Roman Reigns will be looking to pick up his second Royal Rumble victory on February 1st.
For the first time since 2020, Roman Reigns will be an entrant in the Royal Rumble match and will be looking to replicate the same result as 10 years ago, albeit without the overwhelmingly negative reception from the fans when all is said and done. With plenty of highlights one way or another, Reigns has not exactly been the most popular competitor in the match…
Royal Rumble 2014: Roman Reigns Has A Strong Debut
Reigns’ first appearance in the Royal Rumble match took place in 2014. With fellow Shield members Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose also in the match, all 3 men put on an impressive showing with a combined elimination count of 18. With Reigns having 12 of these eliminations, the muscle of The Shield set a new record for most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble match and was very much booked to be a star of the future with his strong performance. Responsible for the eliminations of Ambrose and Rollins, Reigns entered the match at number 15 and was the runner-up to the returning Batista. Although the fans clearly wanted Daniel Bryan, who was not a part of the Rumble, to be the winner of this match, Reigns would have likely gotten a better reaction as the winner compared to Batista. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for what happened next year…
Royal Rumble 2015: The One We Want To Forget
While every WWE Superstar would love to win the Royal Rumble, no one wants to be remembered as winning the worst Royal Rumble in history. One year on from the impressive debut performance, The Shield had broken up and Reigns was clearly positioned as the next big company babyface. Unfortunately for WWE, fans made it clear at this point that they did not want Reigns as their champion. With Daniel Bryan still a firm fan favourite and Bray Wyatt on the rise, fans made it clear that anyone by Roman was their message. With this in mind, Reigns not only had another dominant performance in the 2015 match but actually emerged the overall winner. Entering the match at number 15 and last eliminating Rusev, Reigns won the match but was booed out of the arena by the crowd that was hoping for a Daniel Bryan win, which did not happen as Bryan was only in the match for 10 minutes. Things got worse for Reigns when The Rock tried to save the winner, only to realise that nothing he could do could turn the Philadelphia crowd.
Royal Rumble 2016: The Roman Empire Crumbles
The 2016 Royal Rumble was different than most as for the first time since 1992 the winner would not advance to WrestleMania for a shot at the WWE Championship. Instead, the winner of the match would become the new WWE Champion. With Reigns holding the gold at this point, the champion had the odds stacked against him as he was placed as the number one entrant. Taking a lengthy hiatus from the match as he was dragged under the bottom rope by The League of Nations, Reigns was absent for an extended period before attempting a heroic comeback, which once again the crowd rejected. Eliminated by eventual winner Triple H, fans erupted when Reigns was finally thrown over the top.
Royal Rumble 2017: A Disappointing End
Billed as one of the most star-studded Rumbles in years, the 2017 match featured notable names such as The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho and Goldberg. With Reigns losing to Universal Champion Kevin Owens earlier in the night, fans thought that he would sit this one out. However, when Reigns’ music hit for number 30, fans audibly groaned as any hope of a surprise entrant was dashed in what was not regarded as one of the better Rumble matches. Reigns eliminated The Undertaker to set up their WrestleMania match but was once again the runner-up, this time to Randy Orton.
Royal Rumble 2018: Roman Reigns Heightens The Drama
With a string of bad Rumbles beforehand, the 2018 match was a refreshing change to what fans were used to with a strong line-up, surprises and an unexpected winner with Shinsuke Nakamura being the last man standing. Entering the match at number 28, the formula of Reigns was always in the final 2 along with the danger that he might win the match added some legitimate tension as to whether Nakamura would actually win. However, when all was said and done, no one had anything bad to say about Reigns being a part of this match.
Royal Rumble 2020: Runner Up Again
Much like 2018, fans had little to complain about with the 2020 Royal Rumble. Starting out with Brock Lesnar’s strong showing and quick eliminations, the match changed entirely when Drew McIntyre kicked The Beast Incarnate over the top rope. Just when fans thought they had seen it all, Edge’s music blasted through the arena to signal the arrival of The Rated R Superstar in what was his first match in 9 years. Entering the match at number 26, albeit to another negative reception, Reigns eliminated Edge to a chorus of boos and found himself across the ring from Drew McIntyre as the final 2. With a match against Lesnar being the prize, once again fans were concerned that this might be yet another Reigns Mania main event, a match that no one wanted. However, with McIntyre eliminating Reigns, this was once again another fun night for WWE fans.
Royal Rumble 2025: The Tribal Chief Returns
No longer the Undisputed Champion after the 1,316-day reign came to an end at WrestleMania 40, Reigns entered the Royal Rumble match for the first time in 5 years. Entering the match at number 16, Reigns received a great reaction from the crowd unlike many of his previous appearances and could have been an outside pick to emerge the winner. Lasting 37 minutes in the match and with 4 eliminations, Reigns looked on course to win his second Royal Rumble 10 years on. However, following a shock elimination by CM Punk, this was not the year for Reigns to headline WrestleMania again.
Featured image: WWE
