10 Ways Roman Reigns Can Prove WWE Is His Yard

Bloodied, broken and banged up is how Roman Reigns has largely been portrayed since the biggest win of his career just over one month ago.

After comprehensively defeating The Undertaker in a disjointed encounter highlighting exactly why it was time to put 'The Deadman' out to pasture, Roman Reigns appeared on the following night's Monday Night Raw and cut through the swathes of sanctimonious sentiment with a phenomenal five word retort.

It was one of the bravest segments WWE have ever attempted, and everything from the scripting and placement on the show to the poise and timing of Roman himself was vital in achieving the ultimate goal.

Taking an age to get to his single line of dialogue, Reigns shouldered the unending torrent of abuse from the masses and majestically toyed with the audience merely by pulling the microphone towards his face.

When he did speak, the declaration was concise. 'This is my yard now', Roman exclaimed, drawing further disdain as he marched back to the dressing room.

Neither a hated heel nor a top babyface, Reigns is not just the latest divisive figure in the mould of John Cena as company propaganda would have you believe. Kids may enjoy his work, but Reigns is loathed in a more nuanced and visceral manner than 'The Champ' ever was.

The dynamic doesn't appear to be changing any time soon, but it's now down to the booking to aid Roman's continued progress in proving that each of those five words were rooted in painful truth.

It must be delicately handled in order to not extinguish Braun Strowman's flame upon his return from injury, but 'The Big Dog' must conclusively defeat the 'Monster Among Men' after the series of spectacular attacks he has suffered since his WrestleMania triumph.

WWE surprisingly levelled the playing field between the pair at April's Payback pay-per-view, with Braun defeating Reigns clean in a 12 minute show-closing clash of the titans. This had followed Roman's February victory over Strowman that ended the giant's impressive undefeated streak.

Strowman's lengthy assault on the April 10th edition of Monday Night Raw will likely go down as one of the most famous segments in the show's history. Initially decking Reigns all over the the backstage area, he then returned to hurl the stretcher-bound 'Big Dog' off a ledge.

An unrelenting sh*t-kicking then morphed to superhuman movie magic, as Braun emerged once more when Roman had been finally loaded into an ambulance. Tipping the vehicle in a fit of rage, Braun's assault did far more than separate Reigns' shoulder, as Michael Cole solemnly reported. He forced him off television, much to the rapturous applause of the live audience.

Two weeks after the Payback defeat, Roman returned fire, restoring some parity to their war with an impressive beating of his own. Targeting Strowman's injured arm, he tore Braun apart in a fit of rage, extenuating the monster's incapacity with a serious of wicked chairshots.

Destined for a final battle eventually, Roman must eventually lay claim to slaying one of the organisation's most devastating monsters.