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Thank You, Roman: Moments and Matches to Revisit

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Roman Reigns

By now, most wrestling fans have heard the news. Roman Reigns was forced to relinquish his Universal Championship this past Monday after announcing that he would have to once again endure a battle with leukemia.

I was sort of emotionless for the rest of the night. I hadn’t really experienced something like this since elementary school when my friends informed me about the tragic news of Eddie Guerrero. Here’s a guy that we invite into our homes every Monday night – a guy that performs above everybody else in the world regardless if he’s cascaded with boos.

When fans were sending in their well wishes Monday night, there were several times where the author felt the need to include “I wasn’t a fan of the Roman Reigns character, but”. I thought this was unnecessary. Regardless of how you felt about the character, Monday was the time to celebrate the man known as Joseph Anoa’i. Think about it. Have you ever seen him botch a move or be reckless in the ring? Have you ever heard about him involved in a scandal or backstage heat? Roman Reigns was putting guys over for two years and wrestling for mid-card belts when it was clear he was the top guy of the company. When I caught wind of the news on Monday, I began to reflect on all of these things and more. I felt inspired to write this piece about some of his best and most underrated matches because he’s certainly a superstar that hasn’t always gotten the credit he’s fought so hard to earn.

Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns (vs. Seth Rollins) – WWE Championship, WrestleMania 31

Of course, the one thing we all remember from this match was Seth Rollins cashing in his Money in the Bank contract to win his first ever WWE Championship. It was immediately regarded as one of the most memorable Mania moments of all time. But what I remember is the match before the cash-in. I know it seems like a lifetime ago but this was the first time Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar were going to meet. Fans weren’t crazy about the main event choice but you could tell they were interested. There were no beach balls, booing, or irrelevant chants. Roman Reigns was getting his first major singles push and Brock was booked as being absolutely unstoppable at the time. A case could have been made for both guys. The match included plenty of suplexes and Superman punches but every move felt like it meant something. Every string of offense could have been a turning point for either man. In case you forgot, this is the match were “suplex city” was born. Seth’s moment had us all in shock but I was on the edge of my seat long before that.

Roman Reigns (c) vs Sheamus w/ Vince McMahon as Special Guest Referee – WWE Championship, Monday Night Raw (1/4/2016)

I’ve never heard anyone talk about this match because it wasn’t some 5-star classic and it wasn’t on a pay-per-view. It was the main event of Raw. I lived 2 hours from this venue but when the main event and stipulation was announced the week prior, my friends and I decided we were going to take a little road trip to see it. Other memorable things actually happened on this night. Chris Jericho returned on a full-time basis and the Hall of Fame faction of the Social Outcasts were formed. I don’t remember much of the match but I’ll never forget the pop that Roman got when he overcame the odds and retained the WWE Championship. It was one of the few times I remember an entire venue collectively being on Roman’s side so that’s what I clung to. Unfortunately, Vince let the air out of the building afterward by announcing Roman would be defending his belt at the Royal Rumble. But as I was exiting, I noticed Roman still gave everyone at ringside a high-five after Raw went off the air.

Roman Reigns vs. Big Show – Last Man Standing, Extreme Rules 2015

I wasn’t too excited going into this one. They had been feuding on Raw for weeks with nothing much to sink my teeth into. Show was aging and Roman was still growing into his singles role. Well, they pulled out all the stops for their match at Extreme Rules because I was pleasantly surprised. I was thoroughly entertained in what ended up being my favorite match of the night. I’d say it’s an underrated moment in the career of both men.

Kevin Owens (c) vs Roman Reigns – Universal Championship (No DQ w/ Chris Jericho in a shark cage), Royal Rumble 2017

I’m not the biggest fan of the shark cage stip and Kevin Owens wasn’t having a strong title reign so I wasn’t overly jazzed for this one either. But just like the match with Big Show, they knew how to get the job done. The match itself was awesome and the feud between Braun Strowman and Roman was created at the conclusion. Roman returned later in the night as entrant #30 in The Rumble to a groundswell of groans. We were all expecting the debut of Samoa Joe or the return of Finn Balor. Now that we’ve had enough time to sit back and reflect, I think we can all laugh about how angry we were.

Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns vs The League of Nations – Monday Night Raw (4/11/16)

This looks like a normal tag match on paper but the context is what really sold it to the fans. Four days prior, Bray lost his grandfather, Blackjack Mulligan. This was his return to television and the crowd was completely behind him. It sounds like I’m making an article about Bray Wyatt here but Roman was also able bask in the support. A lot of fans remember the finish of this match where Bray summoned Roman to spear Sheamus to seal a win. Bray and Roman feuded the previous year but there was definitely chemistry throughout the match. Something special could have come from it but Bray was injured soon after.

Roman Reigns vs Bray Wyatt – Hell in a Cell Match, HIAC 2015

This was the highlight of the feud I just mentioned. It was overshadowed on the night due to the violence and blood of Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker but still held its own. It was the longest match of the night with gruesome and creative spots that lived up to my expectations. I’ve always seen this match as underrated and is surely worth a revisit.

Roman Reigns (c) vs AJ Styles – WWE Championship, Payback 2016 & Extreme Rules 2016

These pair of matches are probably my favorite in the career of Roman Reigns. Roman had just reclaimed his WWE Championship at Wrestlemania and AJ Styles was getting his first shot at a title with his new home. AJ lost to Chris Jericho at Mania so it was a big shock when he got pushed to the top, especially since we were still waiting to see how Vince would handle AJ. It was another dream feud that we got early in AJ’s run with each match providing sheer quality and surpassing all hype.

Roman Reigns (c) vs Seth Rollins – WWE Championship, Money in the Bank 2016

This match came about after Seth Rollins returned to attack Roman after his second match with AJ. It was another fantastic outing in the string of classics from Roman Reigns that was unfortunately overcast by how the match ended. This was the night Dean Ambrose cashed in his MITB contract, resulting in all three Shield members holding the company’s top prize in the same night. As you may have noticed, a lot of Roman’s greatest matches and moments had to take a backseat to someone or something happening in the same night. With that being said, I’ll end with a match that left Roman with the biggest shine.

Roman Reigns vs Braun Strowman – Ambulance Match, Great Balls of Fire 2017

Whether you like it or not, Roman Reigns played the biggest part in making a star out of Braun Strowman. Braun needed a major feud to establish himself and Roman was the punching bag the fans wanted. Roman was the babyface in this feud yet fans cheered for him getting thrown off a ledge while strapped to a stretcher. In a time where Smackdown was the ‘A’ brand and Raw had an absent champion, these two guys were producing one of the most consistently entertaining parts of the product. For this particular match, Roman was unsuccessful but everyone can recall what would ensue. In an act you’d be more likely to see in the Attitude Era, Roman reversed the ambulance into another truck with Braun still inside. This was legitimately incredible and would have gotten any other superstar over with the fans which is a shame.

Honorable Mentions:

vs. Finn Balor (Monday Night Raw, #1 Contender’s Match for Inaugural Universal Championship, 7/25/16)

vs. John Cena (No Mercy 2017)

vs. Rusev (Hell in a Cell Match, United States Championship, HIAC 2016)

vs. The Undertaker (Wrestlemania 33)

Shield Triple Threat (WWE Championship, Battleground 2016)

Shield Matches to Revisit:

vs. Team Hell No & The Undertaker (Monday Night Raw, 4/22/13)

vs. Evolution (Extreme Rules 2014 & Payback 2014)

vs. Goldust and Cody Rhodes (Tag Team Championships, Battleground 2013)

vs. Wyatt Family (Elimination Chamber 2014)

vs. New Day (Survivor Series 2017)

More Moments to Revisit:

It’s a tad lengthy but it’s my favorite segment in a series of promos leading up to the first ever clash between John Cena and Roman Reigns. Even Kurt Angle had a hard time hiding the enjoyment on his face.

My favorite promo in the career of Roman Reigns.

The fans couldn’t get behind the push of Roman at this time but when you ambush the COO with his wife in the car, you come across as a badass to me.

It has less than half the views of the original Shield reunion but this one was more unexpected and written better, in my opinion. It was edited out of this video but any segment that gets a “holy s**t” chant out of the audience is a clear success.


I know this article is a lot of content to digest and sift through but it was the least I could do for such an underappreciated talent. If I can change the perception of Roman Reigns for at least one fan then I will feel like this was a success.

#ThankYouRoman

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Opinion

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS: WWE Bash In Berlin Immediate Reactions

Join DJ and Tunney for their immediate reactions to WWE Bash in Berlin. For the latest, greatest and up to datest, ALWAYS #UseYourHead and visit THECHAIRSHOT.COM

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Join DJ and Tunney for their immediate reactions to WWE Bash in Berlin. For the latest, greatest and up to datest, ALWAYS #UseYourHead and visit THECHAIRSHOT.COM

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@TheMindlessPod @PCTunney @ChairshotMedia

prowrestlingtees.com/TheChairshot – TONS of Great designs…MAKES A GREAT GIFT!

About Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

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Opinion

AJ’s Top 3 Favorite SummerSlams

AJ is back with his annual opinion article, and this time the SummerSlam buzz got him wondering about his personal Top 3.

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It’s been a while since I have done any form of writing and SummerSlam is this Saturday. Of all the SummerSlams I’ve seen over the years; which ones are my favorites? While it’s not a revolutionary idea, I figured everyone loves to debate favorites of well, anything. Don’t worry though because this isn’t just going to be pure recency bias. I’ve watched the majority of them so with the ones I put on the list, it hit me more in some way shape or form whether it was story, a really good match or it just felt like a solid event.

At least this proves WWE is trending in a good direction for me, when it gets the ol’ brain juices flowing just because a show is around the corner!

#3: 2022 (Ol’ Brock Lesnar Has A Farm)

r/Wrasslin - when did Brock lesner begin his farmer and cowboy gimmick and when did he stop doing the gimmick ? is it worth watching I believe it was 2021 but not sure when he stopped the gimmick
Starting off the show, we get Bianca looking for a rematch against Becky from last years SummerSlam and it was better than the 21 second affair that everyone claims was a squash. This time Bianca holds her own and beats the Man in a fairly decent match, good way to get the event started. Next up is the heat seeking missile, Logan Paul against the former heat seeking missile because, well he wasn’t cut out for it and wasn’t a guy in everyone’s eyes, The Miz. After they had their blow off at Mania with Logan coming out on top which… isn’t awful, I just don’t like Logan Paul because he has that dude bro aura and swagger to make him more hateable than any other person on the card. Which I suppose is his gimmick…so…kudos?

First Championship match is for the US Championship and it’s as expected that in Theory, he should never beat someone to the caliber of Bobby Lashley which is no surprise. Dominik and Rey still back when Dom wanted the good fight against the Judgement Day before joining them later. The former Colts players, which they hammered it dahn in this match up showed that the canal swimming, trash talkin’, podcastin’, current RAW Color Commentatin’ goofball we all love, Pat McAfee came out on top again Bum Ass Corbin.

Usos putting the Street Profits on lockdown in the penitentiary since I believe this was peak Bloodline with the belt collecting and running all of WWE. Liv beat Ronda Rousey which isn’t astonishing but it’s not something people had on their bingo cards for anything with WWE so it was a nice little shock factor. The most memorable part of the night is obviously the Main Event, Lesnar brings the tractor, Roman catching the Microphone and Brock stands on top of the vehicle. Damn good match that showed off what they do in the ring since Roman caught his stride as the main bad guy and Brock… liked people after all of this? That is still a weird statement in my head. Brock being a good guy people person. If Liv wasn’t on bingo cards for wrestling, that is not on bingo cards in any aspect of life really.

That is more of the event that had solid matches and story going for it. No weird double count out, multiple people involved, 5 tag matches on the card. Things made sense and weren’t convoluted, had shocking moments that were great to see like Liv actually getting a title defense and there were the results we all expected at the time like Theory losing in 4 minutes to Bobby Lashley.

#2: 2009 (Are You Ready for The Return?)

10 Greatest Summerslam Entrances in WWE History - GameSpot
This event wasn’t that strong. It was strong with the star power involved in 2009 with guys like Rey Mysterio as Intercontinental Champion, Orton and Cena for the WWE Championship as it was becoming as stale as month old chips and CM Punk was facing Jeff Hardy before he ultimately returned to TNA at the beginning of 2010 after this PPV. For me, it’s not so much of the show itself, it was more of the memories because the Balai as our friends Chris Platt and Rey Cash like to call my brother and I, we were just coming back into wrestling and we were TNA Fans. We didn’t watch WWE that much really, it was just what came on after another channel had old ROH shows before they moved to three hours and swallowed the 8pm Eastern Slot. No, the reason why this has so many memories for me is three main reasons. First, Orton and Cena. They have had their rivalry since the beginning it seems, being each others foils like Hogan and Piper before them and there had to be a stipulation where if Randy was Counted Out or DQ’d, he’d lose the championship regardless. This was prime Viper Randy and the obvious joke we had of Super Cena where he very rarely lost, unless it was SummerSlam surprisingly enough.

Number two reason was CM Punk and Jeff Hardy. Hardys known for the Ladder and TLC matches in the past and this being the penultimate match for this feud and it was a banger of a match. If you didn’t know Punk before, it was a great introduction to his wrestling. I used to like Punk a lot because of this match because he could talk, wrestle… and not insanely personal with things in wrestling. In all seriousness, this was a great match. Ultimate risks, high reward for Punk grabbing the World Heavyweight Championship and he was given his next feud because of the final boss of SmackDown at that time. Thanks, Teddy Long.

The main and final reason though why this match gave me the memories flowing back is more of the fact that one of my closest and longest termed friends of 23 years, also loves wrestling. Back when we were younger, he’d do MoCap videos on YouTube with his figures. We’d have friends come over for parties at his house and we’d do the one thing WWE always told us not to do and that was try it at home. He was always stronger than me, I was always more charismatic. He had the power aspect and did things with brute force, I could talk my way out of trouble with parents if we did something wrong. There was always one thing that our respective mother’s always called us though… it’s on the tip of my tongue… oh right, ‘Degenerates’.

As soon as we were called that, we kind of parodied the DX line. I was limber enough to do the HBK pose and do a Superkick before it became the new DDT and he would just Spinebuster people and knew how to do the water spit. So what do you think was the main reason we even ordered this PPV for his 13th Birthday? I think the two guys we were pretending to be were set to return on a tank and toss out some glow sticks. The return of DX, Shawn Michaels coming back after Mania with Triple H to deal with the Legacy problem was an amazing return for them and made everything so much fun.

So we have the solid card and this one has a personal story… what’s my number one SummerSlam? Is it personal? Well yes but not going into that. Is it a good card? To me, it was a phenomenal card! Is it memorable? Seeing how wrestling fans still mention at least three matches to this day.

#1: 2005 (Octopus in the Washer, Lover’s Quarrel and Where the F%#$ is Vickie?)

Vickie Guerrero on Rey vs. Dominik Mysterio: 'I wish I was part of it' -  Cageside Seats
Quite possibly some of the best matches I’ve seen and one that was just the most hilarious moments of overselling in wrestling history, I know why I love this SummerSlam but it’s also a really good card at the same time. Redacted beats Orlando Jordan in 25 seconds for the US Title and they made jokes about it like, he can make a coffee faster than he beat Orlando and stuff like that, it’s pretty funny. Angle getting sick of Eugene’s antics for his Gold Medal was also a great bit they had play up, the Year long feud of Randy Orton and Undertaker was still going on where Orton comes out on top this time around to get the win back from Mania, Jericho returning for the match with Cena in a whole promotional thing for each other’s groups, Fozzy for Jericho and the Chain Gang doing Bad, Bad Man for Cena leading up to a match for the WWE Championship. JBL won a 20 man battle royal on SmackDown to win the Championship…… Opportunity to face the newest member of SmackDown, Batista but the three main matches that a lot of people talk about to this day; Edge vs Matt Hardy, Rey vs Eddie for Dominik and Hogan vs HBK in the Main Event.

I have reasons to enjoy the Hardy/Edge match but it looked like a real fight, it really made us believe that Matt Hardy was going to kill Edge because real names were dropped during this tirade from Hardy. It wasn’t Edge and Lita, it was Adam and Amy. Matt was so dead set on beating the hell out of Edge that they made a situation into gold and it was a great moment for this match to happen, I believe it was also an Unsanctioned Match too which added the intensity until matt got concussed and knocked senseless that it looked like he couldn’t fight for anything but the build up was what made it seem like a marque match. It made it feel real, it made it feel awesome and it made it feel personal.

Eddie kept tormenting Rey Mysterio about Dominik not being Rey’s but Eddie’s for the summer. That’s all you heard from Eddie being the weasel he was is hanging out with Dominik, making the world believe it’s his son and what not (Let’s not do a fast forward to today where he has the mullet, mustache and everything like Eddie) but they settle this in a Ladder Match where the top of it is a document for the custody of Dominik and my god, this match is better than it should have been. I expect nothing else from Eddie because the man hated having a bad match, Dom got involved and stopped Eddie, Vickie was late and stopped Eddie. The whole match was good it was just very weird with the premise but was a great match. I wonder if Rey regrets his decision to win the match now…

Octopus in a Washing Machine… those five words have resonated with Shawn Michaels’ performance in this match, forever. It was supposed to be an amazing match up between Hogan and Michaels, Icon vs Icon it said and suddenly Hogan’s back gives out, can’t do a trilogy of matches so we can only do the one and then pull out of everything after. This match was set up to be a classic and instead turned into the most unbelievable sell fest ever. A Hogan big boot caused Shawn to tumble 3 or 4 times, getting crotched on the ropes had HBK bouncing higher than he should have, being tossed out of the ring made it look like Shawn never broke his back in 1998 from how much he flopped and flipped around like crazy. It’s bad… or maybe even good that a lot of current wrestlers watched this match that went, “I can sell like that, I want to be a wrestler” and did. So good or bad, I don’t know but for some reason this PPV has always had a place in my heart for how memorable it was.

Those are my top three SummerSlams so far but who knows, 2024 has potential to maybe bump something or at least get me to consider a shift. Should be fun to see how the show plays out! What are some of your favorite SummerSlams?

About Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

 MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling) 

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast 

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR


Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand


Powered by RedCircle


Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!
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