4 Superstars who almost defeated Roman Reigns after he turned heel
Roman Reigns likes to run his mouth, saying there is no one left for him to beat (read: SMASH). Objectively, and given WWE's obsession with feeding every credible challenger to him, he does make a good point.
However, anyone who has watched his run as The Tribal Chief knows he is fortunate to be holding one world title, never mind two. While he has indeed beaten some top stars convincingly, he has been dominated by others in truly unconvincing fashion.
From The Usos saving his bacon at every turn to Reigns himself cheating in matches, many of his title bouts could have easily gone the other way. His opponents will probably look back on those contests, lamenting their bad luck and The Head of the Table's resourceful methods.
On that note, here are four superstars who almost beat Roman Reigns after his heel turn.
#4. On our list of superstars who came close to defeating Roman Reigns after he turned heel: Drew McIntyre
Survivor Series 2020 saw Universal Champion Roman Reigns clash with WWE Champion Drew McIntyre in a mega match. It was a battle between two of the best in the company at the time, and the stage was set for the rivals to prove who among them was the top dog.
Reigns and McIntyre went to war and traded haymakers throughout. However, a certain pattern began to emerge midway through the contest, and The Scottish Warrior had an answer for everything his opponent threw at him. He looked sure to take the win until a referee bump occurred, and Jey Uso ran in to save his cousin.
The Head of the Table low-blowed the then-WWE Champion and proceeded to apply the Guillotine Choke on him. McIntyre passed out and handed the win to Reigns, but it was a victory that came with a huge asterisk.
#3. Finn Balor (The Demon King)
Heading into Extreme Rules 2021, everyone backed Roman Reigns to retain his title over Finn Balor. However, betting odds turned on their heads when it was announced that The Demon King was his opponent.
It was an unstoppable force versus an immovable object scenario, and no one knew who would prevail. Balor took over in the dying stages of the match and hit the Coup de Grace on his opponent. However, he was robbed of a surefire win by The Usos, who pulled him out of the ring.
Despite that, The Demon took out the twins and powerbombed Jey Uso through the announce table. Reigns took advantage and blasted him with a Spear. However, that wasn't enough to keep him down.
Balor rose back up, left The Tribal Chief on his back, and climbed the top rope to put him down for good. Tragically, the top rope snapped, and he fell down, and his opponent capitalized to secure the win.
#2. Brock Lesnar
There were two instances where Brock Lesnar shut Roman Reigns up. The first time was at Crown Jewel 2021 when he lost his Universal Championship opportunity thanks to interference by Usos. A couple of months later, he lost at WrestleMania 38 due to his former advocate Paul Heyman saving his Tribal Chief from a tragic loss.
Lesnar has outwrestled Reigns every time they have met. It hasn't been any different since the latter turned heel. We expect the same to happen come SummerSlam 2022, where the two will lock horns in a Last Man Standing match. Time will tell if The Beast can overcome The Bloodline and put The Head of the Table down.
#1. Daniel Bryan
Before their match at Fastlane, Roman Reigns declared that he would rather die in the ring than tap out to Daniel Bryan. With Edge announced as the special guest enforcer, the stage was set for an exciting and high-stakes matchup.
The contest was a hard-hitting affair that saw both competitors evenly matched throughout. The last act of the bout saw Bryan accidentally knock the referee out, prompting Edge to take over as the man in charge. He then trapped Reigns in the Yes! Lock, however, was met with a Superkick courtesy of Jey Uso, who also delivered one to The Rated-R Superstar.
The Tribal Chief's right-hand man then tried to attack Bryan with a chair, but the latter took over and blasted him with it. He then attempted to deliver the same fate to his boss but accidentally hit Edge.
Bryan applied the Yes! Lock again, and Reigns tapped out, but there was no referee to award him the win. The WWE Hall of Famer then attacked both competitors and left the ring, and the Universal Champion used his final bit of energy to cover The Planet's Champion for the three-count.