Summary

• Reigns' decade of dominance culminated in a powerful rematch with Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40, finishing the Bloodline storyline.
• Throughout the years, Reigns has consistently improved in the ring, delivering incredible matches and becoming a beloved babyface.
• From his early battles with The Usos to memorable encounters with Daniel Bryan, Reigns' journey as WWE's leading man is a tale of growth and success.

The title of WWE's leading man has unequivocally belonged to Roman Reigns for the past decade. Truthfully, a decade of dominance is something worth celebrating, especially given Reigns' journey since becoming the Tribal Chief and the face of the company. He was critically lauded heading into his first WrestleMania main event, with both his in-ring character and in-ring ability under scrutiny.

Fast forward to 2024, when he returns from an extended hiatus as the most beloved babyface on the roster. Even as Cody Rhodes carries the leading man torch, Reigns' popularity has never wavered. Character-wise, his Tribal Chief character is among the most compelling in the current landscape of wrestling. His ability in the ring has become undeniable in itself at this point. Across 10 years (longer when counting his time with The Shield), Roman gradually has improved and refined his in-ring work, and delivered some incredible matches.

10 Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes I

WrestleMania 39

Time has proved that this match only served as more of a first chapter to their wider story. Audiences went into this match expecting to and were ready to see Cody Rhodes dethrone Roman Reigns, thus finishing the story, a phrase that was practically the slogan of this match. However, long-term storytelling would take the helm and ensure this was merely the beginning. Still, though, much of this match felt like it was ready to serve as a finale to the wider Bloodline storyline, or at least to Roman's reign.

Locking up for the first time since their respective days in the Brotherhood and The Shield, Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns continued to have sufficient chemistry. The atmosphere in the arena and the sheer stakes helped this one feel like a bout of epic proportions, and that feeling was only bolstered by long-time rivals from Roman's title run, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, making an appearance. Their inclusion truly made this feel like the end was nigh for Roman's championship run, but to everyone's surprise, the story was not over by a long shot.

9 Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

SummerSlam 2022

Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns have wrestled each other several times over the past decade. Going into their SummerSlam match, their WrestleMania 38 main event was considered a letdown, so expectations were low for their Last Man Standing match, despite the new stipulation. Much of the WWE Universe was skeptical about what they could do differently after they shared the ring with each other on 11 prior cases, but Reigns and Lesnar proved everyone wrong.

On July 22, 2022, the two superstars did not hesitate to show fans something different by having a 287lbs Minnesotan leap on the Tribal Chief off of a tractor at the start of the bell. There was truly anarchy in the arena as insurmountable chaos ensued for the next 23 minutes. For any fan of ridiculous, over-the-top, hardcore wrestling, this is a must-watch.

8 The Shield vs. The Usos

Money in the Bank 2013

While much of this list is going to be littered with matches from Roman Reigns' run as The Tribal Chief, some of his best matches came much earlier in his career. Perhaps his first truly great match was at Money in the Bank 2013. On replay value, this is a match that is most interesting as a time capsule when analyzing the retrospective careers of all the competitors involved.

This match came at a time when, in the eyes of the WWE faithful, they were all unproven rookies, hence why they were on the Kickoff pre-show. The Shield had just debuted eight months beforehand, while The Usos had yet to win their first tag titles. These four men walked into this match with a chip on their shoulder and something to prove and managed to steal the show before the show even began.

7 Roman Reigns and Solo Sikoa vs. The Usos

Money in the Bank 2023

Ten years after being in a position where they needed to make a name for themselves, Roman Reigns and The Usos return to Money in the Bank in the main event as part of the hottest act in professional wrestling. On the heels of that angle, this is already a perfect full-circle moment. Things come all the more full circle when the unexpected happens: Roman Reigns is pinned for the first time in three and a half years, and it's by none other than the first man he defended his Universal Championship against, Jey Uso.

The crowd was hotter than it could have possibly been for this Bloodline Civil War and without a single title on the line, the match felt like a special milestone. It was essential viewing then and holds up on repeat viewings now.

6 Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan

WWE Fastlane 2015

If his tag team match against The Usos was Roman Reigns' first truly great wrestling match in WWE, his match with Daniel Bryan was the first truly great singles match of his career. Not to mention, this is a match where the company's proverbial golden boy was battle-tested as a singles competitor. This came one month removed of being booed out of the Wells Fargo Center once he won the 2015 Royal Rumble match, and one month ahead of his WrestleMania main event debut against Brock Lesnar.

Fans had actively denied WWE's chosen one in favor of their people's champion, hoping for another YesleMania. While that wouldn't be in the cards, Roman proved he could hang with the best technical wrestler on the planet against the adversity of a tough crowd.

5 The Shield vs. The Brotherhood

Battleground 2013

Cody Rhodes returned to WWE in 2022 with one thing on his mind: finish the story. One can say that the story between him and Roman Reigns started long before the WWE Championship was on the line, and before either would dub themselves The American Nightmare and The Tribal Chief. It started in 2013, when The Shield was The Authority's muscle attempting to destroy The Rhodes Family legacy.

As far as in-ring ability is concerned, these two teams would have a better match shortly after this on the October 14th episode of Raw, which The Rhodes Brothers would win. However, when it comes down to the perfect marriage between in-ring storytelling and in-ring psychology, the Battleground bout simply cannot be beaten. A great contest culminating in a feel-good moment, not unlike the match that Cody and Roman would have at WrestleMania a decade later.

4 Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles

Extreme Rules 2016

The Extreme Rules match between WWE Champion Roman Reigns and challenger AJ Styles proved to be a massive turning point for the WWE careers of both men. For AJ Styles, in a company where reports at the time suggested that Vince McMahon wasn't familiar with AJ Styles' pre-WWE work, giving WWE's number one top babyface arguably his best match at the time helped elevate AJ in the eyes of the top brass. Immediately afterward, he'd turn heel and begin a program with John Cena, culminating in his first WWE Title win.

For Roman Reigns, at a time when the wrestling community still questioned his wrestling ability, having a match with arguably the best wrestler on the planet helped silence his critics and earn their respect. Fans familiar with Styles' work were in awe to see The Big Dog match The Phenomenal One in the ring.

3 The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family

Elimination Chamber 2014

This match is often praised as one of the best six-man tag team matches of the last decade for WWE, and rightfully so, but one thing that often goes overlooked is how as far as his pre-singles push is concerned, this is the first crowning achievement of Roman Reigns' career. In the months leading to the highly anticipated bout, WWE had been testing the waters with what Reigns' breakout from The Shield could look like at Survivor Series and Royal Rumble.

This match, though, truly tested what Roman Reigns would look like as a leading babyface in peril. Dean Ambrose had disappeared from the match and Seth Rollins had been sent through a table, incapacitated for the night. Now in a three-on-one situation, the match rested on Roman's shoulders, and thanks to a fiery comeback, he had the crowd eating out of his hands.

2 Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan

SmackDown, April 30th, 2021

Most of the talk surrounding this match was on Daniel Bryan, as it was his sendoff match from the company, but it truly takes two to tango. The reason why it felt like such a sad farewell to the former ROH and WWE World Champion was because of the vicious hatred that Roman Reigns inspired. Fans have always loved Daniel Bryan, but that love amplified, and the tears fell harder because of Roman's performance as a heel.

At this stage in their history together, the Reigns character hated Bryan and was ready to push him out of his life and out of his company, hence the Title vs. Career stipulation. In-ring, their chemistry was at its best possible, ushering in one counter after another, but the character work from Reigns is what truly made this a memorable, perfect goodbye to the Yes! Man.

1 Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes II

WrestleMania 40

And now, we finish the list with the match that finished the story. Cody and Roman's rematch at the following year's WrestleMania felt bigger than just finishing their story or even Cody's story revolving around the Rhodes family legacy. This was a culmination of the Bloodline storyline, it finished years' worth of WrestleMania history with multiple cameos, but most of all, it finished Reigns' 1,136 days as champion. There is a reason why some people have compared this match to Avengers: Endgame, as it was able to bring together several storyline and characters, leading to a coherent and feel-good ending.

This match certainly felt like one of Roman Reigns' career-best performances, and arguably one of the best performances of his illustrious reign. It truly felt like Reigns was ready to give it his all one last time as champion, and he delivered. The Bloodline Rules stipulation helped amplify the intensity between the competitors. Meanwhile,Cody finally holding the WWE Championship allowed Roman Reigns to properly ride off into the sunset, at least for a few months.