8 Times WWE Tried (And Failed) To Make The Roman Reigns Experiment Work

SummerSlam is almost upon us, and Roman Reigns is once again set to take on Brock Lesnar for WWE Universal Championship. The match will mark the third time that these two men have met this year (the fourth overall), and after the negative reception that their WrestleMania main event received, it's certainly puzzling as to why WWE would revisit this reviled feud for yet another marquee PPV.

It all has to do, of course, with the ascension of Roman Reigns. WWE's creative team has been trying to get the Big Dog over as the company's top face for three years now. Initially aiming to pull the trigger on his main event push with his and Lesnar's inaugural clash back in 2015, they were forced to change plans due to the WWE Universe's negative reaction. After years of failed attempts to make people like him, they tried to recreate the narrative this year, but they ultimately backed out again and had Lesnar retain.

Now, here we are with SummerSlam in sight and we can't help but wonder if this will finally be the time that Reigns takes his not-so-rightful place atop the WWE kingdom and slays the part-time Universal Champion. Before the barbaric war is waged one final time, let's take a look back through the past three years to remind ourselves of the company's failed attempts to make Roman Reigns their top dog.

Roman Reigns' turbulent journey to becoming WWE's top babyface began all the way back at the 2015 Royal Rumble. The Big Dog entered the Rumble match and, it didn't take long for us to figure out that he was destined to win. Much like the previous year's match, the WWE Universe wanted Daniel Bryan, and when the Yes Man was eliminated, they took their frustrations out on the superstar that was clearly handpicked to be the next big thing.

From Reigns' continued dominance to the eventual assist from The Rock, we could all see WWE's work at hand as they tried to turn Roman into the underdog hero of the evening before he inevitably overcame the odds and won. It was predictable and unwanted which ultimately turned Reigns into the divisive force that he is today.

The most interesting thing about all of this was that it was eerily reminiscent of the previous year's Royal Rumble, except Reigns had swapped roles. While fans backed him in 2014 and booed the victorious Batista, Reigns would then draw the exact same type of ire from the WWE Universe the following year. Could things have turned out differently for him if he had won the Rumble a year earlier?