At the start of 2022, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins began a feud for the WWE Universal Championship, which harkened back to the days when they were in The Shield, playing off their history with one another, and it made for some entertaining television. However, it was never truly resolved, with both men moving on to do their own thing. This was a mistake, and WWE should have continued with their rivalry into WrestleMania season.
The Shield Is One Of The Best Factions Of All Time
The Shield was a hugely popular act in WWE, with the group producing three of the top names in wrestling today. Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose will forever be synonymous with one another due to their strength and success as a group, which included many great matches, and a sensational collapse too, with Rollins turning on his former brothers to turn heel and join The Authority.
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This led to several years of matches and feuds between the three men, in addition to reconciliations and reunions which helped to carry WWE TV through the last decade. Over those years, Reigns and Rollins would compete on several occasions, but when it came to the matches that truly mattered, Rollins always had Reigns’ number, even beating him clean, and even when he was a heel. This has always come back into play whenever the two men have faced off, and that was no different when Rollins emerged to challenge Reigns on Smackdown for the Universal Championship.
WWE Acknowledged The Strong History Between Reigns & Rollins
Rollins has been a heel for a couple of years now, and he is growing more and more into his role as time goes on, with his all-around talent being near perfect in every aspect. Given his character, it was surprising to see him confront Reigns. However, with how much of a fantastic heel Reigns has grown into, anyone who steps up to him will be cheered, as he has been so effective as a heel. With Rollins, his extravagance and arrogance when standing up to Reigns saw him get love from the audience. The absolute confidence when standing across from someone who has been scarily dominant was something that fans respect.
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The pair managed to successfully establish Rollins as a face without changing a single part of his gimmick, and it worked wonderfully. His work throughout the rivalry, which involved mocking Reigns, and making sly digs at how he has always beaten him, was great. The pair have such a strong history that any match of theirs feels significant, but it was made to feel extra special with how much attention was drawn to that history.
Things were taken to the next level when they faced off at Royal Rumble 2022. Rollins had already proven himself to be in the head of Reigns but took the mind games to an extreme by making his entrance to The Shield’s music, and even wearing his old attire from their time in the faction. The crowd was all over this, and it was a fun moment, followed by a great match. However, through sheer desperation, Reigns caused a DQ by refusing to relinquish the guillotine once Rollins reached the ropes. This felt like a cheap finish, but the follow-up saw a brutal beat down with a chair which mirrored the moment Rollins initially turned on The Shield, so it was a good moment.
WWE Should Have Continued With The Reigns Vs Rollins Rivalry
Although DQ results are done far too often in WWE, the finish wouldn’t have been a problem had WWE written the next chapter of this feud. However, even though Rollins won the match, the feud was dropped. With Brock Lesnar winning the Rumble, he set his sights on Reigns for WrestleMania, and Rollins returned to his tag team with Kevin Owens, whilst also pursuing the WWE Title. The fact that this was discontinued was such a huge shame.RELATED: 8 Wrestlers WWE Sacrificed For The Roman Reigns Vs. Brock Lesnar WrestleMania 38 Feud
It was a rare case of a feud with real depth and layers, which isn’t seen too often in WWE, and it was aiding in turning Rollins face, at a time when the company is in dire need of top babyfaces, as they have squandered the momentum of several names such as Drew McIntyre and Big E. Whilst Reigns vs Lesnar is a big match on paper, Rollins should have been in the title scene, due to being a full-time name, and with him being perhaps the only male superstar on the roster that comes anywhere close to Reigns in terms of standing, popularity, and star power. WWE can always revisit this, and they likely will at some point, but they should have capitalized on this following their Rumble match.
