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

2. Vs Edge & Daniel Bryan (WrestleMania 37)

Roman Reigns ranked
WWE

Roman Reigns' first title defence in front of an audience was his best until his last, with the temporary return of crowds post-pandemic helping an atmosphere made even hotter by Daniel Bryan having one more run at WWE's richest prize and Edge wrestling like it was now or never during his own big night in front of crowd.

Not since the Royal Rumble 2020 had a major stadium had the opportunity to cheer on the 'Rated-R Superstar', but since then, he'd pivoted into an altogether more serious version of the wide-eyed hero that had returned.

It all resulted in a triple threat that was epic in scale and wholly unpredictable - Bryan had been booked as "saving" the match in the spirit of his WrestleMania 30 triumph, Edge's stakes had never felt so high, and Roman's reign wasn't yet the length it'd reach. If anything, 'The Show Of Shows' felt like at least one of the heroes could reign supreme.

Instead, the opposite was true. Reigns had long periods of dominance, took advantage of just how much both men were lost in their own battles rather than the one with him, and emphatically stacked his fallen foes up in a pile when he claimed the win. It wasn't without help from Jey Uso, but that closing shot couldn't have been anymore emblematic of what was to come for the next two years.

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