7 Early DISASTERS From WWE In Saudi Arabia

3. Roman Conquers Cancer But Can’t Top Shane (Super ShowDown, 2019)

Long before he was the Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns was the Big Dog, Vince McMahon’s pet project and the anointed Next Big Thing in WWE. Years of pushing Roman down fans’ throats backfired gloriously, resulting in crowds mercilessly booing the company’s top babyface. (Sound familiar?)

Then came October 2018, when Reigns announced that his leukemia had returned and he had to step away from wrestling. When he returned in February, Roman suddenly was the beloved babyface Vince had always wanted, as real life did what years of crappy booking couldn’t. Then came Super ShowDown, less than four months later.

Roman had punched out Vince on SmackDown, which led to heel GM Shane McMahon defending daddy’s honor at the Saudi PLE. There, the 49-year-old executive stood toe-to-toe with the former four-time World champion, peppering Reigns with punches and controlling large sections of the match despite sucking wind and dripping sweat from the opening bell. But hey, Shane was the “Best in the World,” so it all makes sense, no?

Inexplicably, Shane defeated Roman (with some help from Drew McIntyre), but the fact that McMahon hung in there competitively with Reigns for nearly 10 minutes and had the former World champion in peril made this inexcusable. The match was widely flamed, while being stuck in this feud with Shane did Roman no favors. WWE managed to take a real-life babyface who beat cancer and jobbed him to a delusional suit, thus rendering him uncool and slowing his momentum.

Six months later, Reigns was being smeared with dog food by Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler.