Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre: 4 dominant WWE Superstars and 1 opponent who seems to have their number
Drew McIntyre is heading into WWE Clash at The Castle for perhaps the biggest fight of his career. Heis facing Roman Reigns for the Undisputed Universal championship, hoping to have his first world title win in front of a live crowd in his homeland. While the star seems to be aligned for The Scottish Warrior, there are some extra personal hurdles for him. McIntyre may be one of the most protected stars in the company, but he has never defeated The Tribal Chief in a singles competition.
Like The Scottish Warrior, there are a number of dominant superstars who always seem to come up short against one particular opponent. Despite striking fear into the bulk of the roster, these competitors find uncharacteristically little success against a single rival.
Let's explore four dominant WWE superstars and one opponent that seems to be their undoing.
#4: Liv Morgan is the only woman to defeat Ronda Rousey twice in WWE
Since Ronda Rousey made her WWE debut in 2018, she has arguably been the most dominant star in the women's division. The Rowdy One has won the RAW Women's Championship, Royal Rumble and SmackDown Women's title in less than two years of active competition. During that time, Rousey has only suffered four pinfall losses, including one each to Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair.
The only woman to defeat Rousey twice in a row is the SmackDown Women's Champion Liv Morgan. Morgan cashed in her Money In The Bank contract on a prone Rousey to win the title before controversially defeating The Rowdy One in their Summerslam 2022 rematch. One could argue that the tainted nature of Morgan's victories puts the question on this list, but the fact remains that she's the only woman in the company whom Ronda has lost to, twice.
#3: Brock Lesnar had a Goldberg-shaped thorn in his side for 13 years
Brock Lesnar is one of the most dominant forces in WWE history. The Beast Incarnate is a once-in-a-generation athlete who has made a career out of running through top stars while barely breaking a sweat. Lesnar decimated legends like The Undertaker, The Rock and John Cena on his way to becoming arguably the biggest monster heel in company history.
There is one man, though, that took The Conqueror quite a while to figure out: WWE Hall of Famer, Goldberg. The former Universal Champion won his first encounter with Lesnar at WrestleMania 20 clean before memorably squashing the latter in 86 seconds at Survivor Series 2016. Lesnar eventually defeated "Da Man" at WrestleMania 33, but the latter still has a superior head-to-head record.
This puts him in esteemed company with the likes of Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, but neither of the Shield brothers have defeated Lesnar so decisively.
#2: Drew McIntyre has never beaten Roman Reigns
Can't. Wait.
@WWERomanReigns @HeymanHustle @DMcIntyreWWE #SmackDown https://t.co/05YsZPbCoz
Drew McIntyre is a two-time WWE world champion. He is a Royal Rumble winner, triple crown champion and also one of three men to defeat Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania. The Scottish Warrior has a long and impressive list of achievements, but beating Roman Reigns is not one of them.
McIntyre came up short against Reigns in both their one-on-one matches at WrestleMania 35 and Survivor Series 2020. In Cardiff, the Scottish Warrior will have a third chance at finally putting one in the Win column. If he can do it, he will win the biggest prize in the business of breaking The Tribal Chief's streak.
#1: Roman Reigns can never seem to defeat Seth Rollins when it matters
That @WWERomanReigns chair assault at #RoyalRumble looked familiar...
@WWERollins @HeymanHustle https://t.co/1aymQSH1ww
Roman Reigns may be the bane of Drew McIntyre's existence, but he has a ghost in his own closet that he can never seem to exorcize. The Tribal Chief has never defeated his former Shield brother Seth "Freaking" Rollins in a big match environment, a fact that The Visionary never fails to remind him of. Both of Rollins' WWE championship wins have come at Reigns' expense.
Even in the most dominant stretch of his career, The Head of The Table was unable to score a victory over his old friend. Their contest at Royal Rumble 2022 ended in a DQ win for Rollins after Reigns succumbed to his mind games and attacked him with a steel chair. This allowed The Tribal Chief to retain but in the process gave him the only loss of his historic title reign so far.
Only time will tell if The Head Of The Table can finally get a victory over the man who knows him best when it matters the most.