Every Roman Reigns WWE Universal Title Defence Ranked In Order Of Greatness
24. Vs Braun Strowman (WWE SmackDown, 16th October 2020)
Quite the curio now, Roman Reigns' first television title defence existed while 'The Tribal Chief' was still finding his feet as a heel and former Champion Braun Strowman was struggling to arrest a creative decline that indirectly resulted in his surprising release from the company the following year.
Strowman's character was totally goosed after a lame duck title reign and rotten feud with The Fiend, but by virtue of his actions at Clash Of Champions and the ones to come at Hell In A Cell, Roman felt a long way beyond this loose end by the time he tied it up.
It's as good as an undercooked ThunderDome match watched several years out of context can be, but that's a low bar in and of itself. As the bridge between two vastly superior Jey Uso encounters and confirmation that Roman was a nastier threat than his faux-sincerity had been suggesting, it's purpose-serving if not wholly memorable on its own terms.