Roman Reigns Breaks Huge WWE Record
In which Universal Champion Roman Reigns enters the WWE history books. Again.
Roman Reigns' ongoing run as WWE Universal Champion is now the longest in the belt's five-and-a-half-year history.
Sunday saw the SmackDown headliner enter his 504th day with the Universal Championship, meaning he beats Brock Lesnar's old record of 503 recognised days on top. The benchmark had stood since Lesnar dropped the strap to Reigns, coincidentally, in August 2018.
Roman hit Twitter to acknowledge his own accomplishment shortly after WWE produced a celebratory graphic:-
The greatest of this generation, the best to ever hold the #UniversalTitle.
The numbers, the main events, the dominant performances… they don’t lie. 504 days and counting… #GOAT https://t.co/CEgtWvzYdl
Advertisement— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) January 16, 2022
Reigns' acclaimed run as Universal Champion kicked off at Payback 2020. Having returned at SummerSlam one week prior, Roman was inserted into a title fight between Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt at Paul Heyman's behest. Though he held off on entering the bout until the final few minutes, Reigns eventually hit the ring, dominated, and pinned Strowman to take the gold.
The likes of Edge, John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, and more have all been felled during Reigns' second run as Universal Champion. He will defend the strap against Seth Rollins at Royal Rumble 2022 on 29 January and is still expected to face Lesnar at WrestleMania 38 (2 and 3 April).
Lesnar still has Reigns beaten when it comes to combined days as Universal Champion, beating him 686 recognised days to 568.