10 Forgotten Moments From 10 Years Of Roman Reigns In WWE

5. Beating 'The Viper'

Randy Orton Roman Reigns
WWE

Recently, when researching for a piece called '10 Awesome Matches WWE Still Has In Its Back Pocket', this writer almost included Randy Orton vs. Roman Reigns. Then, a random memory shot to the forefront of his brain: Reigns vs. Orton already happened on a major WWE pay-per-view way back at SummerSlam 2014.

Oops.

The truth is that their 16-minute showdown was 100% overshadowed by the mauling Brock Lesnar gave John Cena in that night's main event. Roman and Randy technically had the co-headliner spot, but hardly anybody recalls their subpar outing that hinged on Reigns fighting back though endless head and chin locks.

Reigns vs. Orton seems like the kind of bout that could've headlined a subsequent SummerSlam, and yet WWE have rarely revisited it for anything more than TV filler. This match is hardly worth going back to watch, but it's a curious reminder of just how hard WWE pushed Roman from mid-2014 onwards.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.