The career of Roman Reigns is littered with historic rivalries. Here's 10 of em. These are the 10 greatest rivals of Roman Reigns' career.
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00:56 - 10
01:56 - 9
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08:20 - 3
09:25 - 2
10:16 - 1.5
10:45 - 1
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00:00 - Start
00:56 - 10
01:56 - 9
03:09 - 8
04:05 - 7
05:04 - 6
06:19 - 5
07:16 - 4
08:20 - 3
09:25 - 2
10:16 - 1.5
10:45 - 1
SUBSCRIBE TO partsFUNknown: https://bit.ly/2J2Hl6q
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/partsfunknown
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/partsfunknown/
Buy wrestling merchandise here: https://www.wrestleshop.com/
Read more Feature content here on WrestleTalk.com: https://wrestletalk.com/features/
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SportsTranscript
00:00 Roman Reigns has had a lot of poopy rivalries. Here's 10 good ones. Don't say that you'll get
00:04 demonetized. Here's a real one. You'll remember his sh*t matches with Brock Lesnar, but you'll
00:09 find he's had a lot of great rivalries too. Here's 10 of them. What do you mean you've been writing
00:13 all this down? Pete Quinnell, 2023. Thanks Pete for your hard-hitting analysis. You're a treasure
00:19 to us all. Roman Reigns has indeed had a lot of rivalries over the last decade in between his many,
00:24 many interpersonal spats with Brick Lesberg, and now with SummerSlam having passed, giving us a
00:30 neat and tidy place to look back on the Bloodline storyline, which you will be shocked to learn,
00:34 just might feature on this list. I'm Tempest Hailing from PartsFunKnown, and these are the
00:38 10 greatest rivals of Roman Reigns' career. But before we get on with our list, make sure that
00:43 you like this video, subscribe, and enable notifications to always on so you never miss
00:46 a fun list just like it. And make sure you check out the latest edition of Survival Series, where
00:51 all of the people in the PFK HQ try to name every single SummerSlam main event.
00:56 10. Brock Lesnar Okay, so he didn't have THAT many
01:00 rivalries. WWE would like to push Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar as one of the most legendary
01:05 programs in wrestling history. It isn't, but don't tell WWE that, or they might run that sh*t back
01:10 again. Brock vs Roman was WWE's break glass in case of emergency main event after it didn't work
01:16 back in 2015. Their match at WrestleMania was fantastic, but the build was rotten and WWE
01:21 didn't get the Roman coronation they had wanted, so their answer was just to try again. And again,
01:27 and again, and again and again and again. Of the 7 one-on-one matches these two have had,
01:33 including that Mania match, I feel comfortable saying precisely two of them have been good.
01:38 The first one, and the last one. You know, the one with the tractor.
01:42 It's not a great batting average, and it rarely produced the results WWE were looking for,
01:47 but when it was great, it was f*cking great, and it is inarguable that Brock will probably go down
01:52 as Roman's most iconic opponent. 9. John Cena
01:57 Roman Reigns was dubbed WWE's top guy in 2015, and once that happened, a clash with the previous
02:02 face that ran the place was inevitable. This is a really weird one to try and look at,
02:07 because on one hand, there are a lot of very memorable moments between these two, both in 2017
02:12 and in 2021, be it Cena eviscerating Roman on the mic, or making his return at Money in the Bank,
02:17 or even their two matches together, both of which were top-level WWE main event matches,
02:22 but on the other hand, I don't think either of those little rivalries are particularly
02:26 Roman's best moments. Yeah, people bring up that Cena promo a lot, but they bring it up by burying
02:31 Roman 6 feet deep, and at a time where Roman wasn't quite able to clap back like he is now.
02:37 And in 2021, the story consisted of John Cena once again trying to bury Roman by saying that
02:41 after all of WWE's efforts, Roman still wasn't working, but like, he was working. He was the
02:48 hottest wrestler in the business at the time. And don't get me started about Cena saying Roman ran
02:53 Dean Ambrose out of WWE. Promos about hot topics used to get pops made for what should have been
02:58 the next step in the Hogan/Rock/Rock Cena line of torch passing come across as a disjointed story
03:04 held together by star power and great matches, but hey, you can't say you don't get credit for that.
03:09 Number 8 - Cody Rhodes
03:11 I'm not going to spend the bulk of this entry talking about the finish of WrestleMania,
03:14 the decision we are all still waiting to pay off. Rather, I would love to look at the greatness that
03:19 came when these two stepped up to one another a decade apart. As a tag team, there weren't that
03:24 many rivals Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns had while they were in the shield. That is, until they
03:29 stepped up on behalf of the authority to battle the Rhodes family. Their matches at Battleground
03:34 and Hell in a Cell were talked about as star-making performances for Cody at the time,
03:38 and it set a wonderful foundation for Cody and Roman to build upon when they found each other
03:42 again as undeniable main event stars. There was skepticism at the time, because Cody and Roman
03:48 didn't have the long-running story that Sami Zayn did, but yet they managed to tell a gripping
03:52 story about Dusty Rhodes looking at Roman Reigns as more of a son than he ever did Cody. F*** me,
03:58 running would this have been high on the list with a better ending. Could have been the best
04:02 Mania main event. I stand by it, no apologies. #7 AJ Styles
04:07 Somehow, AJ Styles hasn't resurfaced in Roman Reigns' life since he won the Universal title
04:12 three years ago. You really think he would have done, too, considering how spectacular their
04:16 little feud was in 2016. Roman Reigns was not exactly well-liked by fans after a stinker at
04:21 WrestleMania 32, or liked for all at that matter, so he was in desperate need of a stellar title
04:26 defense at the time, and when you needed a stellar match in 2016, you picked up the phone
04:30 and dialed 770 and then whatever AJ Styles' number is. This was a fun little feud, spanning two
04:35 pay-per-views and involving the debuting Good Brothers backing up AJ and the Usos backing up
04:40 Roman out of the kindness of their hearts, rather than the manipulation that came later. But while
04:45 the weekly TV was good, the best and most memorable thing is that Extreme Rules match.
04:50 It would be in contention for Roman's best singles match, and I cannot stress enough just how badly
04:55 he needed a match like this. It's truly bizarre that AJ and Roman haven't wrestled more, but
05:00 there's still time! I don't think Roman's losing that title anytime soon.
05:04 6. Kevin Owens
05:06 People love to talk about the WrestleMania trilogies of Steve Austin and The Rock,
05:10 Triple H and The Undertaker, to a lesser extent Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns,
05:14 but move over, WrestleMania, it's Royal Rumble Trilogy time!
05:17 When Kevin Owens was Universal Champion, the big challenger of the winter was Roman Reigns.
05:22 Their roadblock match was a backdrop for Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho's lovers quarrel,
05:26 but that Royal Rumble match is a shark cage-sized bundle of fun.
05:29 Then, when Roman started his, as of this video, literally never-ending title reign,
05:34 his first non-Jey Uso pay-per-view challenger was Kevin Owens.
05:38 KO perfectly served as a rival for Roman Reigns, as Jey learned his place within the bloodline,
05:43 losing to Roman at TLC, on SmackDown, and, of course, at the Royal Rumble.
05:48 That Rumble match is a Tropicana Field-sized bundle of fun,
05:52 despite the referee stopping his count to free Roman from his restraints.
05:55 And, of course, we have the finale of our Rumble Trilogy this year,
05:59 a Royal Rumble 2023-related bundle of fun, and definitely the most story-driven of the three,
06:06 even if KO was the supporting actor to Sami Zayn's lead.
06:09 KO and Roman may not have ever been each other's big climactic rival,
06:14 but they have always been a reliably great rivalry to get WWE through the winter months.
06:19 Number 5 - Braun Strowman
06:21 I thought this would have placed higher, but it really is a statement on the remaining
06:24 rivals on this list. Also, if this was a list of Braun Strowman's rivals, it might have ranked at
06:29 the top. The "I'm not finished with you" run of Braun tipping over anything he and the wonderful
06:34 world of special effects could get their hands on, often things holding or containing Roman Reigns,
06:39 was by far the hottest period of Strowman's career. It's amazing what a simple and consistent
06:44 push can do for a fella. And to be fair, Roman and Strowman had much better chemistry in the
06:49 ring than anyone could have expected, having a great match at Fastlane 2017, and then very good
06:54 matches at Payback and the dumbest pay-per-view name ever, the latter of which saw Roman achieve
06:59 flight. Their 2018 may not have captured the same magic of the year earlier, WWE forcing Strowman
07:04 into a heel roll may have had something to do with that, and the finish of that Hell in a Cell
07:08 match may have had even more to do with it, but of all the names on this list so far,
07:12 fewer are as closely tied to Roman as Brawny the Angry Strowman.
07:16 Number 4, Sami Zayn. In December 2021,
07:19 Sami Zayn was defeated by Roman Reigns in a Universal Championship match in 15 seconds,
07:23 and it was at that moment that I gave up on Sami Zayn ever being anything close to a main event
07:28 talent again. Then we finally got a reprieve from Vince McMahon and Triple H began the Sami
07:32 Zayn babyface restoration project, aka the best period of WWE television I have ever had the
07:37 chance to see. A lot of people have said that Sami Zayn was never the main character of the
07:41 Bloodline story, and ultimately that has been proven by WWE, hence Sami not being even higher
07:46 on this list, but for a stretch of time, Sami Zayn and Roman Reigns was the greatest thing in
07:51 all of wrestling. The run of the Trial of Sami Zayn to the Royal Rumble Bloodline Split to Sami
07:58 in Montreal for Smackdown and Elimination Chamber is one of the all-time great stretches a WWE feud
08:04 has ever had. Roman Reigns' three-year reign as champion would not be seen as half as good as it
08:10 is without Sami Zayn and really, that is the biggest contribution Sami has made as a rival
08:15 to Roman. We're in the top tier, folks, and we've still got three more to go!
08:19 Number 3. Daniel Bryan
08:21 Thankfully by the end of it all, I do believe Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan will be linked
08:25 together positively in the minds of fans, and that very much wasn't the case at one point.
08:30 People may be quick to look at 2015 as the start of Bryan and Roman's story, but nay,
08:35 considering Bryan was in Roman's very first WWE match, and one of the men Roman beat to win his
08:41 first ever championship, Roman and Bryan have been linked since the very start. Then, of course,
08:46 you did have Roman taking Bryan's perceived spot by winning the 2015 Royal Rumble, which is an
08:51 interesting thing to talk about on a positive list, but it did lead to an excellent match
08:55 between them at Fastlane. For many years, it seemed that would be their one and only pay-per-view
08:59 singles match, but when Bryan returned, we finally got the continuation of their rivalry.
09:04 It's a shame it had to happen during the bad times, but what can you do?
09:08 Fastlane 2021, a great match. WrestleMania 37, one of the great main events ever. And then Daniel
09:14 Bryan's final ever match before being deleted forever. A great rivalry that hopefully can
09:20 outshine the rubbish that was the 2015 Royal Rumble now and forever more.
09:24 Number 2. Seth Rollins
09:26 To this day, I don't think Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns have had their climactic match.
09:31 I thought it was going to be at the Royal Rumble in 2022, but then that wonky-ass finish happened
09:36 and we're still waiting for Seth's rematch. Even despite this, however, Seth Rollins is still
09:42 unquestionably Roman Reigns' oldest and perhaps greatest rival. The man that set all of Roman's
09:48 betrayal-based paranoia in motion with one swift chair shot to the back. He is the mountain that
09:54 Roman has yet to truly overcome, having never gotten over that betrayal. Sure, they may have
09:59 had half a dozen Shield reunions that may make you think otherwise, but that chair-shaped knife
10:04 in the back can be seen as the cause of a lot of the character development we have seen since.
10:08 Maybe when these two inevitably main event WrestleMania in a few years,
10:11 we can put Seth in the top spot. But until then, that distinction goes to...
10:15 Number 1.5. The Fans
10:18 I tricked you. Funny little prank I did.
10:21 I often get requests in the comments to have top entries on this list be things like
10:25 "Creative", "Themself", "Putting Someone Over". And that's not really my style, but in this case,
10:30 I made an exception because when the fans still hate you as a babyface that literally beat cancer,
10:35 that's when it is personal. Roman's relationship with WWE fans will forever be studied,
10:40 but in terms of an actual wrestling rivalry, the top spot has to go to...
10:44 Number 1. His Family
10:46 The greatest thing to ever happen to Roman Reigns was turning on his family. There was not enough
10:51 time in the day to go over the entire Bloodline story, even though a year of it was spent on
10:55 Brock Lesnar, see why he's number 10 now? But the character work between Roman, Jimmy Uso,
11:01 Jey Uso, and Solo Sakoa is some of the best in WWE history, and without a doubt the best of
11:06 Roman Reigns' career. The Clash of Champions match and the Hell in a Cell match that followed
11:10 serving as the launching pad for this faction, leading to YEARS of slow burn character development
11:16 before Jey Uso finally got his next match at Summerslam just days ago. This is the kind of
11:21 story that proves that WWE can be better, that a long term storyline can work, and is the thing
11:27 that WWE fans will throw their popcorn at the wall in excitement watching. And the craziest part of
11:32 it all is I don't think this storyline will ever really end. There is so much story left to be
11:37 told and matches to be had before Roman's career is over, and there may be no more room to climb on
11:42 this list, but maybe when we do a "Greatest WWE Rivalries of All Time" list, this will have
11:47 climbed to the top of that as well. But until then, it'll have to settle for being the very
11:51 best rivalry that Roman Reigns has ever had. And that's our list. Make sure of course that
11:57 you like this video and subscribe to help get us to our 250,000 subscriber goal, and make sure you
12:01 check out this clip of the latest Survival Series.
12:04 Well you see Tempest, you say that. But actually, what the real problem is gonna be today
12:10 is Summerslam opening matches. Cause I know, I know all the Summerslam main events.
12:17 But can you name all of them?