Grading all of Roman Reigns' WrestleMania main events
Roman Reigns has become a name synonymous with greatness. Along with a historic record-setting run as World Champion, The Tribal Chief has main-evented WrestleMania an astonishing seven times (eight once this year's event concludes).
This is a massive accomplishment and a testament to his superiority as a top-tier megastar. Reigns has main-evented the show more times than John Cena, The Rock, Brock Lesnar, Steve Austin, The Undertaker, and many other legends.
His history at The Showcase of Immortals beautifully exemplifies his growth as a Superstar and his rocky relationship with the WWE Universe.
On that note, let's grade all of Roman Reigns' WrestleMania main events.
#7. Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania 31
Roman Reigns won the 2015 Men's Royal Rumble to punch his ticket to Mania and book a date with the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar. This was supposed to be The Big Dog's crowning moment. However, Daniel Bryan had recently returned from a career-threatening neck injury, and the WWE Universe vehemently rejected Reigns in favor of Bryan.
The fan resentment against the 2015 Rumble winner could be described as nuclear, much like Dominik Mysterio today. As such, with the heat against the Samoan, fans rejected Reigns vs. Lesnar and unequivocally supported The Beast Incarnate, the intended villain who was supposed to put The Big Dog over.
Fortunately, the main event of WrestleMania 31 was far from a disaster. It was universally praised because both men told a wonderful story. WWE averted disaster by having Seth Rollins pull off "The Heist of The Century" by successfully cashing in his Money in the Bank contract. On that night, Reigns silenced many of his doubters and proved that he was worthy of being a top star. The Big Dog endured the beating of a lifetime as Lesnar took him on a trip to Suplex City.
After the challenger sent the champion head-first into the ring post, Reigns mounted a flurry of offense with a series of Superman punches and Spears. This paved the way for Rollins to charge into the ring and create history.
This was the first time Roman Reigns was put to the test, and he excelled and delivered by all means.
Grade: A
#6. The Big Dog vs. The Game (c) at WrestleMania 32 fell flat
Roman Reigns could not have his WrestleMania moment in March 2015 due to Seth Rollins' surprise cash-in to steal the World Championships. However, WWE was more than committed to Reigns despite the obvious and ever-growing fan resentment and hostility. With John Cena, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, and many other top-tier Superstars on the injury list, WWE turned to Triple H as the proverbial stepping stone for The Big Dog.
After Vince McMahon forced Reigns to defend his World Championship in the 2016 Royal Rumble, a returning HHH entered as the final entrant to become a 14-time World Champion. Upon Hunter's victory, WWE's plans for WrestleMania 32 became abundantly clear.
There were several problems with Triple H vs. Roman Reigns at Mania. First and foremost, there was no way The Game was walking out of The Show of Shows as champion, so the outcome was a foregone conclusion, removing much of the anticipation.
Secondly, Mania 32 ran way too long, and the WWE Universe was too tired by the time the main event came around. Lastly, the match was underwhelming, with nothing memorable, aside from The Big Dog Spearing Stephanie McMahon to a decent ovation.
With a lack of depth and star power, WWE's options were limited, but Hunter vs. Reigns could have been executed better.
Grade: C
#5. Roman Reigns "retired" The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33
Fast forward to 2017, and much hadn't changed for Roman Reigns, aside from a slight descent into the mid-card scene. However, WWE had not given up on The Big Dog, and Vince McMahon was going to push him to the moon. The misfortune, this time, was that Reigns was paired with the most respected and revered figure in pro wrestling, The Undertaker, who was at the tail-end of his career.
The fan resentment against Reigns during his program with Taker was unforeseen, a risk WWE should have seen coming. Needless to say, as this was expected to be The Phenom's swan song, the match went on last despite a lackluster build.
At the show, fans witnessed an underwhelming affair, which wasn't entirely Reigns' fault. The Deadman was in bad shape and struggled to keep pace with The Big Dog. An awful botched Tombstone spot and Taker collapsing from his sit-up were disheartening.
Reigns could not carry the battered Taker to a worthwhile match. Unfortunately, the encounter would lose much significance because The Phenom returned to ring action a year later. Furthermore, Taker received an emotional send-off from the live crowd that set the world on fire as one of the greatest rode off to the sunset.
The Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns was always a huge risk, and the boisterous crowd reaction against Reigns on the night after Mania was a clear indication.
Grade: C
#4. Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns II should have never happened
Three years removed from their stellar match at WrestleMania 31, The Beast and The Big Dog collided again in the main event of The Show of Shows inside the Mercedez Benz Superdome. The added twist was that Seth Rollins wasn't lurking in the background.
As for the entire segment, it was a near debacle as the crowd was least bothered. The energy was missing from their encounter and the live audience. It was a typical Brock Lesnar match with a heavy dose of Suplexes and F5s.
WWE also replicated the Lesnar/Orton finish when The Conqueror busted the challenger open. However, the Universal Champion retained against Reigns in a surprising finish.
Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar II has been forgotten. Furthermore, compared to the rest of their battles, this was the most underwhelming.
Grade: C-
#3. Roman Reigns (c) vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Edge for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 37
The Big Dog remained distant from the main event scene for the next 3 years. In the meantime, he underwent a massive character change and became The Tribal Chief.
Roman Reigns returned to the main event of WrestleMania in 2021 when he entered as Universal Champion in front of a live crowd- the first since the pandemic brought the world to a disturbing halt.
His opponents, Edge and Daniel Bryan were committed to finishing their stories as each man had received new life upon returning from in-ring retirement. Unfortunately, The Tribal Chief had other plans.
In a hellacious Triple Threat match that turned ringside into a demolition derby, The Rated-R Superstar and "The Yes Man" brought the fight to The Tribal Chief. However, in the most dominating finish of all time, Reigns smashed both men and stacked them up for the three count.
This was still early in Reigns' run, and no one was expecting such an impressive finish. Furthermore, it was a thoroughly entertaining bout with several breathtaking moments.
Grade: A
#2. Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar in The Biggest WrestleMania match ever
After a long layoff during the pandemic season, Brock Lesnar returned to WWE at SummerSlam 2021 for a lengthy feud with familiar rival Roman Reigns. The difference was that the roles were reversed, and fans got a taste of a different side of Lesnar.
"Cowboy" Brock Lesnar was an entertaining gimmick. The Tribal Chief had already put together a dominant reign. To add a further twist, Lesnar won the WWE Championship, so his bout with Reigns became a Title Unification match.
WWE hyped it as "The Biggest WrestleMania Match of All Time." Compared to Mania 31 and 34, this lands somewhere in between. The crowd was invested in the match because the outcome was genuinely unpredictable.
However, the ending felt rushed, and the match wrapped up in a rather unclimactic fashion. Reigns landed a Spear out of nowhere to put The Beast down for the three count. This came after an injury scare when The Tribal Chief was seen clutching his arm upon receiving the Kimura Lock.
This was not completely underwhelming, but fans had come to expect so much better from Lesnar and Reigns.
Grade: B-
#1. Roman Reigns turned Cody Rhodes' WrestleMania dream into a nightmare
WWE pulled off a risky move at WrestleMania Goes Hollywood last year. A "red hot" Cody Rhodes, at the top of his game, had all the momentum and energy in the world to dethrone Roman Reigns and "finish the story."
Rhodes had the story, and the crowd was firmly behind The American Nightmare. As the final legitimate hope to end Reigns' historic run of dominance, the timing was right to crown a new champion.
Unfortunately, The Bloodline's numbers game caught up on the challenger. As Rhodes went for the third consecutive Cross-Rhodes, Solo Sikoa emerged to Samoan Spike The American Nightmare, allowing The Tribal Chief to hit the Spear for the win.
Although it was a controversial decision at the time, it worked out well in the long run. With Reigns' title run well-beyond a thousand days and an even more determined Rhodes, Cody's chances this time around are pretty high.
It was the perfect cliffhanger finish, which added another chapter in Rhodes' inspirational story and one more red-hot victim on Reigns' list.
Grade: A