up at seven on two separate occasions and two different tables.

Reigns used his Superman Punch move twice and a spear on Lesnar, but the former WWE champion wasn’t ready to stay down. The former UFC fighter attempted an F-5 on Reigns, but the current undisputed champion countered and threw Lesnar out of the ring. Lesnar attacked Reigns with the steel steps and a broken piece of the table, but the champion wasn’t ready to lie down to the count of ten.

Lesnar used the tractor’s front loader and threw Reigns through it in the ring before applying German Suplexes on him. The Samoan didn’t want to go down without a fight and he got up at the count of eight. Lesnar’s F-5 didn’t put the champion down and he got up at the count of nine. As Lesnar tried to attempt another F-5, Reigns applied the Guillotine, but Lesnar countered it with his own version of the move and the champion was forced to get up at nine. The Usos decided to aide their cousin, but Lesnar’s force was tough for them to handle.

Paul Heyman taunted Lesnar with the titles, who received an F-5 through the announcers table. Lesnar had already lifted the ring with his tractor and Reigns was on the ground, but he didn’t quit and got up at nine. Austin applied his own Theory, but he was not aware of what Lesnar’s F-5 looks and feels like until this moment. The Usos superkicks, Roman Reigns’ Spear and even an attack using Theory’s Money in the Bank briefcase couldn’t keep The Beast down. Reigns then continuously attacked Lesnar with the titles and The Usos helped him by placing a stack of broken tables on The Beast Incarnate who couldn’t get up after all that weight and the mayhem he went through. Reigns retained his title in a hard fought battle at SummerSlam.

What do you think of our match choices and their description? Sound off in the comments.