By now, most wrestling fans have heard the news. Roman Reigns was forced to relinquish his Universal Championship this past Monday after announcing that he would have to once again endure a battle with leukemia.

I was sort of emotionless for the rest of the night. I hadn’t really experienced something like this since elementary school when my friends informed me about the tragic news of Eddie Guerrero. Here’s a guy that we invite into our homes every Monday night – a guy that performs above everybody else in the world regardless if he’s cascaded with boos.

When fans were sending in their well wishes Monday night, there were several times where the author felt the need to include “I wasn’t a fan of the Roman Reigns character, but”. I thought this was unnecessary. Regardless of how you felt about the character, Monday was the time to celebrate the man known as Joseph Anoa’i. Think about it. Have you ever seen him botch a move or be reckless in the ring? Have you ever heard about him involved in a scandal or backstage heat? Roman Reigns was putting guys over for two years and wrestling for mid-card belts when it was clear he was the top guy of the company. When I caught wind of the news on Monday, I began to reflect on all of these things and more. I felt inspired to write this piece about some of his best and most underrated matches because he’s certainly a superstar that hasn’t always gotten the credit he’s fought so hard to earn.

Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns (vs. Seth Rollins) – WWE Championship, WrestleMania 31

Of course, the one thing we all remember from this match was Seth Rollins cashing in his Money in the Bank contract to win his first ever WWE Championship. It was immediately regarded as one of the most memorable Mania moments of all time. But what I remember is the match before the cash-in. I know it seems like a lifetime ago but this was the first time Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar were going to meet. Fans weren’t crazy about the main event choice but you could tell they were interested. There were no beach balls, booing, or irrelevant chants. Roman Reigns was getting his first major singles push and Brock was booked as being absolutely unstoppable at the time. A case could have been made for both guys. The match included plenty of suplexes and Superman punches but every move felt like it meant something. Every string of offense could have been a turning point for either man. In case you forgot, this is the match were “suplex city” was born. Seth’s moment had us all in shock but I was on the edge of my seat long before that.

Roman Reigns (c) vs Sheamus w/ Vince McMahon as Special Guest Referee – WWE Championship, Monday Night Raw (1/4/2016)

I’ve never heard anyone talk about this match because it wasn’t some 5-star classic and it wasn’t on a pay-per-view. It was the main event of Raw. I lived 2 hours from this venue but when the main event and stipulation was announced the week prior, my friends and I decided we were going to take a little road trip to see it. Other memorable things actually happened on this night. Chris Jericho returned on a full-time basis and the Hall of Fame faction of the Social Outcasts were formed. I don’t remember much of the match but I’ll never forget the pop that Roman got when he overcame the odds and retained the WWE Championship. It was one of the few times I remember an entire venue collectively being on Roman’s side so that’s what I clung to. Unfortunately, Vince let the air out of the building afterward by announcing Roman would be defending his belt at the Royal Rumble. But as I was exiting, I noticed Roman still gave everyone at ringside a high-five after Raw went off the air.

Roman Reigns vs. Big Show – Last Man Standing, Extreme Rules 2015

I wasn’t too excited going into this one. They had been feuding on Raw for weeks with nothing much to sink my teeth into. Show was aging and Roman was still growing into his singles role. Well, they pulled out all the stops for their match at Extreme Rules because I was pleasantly surprised. I was thoroughly entertained in what ended up being my favorite match of the night. I’d say it’s an underrated moment in the career of both men.

Kevin Owens (c) vs Roman Reigns – Universal Championship (No DQ w/ Chris Jericho in a shark cage), Royal Rumble 2017

I’m not the biggest fan of the shark cage stip and Kevin Owens wasn’t having a strong title reign so I wasn’t overly jazzed for this one either. But just like the match with Big Show, they knew how to get the job done. The match itself was awesome and the feud between Braun Strowman and Roman was created at the conclusion. Roman returned later in the night as entrant #30 in The Rumble to a groundswell of groans. We were all expecting the debut of Samoa Joe or the return of Finn Balor. Now that we’ve had enough time to sit back and reflect, I think we can all laugh about how angry we were.

Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns vs The League of Nations – Monday Night Raw (4/11/16)

This looks like a normal tag match on paper but the context is what really sold it to the fans. Four days prior, Bray lost his grandfather, Blackjack Mulligan. This was his return to television and the crowd was completely behind him. It sounds like I’m making an article about Bray Wyatt here but Roman was also able bask in the support. A lot of fans remember the finish of this match where Bray summoned Roman to spear Sheamus to seal a win. Bray and Roman feuded the previous year but there was definitely chemistry throughout the match. Something special could have come from it but Bray was injured soon after.

Roman Reigns vs Bray Wyatt – Hell in a Cell Match, HIAC 2015

This was the highlight of the feud I just mentioned. It was overshadowed on the night due to the violence and blood of Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker but still held its own. It was the longest match of the night with gruesome and creative spots that lived up to my expectations. I’ve always seen this match as underrated and is surely worth a revisit.

Roman Reigns (c) vs AJ Styles – WWE Championship, Payback 2016 & Extreme Rules 2016

These pair of matches are probably my favorite in the career of Roman Reigns. Roman had just reclaimed his WWE Championship at Wrestlemania and AJ Styles was getting his first shot at a title with his new home. AJ lost to Chris Jericho at Mania so it was a big shock when he got pushed to the top, especially since we were still waiting to see how Vince would handle AJ. It was another dream feud that we got early in AJ’s run with each match providing sheer quality and surpassing all hype.

Roman Reigns (c) vs Seth Rollins – WWE Championship, Money in the Bank 2016

This match came about after Seth Rollins returned to attack Roman after his second match with AJ. It was another fantastic outing in the string of classics from Roman Reigns that was unfortunately overcast by how the match ended. This was the night Dean Ambrose cashed in his MITB contract, resulting in all three Shield members holding the company’s top prize in the same night. As you may have noticed, a lot of Roman’s greatest matches and moments had to take a backseat to someone or something happening in the same night. With that being said, I’ll end with a match that left Roman with the biggest shine.

Roman Reigns vs Braun Strowman – Ambulance Match, Great Balls of Fire 2017

Whether you like it or not, Roman Reigns played the biggest part in making a star out of Braun Strowman. Braun needed a major feud to establish himself and Roman was the punching bag the fans wanted. Roman was the babyface in this feud yet fans cheered for him getting thrown off a ledge while strapped to a stretcher. In a time where Smackdown was the ‘A’ brand and Raw had an absent champion, these two guys were producing one of the most consistently entertaining parts of the product. For this particular match, Roman was unsuccessful but everyone can recall what would ensue. In an act you’d be more likely to see in the Attitude Era, Roman reversed the ambulance into another truck with Braun still inside. This was legitimately incredible and would have gotten any other superstar over with the fans which is a shame.

Honorable Mentions:

vs. Finn Balor (Monday Night Raw, #1 Contender’s Match for Inaugural Universal Championship, 7/25/16)

vs. John Cena (No Mercy 2017)

vs. Rusev (Hell in a Cell Match, United States Championship, HIAC 2016)

vs. The Undertaker (Wrestlemania 33)

Shield Triple Threat (WWE Championship, Battleground 2016)

Shield Matches to Revisit:

vs. Team Hell No & The Undertaker (Monday Night Raw, 4/22/13)

vs. Evolution (Extreme Rules 2014 & Payback 2014)

vs. Goldust and Cody Rhodes (Tag Team Championships, Battleground 2013)

vs. Wyatt Family (Elimination Chamber 2014)

vs. New Day (Survivor Series 2017)

More Moments to Revisit:

It’s a tad lengthy but it’s my favorite segment in a series of promos leading up to the first ever clash between John Cena and Roman Reigns. Even Kurt Angle had a hard time hiding the enjoyment on his face.

My favorite promo in the career of Roman Reigns.

The fans couldn’t get behind the push of Roman at this time but when you ambush the COO with his wife in the car, you come across as a badass to me.

It has less than half the views of the original Shield reunion but this one was more unexpected and written better, in my opinion. It was edited out of this video but any segment that gets a “holy s**t” chant out of the audience is a clear success.

I know this article is a lot of content to digest and sift through but it was the least I could do for such an underappreciated talent. If I can change the perception of Roman Reigns for at least one fan then I will feel like this was a success.

#ThankYouRoman