Every Roman Reigns WWE Universal Title Defence Ranked In Order Of Greatness

12. Vs Daniel Bryan (Fastlane 2021)

Roman Reigns ranked
WWE.com

An impossibly great Daniel Bryan ThunderDome match and not even the best on this list, Roman's penultimate singles defence against a man initially installed as a pre-WrestleMania rival was so good that Bryan was eventually added to the 'Show Of Shows' headliner too.

Milking their fantastic chemistry for the imagined reactions of everybody still stuck watching at home, the two had yet another irresistibly good technical brawl, with Reigns reminding the Challenger just how good he was at levelling up and - for the first time - revealing a crack in his armour that he'd have to work hard to protect over the following years.

With Edge acting as troubleshooting referee until Jey Uso tried to kick him out of commission, Reigns looked finished until fortune favoured him. Tapping out with the original referee incapacitated, 'The Rated-R Superstar' snapped on both men with a chair. It was this Bryan the Champion managed to topple, rather than the fully fit one he'd eventually retire.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett