Chris King: The Magic Of Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins

Chris King looks at the magic that gets created when Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns battle on a grand stage in WWE!

‘The Tribal Chief’ Roman Reigns and ‘The Visionary’ Seth Rollins are on a collision course at SummerSlam for the World Heavyweight Championship. Both former Shield-mates are ready to prove who really is the greatest of all time. Chris King has gone back to watch their two previous PLE main events. 

Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins (WWE World Heavyweight Championship): Money in the Bank 2016 

On the June 2nd, 2014 episode of Monday Night Raw, ‘The Architect’ Seth Rollins devised a new plan when he betrayed The Shield (Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose), beating both of his former partners with a steel chair. Rollins aligned with The Authority (Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Kane, and Randy Orton) to achieve his dreams in WWE. At Money in the Bank PLE, The Architect won the MITB briefcase with help from Kane. Rollins would spoil Reigns’ night at WrestleMania 31 cashing in and stealing the world championship dubbed “The Heist of the Century.” 

A few months later, Rollins and Reigns were set to battle for the top prize in WWE until Rollins got injured and was forced to vacate the title. ‘The Big Dog’ defeated HHH to win the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 32, while Rollins had to watch from the skybox. This fire inspired Rollins’ new mantra, Redesign, Rebuild, and Reclaim, during his road to recovery. At Extreme Rules, The Architect made his shocking return after Reigns successfully retained his title against AJ Styles. Rollins confronted his former Shield brother and challenged him for a match at Money in the Bank. 

The bell rang, and the champion utilized his brute power and strength to get into Rollins’ head. The Big Dog just plowed his challenger with some shoulder tackles. A fired-up challenger changed the tide momentarily until Reigns dropped him with a thunderous Samoan drop. Reigns has cut off his challenger at every turn with a flying clothesline and vicious lariats in the corner. Reigns sent his opponent over the top rope with a stiff uppercut. The Architect finally showed some life after sending the champion into the steel steps. Reigns delivered a Razor’s Edge into a sit-down powerbomb for a two-count. 

The Visionary drove the champion outside the ring and hit a few high-flying maneuvers to finally mount a comeback. A pedigree was countered, and Reigns hit a Superman

Punch for a near-fall. A glancing knee and a frog splash gave Rollins a two-count. Rollins gingerly rolled off the top rope and delivered a Buckle Bomb for another near-fall. Rollins hit a Superplex into a Falcon’s Arrow for a count of two. The champion from a rollup pinfall lifted his opponent into a standing powerbomb for a two-count. 

A slugfest ensued between both superstars, were both spent after battling for over twenty-five minutes for the world title. The Big Dog followed his challenger outside the ring and speared into the barricade as Rollins moved out of the way. Reigns shoved Rollins into the official countering a pedigree and hit a vicious spear for a long near-fall. The Architect perfectly countered a spear into a pedigree. An exhausted challenger delivered one more pedigree to become a two-time World Heavyweight Champion! 

Before Rollins could even celebrate, Dean Ambrose cashed in his newly won MITB briefcase to win the world title. This would go down in history as the night where all three members of The Shield would be World Heavyweight Champion! 

Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins (Universal Championship): Royal Rumble 2022 

Six years later, The Visionary knocked on the door of The Tribal Chief as a brand-new challenger to his universal championship. Two old rivals are still sharing bad blood with each other over what Rollins did to The Shield in 2014. Rollins played mind games with Reigns trashing his whole family, claiming he was the biggest disappointment. The Tribal Chief tried to shrug everything off, calling it water under the bridge until, The Architect mentioned The Shield. 

The Tribal Chief made his entrance first for their title match, followed by a cerebral Rollins, who made the Shield entrance with theme song and Shield attire on to continue to play mind games. Reigns’ facial expression told the entire story as Rollins came through the crowd. 

The Visionary started off the match with some quick offense, including two suicide dives on the outside. Rollins is playing cat and mouse with the longest-reigning universal champion until he’s blasted with a stiff uppercut. Rollins perfectly countered a Superman Punch into a Shield Bomb through the announce table. The Visionary is about to make quick work of the champion with a Buckle-Bomb and a Stomp for a long near-fall. Reigns turned his challenger inside out with a wicked clothesline. ‘The Head of the Table’ is now in full control, and he pummels his former Shield-mate and hits a powerbomb for a two-count. 

The Tribal Chief is destroying his challenger, throwing him all around the ring and hitting a Superman Punch for another near-fall. Rollins with another perfect precise counter of the spear into a pedigree for a near-fall. After a thunderous spear Rollins continued to mock the champion with a Shield fist bump. An enraged Tribal Chief locked in the guillotine hold, and even though Rollins made it to the rope, he didn’t let go. The mind games of his challenger forced Reigns to retain via disqualification. 

Every single time Reigns and Rollins fight, they make magic together. With their storied history and Rollins’ involvement in Reigns losing the undisputed title at WrestleMania 40, stealing his wiseman at Mania 41, and forming The Vision, there’s no telling how far The Tribal Chief will go to retain his world championship. If their match at the Royal Rumble was any indicator, this should be a no-disqualification match at SummerSlam.