5 Ups & 10 Downs From WWE Royal Rumble 2022

2. Roman Loses It

It’s not often that you can say that a DQ finish in a world title match works, but the Roman Reigns/Seth Rollins finish actually worked, because they (get this!) told a story around it.

Reigns couldn’t get the upper hand on Rollins, as he was constantly one-upped and out-maneuvered during an excellent bout that saw Seth come an eyelash away from beating Roman a couple times. But when Rollins offered a Shield fist bump, Reigns lost it and sunk in a guillotine choke that he refused to break after Seth grabbed the ropes.

This led to a DQ, after which Roman kept the guillotine on for a good while before retrieving a chair and battering Rollins. The other thing that really worked in the match’s favor was the announcers telling the story about Roman not having Paul Heyman or the Usos around to provide a calming influence or direction to the Tribal Chief. Left alone, Reigns came unhinged.

It’ll be interesting to see if that’s followed up on, but if they actually, you know, tell a good story, this DQ would fit in really nicely. And it had the added benefit of making it clear that Rollins was the babyface, at least for this night.