Every Roman Reigns WWE Universal Title Defence Ranked In Order Of Greatness
23. Vs Finn Bálor (WWE SmackDown, September 3rd 2021)
Finn Bálor and Roman Reigns had flashes of excellent chemistry during the 2010s, but that seemed to evaporate with Reigns as the straight up heel rather than one the audience had decided on against a sentimental favourite,
Nowhere near as fatally flawed as the Premium Live Event disaster looming in their future, this television encounter was all-too straightforward and predictable, even when Roman was able to deploy his killer near fall came in a shortcut to tension.
Undone by Roman's summer dominance over Edge and John Cena and impending showdown with Brock Lesnar, the feud itself never escaped a feeling of filler, and Bálor having little-to-no physical or mental response to Roman's cheating made his babyface challenge all the more toothless. A title run just short of 1000 days is entitled to have odd forgettable moments, but a fan-cast headline programme years in the making wasn't supposed to be one of them.