4 Roman Reigns matches from his Universal Title reign that got canceled
For over three years now, Roman Reigns has ruled as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, with no performer seemingly able to stop him.
The Tribal Chief has taken on many top stars such as Edge, Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Goldberg, Seth Rollins, Jey Uso, Sami Zayn, and many more during his reign thus far.
Although he has competed in many matches during his current reign, we are going to take a look at 4 matches that were canceled for various reasons:
#4 - Roman Reigns takes on a WWE authority figure
In January 2021, after Roman Reigns had firmly re-established himself as the top dog in WWE the Tribal Chief set his sights on company management.
With Roman seemingly angry at the booking decisions of WWE executive Adam Pearce, the former pro wrestler found himself as the number one contender for Reigns' Universal title in a match set for the Royal Rumble.
However, after this match was announced many fans felt that it was a waste, given the zero percent chance Pearce had of winning, therefore Creative chose to have Kevin Owens step in and take Adam's place.
#3 - The Tribal Chief avoids The Viper
Although he has taken on many top names as The Head of The Table, one of the biggest stars Roman Reigns has not put his title on the line against is Randy Orton.
A major factor in the two stars avoiding one another in recent years was simply because Orton was on RAW and Roman was on SmackDown.
In 2020 at Survivor Series, the two brands' World Champions were booked to face each other, meaning Randy and Roman would finally do battle. However, despite the match already being announced, Orton would lose his WWE title to Drew McIntyre ahead of Survivor Series, meaning the dream face-off was canceled.
With Roman now working more of a part-time schedule in recent years, top stars like Orton have seemingly resented him for taking time away. Speaking on WWE's YouTube Channel Orton said he will never leave for the bright lights of Hollywood like he expects Roman to eventually do.
"I don't care if Roman Reigns... I'm sure he's got Dwayne Johnson's agent's number on speed dial. Roman will be in Hollywood, I'll still be here. I'm in my prime, ladies and gentlemen. I got a long way to go. My legacy will be, that I did it longer than anybody," said Orton. [13:54-14:13] (H/T Sportskeeda)
#2 - A tag match against two of his greatest foes
On the RAW after WrestleMania 39 last year, Roman and his cousin Solo Sikoa were booked to face Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar in a huge tag team main event.
This match was certainly a surprise as Lesnar and Reigns rarely compete anymore unless it is on a Premium Live Event card.
The contest would not come to fruition as moments before the bell was set to ring, Brock Lesnar shocked the fans as he brutally assaulted Cody, leading Reigns and Sikoa to just exit the arena to let The Beast destroy The American Nightmare.
Although Cody did not get his hands on Roman Reigns that night, Rhodes recently told Comicbook he is still determined to beat The Tribal Chief and complete his story:
"The important thing to me is still the championship on Roman’s shoulders and it’s the biggest match that WWE could do, but it would take a great deal of mountains to be moved for that rematch to even happen. The goal is the same for me, I just have to see it through and do the work." (H/T Comicbook)
#1 - Roman Reigns and The Beast's battle is put on hold
At SummerSlam 2021, Brock Lesnar shocked the fans in attendance as he made his first appearance in WWE for well over a year, with The Beast coming out to the ring after Roman Reigns just retained his title against John Cena in the main event.
During Roman Reigns' entire main event run in World Wrestling Entertainment, Brock Lesnar has undoubtedly been his biggest foe, with the pair having headlined WrestleMania on three separate occasions.
On January 01, 2022, the two superstars were set to battle again, however, the Tribal Chief contracted COVID-19, meaning that their Universal Title match was put on hold.
Although they have appeared as rivals on screen, Brock gave his seal of approval to Roman Reigns whilst speaking to the New York Post ahead of their match at WrestleMania 38.
"I see a f***ing superstar,” Lesnar said about Reigns, “I see [a] guy who came into his own and is a real threat as [a] person and as a character. … Roman has the It factor, has had it. It’s exciting to me." (H/T New York Post)
Whilst Roman Reigns has faced many big names as The Tribal Chief, it can be argued that no star has posed a greater threat to his reign than Brock Lesnar.
Will Roman Reigns successfully defend the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Royal Rumble? Shoot in the comment box.