Roman Reigns
American professional wrestler (born 1985)
Leati Joseph Anoaʻi ( ; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former football player. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Regarded as one of the best professional wrestlers in the world, Reigns' 1,316-day reign with the WWE Universal Championship is the fourth longest world title reign in WWE history and the longest championship reign since 1988.
After playing U.S. college football for Georgia Tech, Anoaʻi started a professional football career with brief off-season stints with the Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) in 2007. He played a full season for the Canadian Football League's (CFL) Edmonton Eskimos in 2008 before his release and retirement from football. A member of the Anoaʻi wrestling family, Anoaʻi was signed by WWE in 2010 and made his main roster debut under the ring name Roman Reigns in 2012 as a member of The Shield alongside Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins: with Rollins, Reigns has held the WWE Tag Team Championship once. The trio teamed together until disbanding in 2014, after which Reigns entered singles competition.
From 2014 to 2020, WWE positioned Reigns as a heroic character and attempted to establish him as their next "face of the company", which was met with intense disapproval by audiences and critics. During this period, Reigns won the WWE Championship three times, the WWE Universal Championship once, the WWE United States Championship and WWE Intercontinental Championship once each, was named Superstar of the Year at the 2014 Slammy Awards and won the Royal Rumble match in 2015. After a hiatus, Reigns was repackaged as a villainous character between 2020 and 2024, which was generally met with acclaim by audiences and critics. Reigns then held the WWE Championship and Universal Championship simultaneously, being recognized as Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
Reigns has headlined numerous pay-per-view events, including WWE's flagship event, WrestleMania, a record ten times. Reigns holds the joint-record for most eliminations in a Survivor Series match (4) and held the previous record for most eliminations in a Royal Rumble match (12). He is also WWE's 28th Triple Crown Champion and 17th Grand Slam Champion and was ranked at No. 1 in "Pro Wrestling Illustrated"'s annual "PWI 500" list of the top 500 singles wrestlers in 2016 and 2022.
Early life.
Leati Joseph Anoaʻi was born on May 25, 1985, in Pensacola, Florida, to Sika Anoaʻi and Patricia Hooker. His father was of Samoan descent and his mother is of Sicilian ancestry. Both his father and his brother Rosey were professional wrestlers. As a member of the Anoaʻi wrestling family, his cousins include The Tonga Kid, Rikishi, Umaga, and Yokozuna, while his first cousins once removed include The Usos and Solo Sikoa. Anoaʻi attended Pensacola Catholic High School before transferring to Escambia High School. He majored in management at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Football career.
Anoaʻi played football for three years at Pensacola Catholic High School and one year at Escambia High School; in his senior year, he was named Defensive Player of the Year by the "Pensacola News Journal". While at the Georgia Institute of Technology, he was a member of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team along with Calvin Johnson, who later became a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Anoaʻi was a three-year starter beginning in his sophomore year and was also one of the team captains as a senior. He earned first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) honors in 2006 after recording 40 tackles, two recovered fumbles and 4.5 sacks.
After going undrafted in the 2007 NFL draft, Anoaʻi was signed by the Minnesota Vikings in May 2007. He was diagnosed with leukemia after his team physical and was released later that month. The Jacksonville Jaguars signed him in August 2007, only to release Anoaʻi less than a week later before the start of the 2007 NFL season. In 2008, he was signed by the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Wearing the number 99, Anoaʻi played for one season with the Eskimos, featuring in five games, of which he started three. Anoaʻi's most notable game came against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in September, where he tied for the team lead with five tackles and had a forced fumble. Anoaʻi was released by the Eskimos on November 10, and proceeded to retire from professional football.
Professional wrestling career.
World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE.
Developmental territories (2010–2012).
Anoaʻi signed a contract with WWE in 2010 and was later assigned to their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). He made his televised debut on August 19, 2010, using the ring name Roman Leakee, in a 15-man battle royal, which was won by Alex Riley. On the January 16, 2011, episode of "FCW", Leakee was a competitor in a 30-man Grand Royal, but was eliminated. Later that year, Leakee formed a tag team with Donny Marlow and the pair unsuccessfully challenged Calvin Raines and Big E Langston for the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship on July 8.
In January 2012, Leakee pinned FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion Leo Kruger in a non-title match. On the February 5 episode of "FCW", he defeated Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins in a triple threat match to become the number one contender to the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship, but failed to win the championship from Kruger the following week. In June, Leakee won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship with Mike Dalton and would drop the titles to CJ Parker and Jason Jordan the following month.
After WWE rebranded FCW to NXT in August 2012, Anoaʻi, with the new ring name Roman Reigns and a villainous character, made his debut on the October 31 episode of "NXT" by defeating CJ Parker.
The Shield (2012–2014).
Reigns made his main roster debut on November 18, 2012, at the Survivor Series pay-per-view alongside Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, attacking Ryback during the triple threat main event for the WWE Championship, allowing CM Punk to pin John Cena and retain the title. The trio declared themselves The Shield, vowed to rally against "injustice" and denied working for Punk, but routinely emerged from the crowd to attack Punk's adversaries. This led to a six-man tag team Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at on December 16, where The Shield defeated Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) and Ryback in their debut match. They continued to aid Punk after TLC, both on "Raw" and at the Royal Rumble on January 27, 2013 It was revealed on the January 28 episode of "Raw" that Punk and his manager Paul Heyman had been paying The Shield and Brad Maddox to work for them.The Shield then quietly ended their association with Punk while beginning a feud with Cena, Ryback and Sheamus, who they defeated on February 17 at Elimination Chamber. On April 7, they defeated Sheamus, Randy Orton and Big Show at WrestleMania 29. The following night on "Raw", The Shield attempted to attack The Undertaker, but they were stopped by Team Hell No. This set up a six-man tag team match on the April 22 episode of "Raw", which The Shield won. On the May 13 episode of "Raw", The Shield's undefeated streak in televised six-man tag team matches ended in a disqualification loss in a six-man elimination tag team match against Cena, Kane and Bryan.
On May 19 at Extreme Rules, Reigns and Rollins defeated Team Hell No in a tornado tag team match to win the WWE Tag Team Championship. On the June 14 episode of "SmackDown", The Shield suffered their first decisive loss in televised six-man tag team matches against Team Hell No and Randy Orton when Bryan made Rollins submit. Reigns and Rollins defeated Bryan and Orton at Payback on June 16 to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship. In August, The Shield began working for chief operating officer Triple H and The Authority. They retained their titles against The Usos at Money in the Bank on July 14 and The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) at Night of Champions on September 15. At Battleground on October 6, the recently (kayfabe) fired Cody Rhodes and Goldust reclaimed their jobs by defeating Rollins and Reigns in a non-title match. Reigns and Rollins lost the titles to Rhodes and Goldust in a no disqualification match on the October 14 episode of "Raw", after interference from Big Show and failed to regain them in a triple threat tag team match at Hell in a Cell on October 27.
At Survivor Series on November 24, The Shield teamed with Antonio Cesaro and Jack Swagger to face Rey Mysterio, The Usos, Rhodes and Goldust in a traditional Survivor Series match; Reigns won the match for his team. At on December 15, The Shield lost to CM Punk in a 3-on-1 handicap match after Reigns accidentally speared Ambrose. At the Royal Rumble on January 26, 2014, Reigns entered the Royal Rumble match at number 15 and eliminated 12 competitors (a record that was later broken by Braun Strowman in 2018), ultimately finishing as the runner-up after being lastly eliminated by Batista. The next night on "Raw", The Shield competed in a six-man tag team match against Daniel Bryan, Sheamus and John Cena, with all three members of the winning team qualifying for the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which The Shield lost via disqualification after The Wyatt Family interfered and attacked Cena, Bryan and Sheamus. The Shield lost to the Wyatt Family on February 24 at Elimination Chamber after Ambrose abandoned the match mid-way through.
In March, The Shield began a feud with Kane, turning face in the process. At WrestleMania XXX on April 6, The Shield defeated Kane and The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn and Road Dogg). The feud with Kane also prompted The Shield to sever ties with Triple H, who reformed Evolution to counteract them. The Shield defeated Evolution at both Extreme Rules on May 4 and Payback on June 1 in a No Holds Barred elimination match, in which no members of The Shield were eliminated. The following night on "Raw", Rollins turned on The Shield and aligned himself with Triple H and The Authority.
Controversial rise to main event status (2014–2015).
Reigns then embarked in singles competition and was quickly placed into world title contention. After winning a battle royal, Reigns was inserted into a ladder match for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank on June 29, which was won by John Cena. At Battleground on July 20, Reigns again challenged for the title in a fatal four-way match involving Cena, Kane, and Randy Orton, which Cena again won. Following the event, Reigns began a feud with Orton and defeated him at SummerSlam on August 17 in his singles debut match on pay-per-view.
The next month, a match was set up between Reigns and Rollins for Night of Champions on September 21, but Reigns developed a legitimate incarcerated hernia which required surgery prior to the event. As a result of Reigns being unable to compete, Rollins was declared the winner via forfeit. Reigns returned on the December 8 episode of "Raw", accepting a Slammy Award for "Superstar of the Year". At on December 14, Reigns interfered during Rollins's match with John Cena, attacking Rollins and Big Show. This started a feud between Reigns and Big Show, in which Reigns defeated him multiple times by countout and disqualification.
On January 25, Reigns won the 2015 Royal Rumble match after lastly eliminating Rusev, therefore granting him a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania 31. After his victory, Reigns was booed heavily by the crowd, despite portraying a heroic character. On the February 2 episode of "Raw", Reigns suffered his first pinfall loss in singles competition on the main roster when Big Show defeated him after interference from Rollins. Reigns successfully defended his WrestleMania title shot against Daniel Bryan at Fastlane on February 22. At WrestleMania 31 on March 29, Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract while Reigns's main event match with Brock Lesnar was in progress, turning it into a triple threat match, which Reigns lost when he was pinned by Rollins. After defeating Big Show in a Last Man Standing match on April 26 at Extreme Rules, Reigns failed to win the title from Rollins in a fatal four-way match also involving Orton and Ambrose on May 17 at Payback.
<templatestyles src="Template:Quote_box/styles.css" />
"Reigns was a greener-than-grass wrestler who WWE identified as the Face of the Performance Center Machine – taking raw talent without the "bad habits" from the independents and trying to manufacture a WrestleMania Main-Eventer".
At Money in the Bank on June 14, Reigns competed in his first Money in the Bank ladder match, but lost after Bray Wyatt interfered and attacked him. Reigns lost to Wyatt on July 17 at Battleground after interference from Luke Harper. He enlisted the help of Ambrose in order to take on the reformed Wyatt Family, defeating Wyatt and Harper at SummerSlam on August 23. The following night on "Raw", Reigns and Ambrose were attacked by Wyatt's new ally, the debuting Braun Strowman. On September 20, at Night of Champions, Reigns, Ambrose and Chris Jericho were defeated by Wyatt, Harper and Strowman. The feud between Reigns and Wyatt ended in a Hell in a Cell match at the titular event on October 25, which Reigns won.
WWE Champion (2015–2016).
On the October 26 episode of "Raw", Reigns defeated Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler, and Kevin Owens in a fatal four-way match to become the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. However, champion Seth Rollins legitimately injured his knee on November 4 and vacated the title the following day, which led to a tournament to crown a new champion. Reigns defeated Big Show in the first round, Cesaro in the quarterfinals, Del Rio in the semifinals, and Dean Ambrose in the finals at Survivor Series on November 22 to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the first time. Immediately afterwards, Sheamus cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and defeated Reigns, thus ending Reigns' reign after only five minutes. On December 13, Reigns failed to regain the title from Sheamus in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match at following interference by The League of Nations (Del Rio and Rusev), attacking Triple H in anger after the match. The next night on "Raw", Vince McMahon granted Reigns a title rematch against Sheamus, under the stipulation that if Reigns lost, he would be forced to retire. Reigns defeated Sheamus to regain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship despite interferences from McMahon, Del Rio and Rusev.
Reigns successfully defended his championship against Sheamus on the January 4 episode of "Raw", after which he was forced by McMahon to defend it in the 2016 Royal Rumble match on January 24, 2016. In the match, Reigns lost the championship after being eliminated by eventual winner Triple H. At Fastlane on February 22, Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar and Ambrose in a triple threat match to receive a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match against Triple H at WrestleMania 32 on April 3, where he defeated Triple H in the main event to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion for a third time. Reigns defeated AJ Styles to retain the championship at Payback on May 1 and at Extreme Rules in an Extreme Rules match on May 22, after which he was attacked by a returning Seth Rollins.
The following night on "Raw", Shane McMahon scheduled a match between Reigns and Rollins for the title at Money in the Bank. At the event on June 19, Reigns lost to Rollins, marking his first clean loss on the main roster and ending his reign at 77 days. On June 21, Anoaʻi was legitimately suspended by WWE for 30 days due to violating the WWE Wellness Program, WWE's internal drug testing program. "Pro Wrestling Torch" and "TheWrap" reported that WWE knew of Anoaʻi's violation before the event, leading to Reigns being scripted to lose his world title at the event.
On July 19 at the 2016 WWE draft, Reigns was drafted to the Raw brand. Despite Reigns's suspension, WWE continued to advertise Reigns as part of the Battleground main event and acknowledged Reigns's suspension on television. At Battleground on July 24, Reigns made his televised return, facing Rollins and Dean Ambrose for the now-renamed WWE Championship, which Ambrose won. The following night on "Raw", Reigns lost to the debuting Finn Bálor in a qualifying match for the newly announced WWE Universal Championship against Rollins at SummerSlam.
Grand Slam Champion (2016–2018).
In August, Reigns began a feud with United States Champion Rusev, provoking a title match between the two at SummerSlam on August 21, where they brawled before the match began, leading to the match being declared a no contest. In a rematch at Clash of Champions on September 25, Reigns defeated Rusev to win the United States Championship, and retained the title against Rusev in a Hell in a Cell match at the titular event on October 30 to end their feud. At Survivor Series on November 20, Reigns made up part of Team Raw alongside Braun Strowman, Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens and Rollins in a losing effort to Team SmackDown. At on December 18, Reigns faced Owens for the Universal Championship, but lost via disqualification when Jericho attacked Owens to prevent Reigns from winning the match and the title. On the January 9, 2017 episode of "Raw", Reigns lost the United States Championship to Jericho and Owens in a handicap match, ending his reign at 106 days. At Royal Rumble on January 29, Reigns lost to Owens in a no disqualification rematch with Jericho being suspended above the ring in a shark cage after interference from Strowman.
Later in the event, Reigns entered the Royal Rumble match at number 30, eliminating Bray Wyatt, Jericho, and The Undertaker before lastly being eliminated by Randy Orton. At Fastlane on March 5, Reigns defeated Strowman, giving Strowman his first pinfall loss on the main roster. The following night on "Raw", Reigns was chokeslammed by The Undertaker after they joined forces to attack Strowman. This led to a No Holds Barred match between the two at WrestleMania 33 on April 2, which Reigns won in his third consecutive WrestleMania main event. The next night on "Raw", Reigns opened the show to ten minutes of severe boos and chants from the crowd, attempting to stop him from speaking, before simply stating "This is my yard now" and leaving the ring. Reigns resumed his feud with Strowman, after Strowman kayfabe injured Reigns's shoulder. At Payback on April 30, Reigns lost to Strowman. The feud between the two was put on hold after Strowman legitimately injured his elbow. At Extreme Rules on June 4, Reigns competed in a fatal five-way Extreme Rules match against Wyatt, Finn Bálor, Samoa Joe and Rollins to determine the number one contender to the WWE Universal Championship, which was won by Joe.
On the June 19 episode of "Raw", Reigns was attacked by a returning Strowman, who then defeated Reigns in an ambulance match at Great Balls of Fire on July 9. At SummerSlam on August 20, Reigns was pinned by Brock Lesnar in a Universal Championship match also involving Strowman and Joe. At No Mercy on September 24, Reigns defeated John Cena, which he described the next night on "Raw" as the biggest win in his career. In October, due to mutual issues with The Miz, The Miztourage (Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel) and Cesaro and Sheamus, Reigns, Ambrose and Rollins decided to reform The Shield in order to combat the aforementioned alliance. Reigns was due to team with Rollins and Ambrose at on October 22, but he was removed from the match due to an illness concern. He was replaced by Kurt Angle and The Shield went on to win the match.
Reigns returned on the November 13 episode of "Raw" and challenged The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) to a six-man tag team match at Survivor Series on November 19, which The Shield won. The following night on "Raw", Reigns defeated The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship, thus becoming the twenty-eighth Triple Crown and seventeenth Grand Slam champion, the second member of The Shield after Ambrose to achieve the Grand Slam. Reigns would successfully defend the title against Elias, Jason Jordan, Cesaro, and Samoa Joe before losing it back to The Miz on the 25th Anniversary of "Raw" on January 22, 2018, ending his reign at 63 days.
Reigns competed in the 2018 Royal Rumble match on January 28, but was the last man eliminated by eventual winner Shinsuke Nakamura. On February 25, at Elimination Chamber, Reigns won the inaugural seven-man Elimination Chamber match to face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 34 on April 8, where he was unsuccessful. He narrowly lost a rematch for the title in a steel cage match at the Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27, after spearing Lesnar through the cage wall. After defeating Samoa Joe at Backlash on May 6 and Jinder Mahal at Money in the Bank on June 17, Reigns entered a feud with Bobby Lashley, where both men believed that they were the rightful challenger to Lesnar's championship. At Extreme Rules on July 15, Reigns lost to Lashley. The following night on "Raw", two triple threat matches were set to determine Lesnar's challenger for SummerSlam. Reigns and Lashley won their respective matches, setting up a number one contender's match between the two the following week, which Reigns won. At SummerSlam on August 19, Reigns defeated Lesnar and won the Universal Championship for the first time in his career.
Reigns then reignited his feud with Money in the Bank holder Braun Strowman, who allied himself with Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre to challenge The Shield. Reigns defended his title against Strowman at Hell in a Cell on September 16 in a Hell in a Cell match, which ended in a no contest after Lesnar returned and attacked both men. On October 6, at Super Show-Down, The Shield defeated Strowman, Ziggler and McIntyre before losing to them in a rematch on "Raw" two nights later. A triple threat match between Reigns, Strowman and Lesnar for the Universal Championship was scheduled for Crown Jewel, however, on October 22, Reigns relinquished the title and announced his hiatus on "Raw", revealing that his leukemia had returned after 11 years of privately battling it and being in remission. Following this announcement, Reigns would go on an indefinite hiatus to receive treatment.
Return from leukemia (2019–2020).
On February 25, 2019, Reigns made his return to "Raw", revealing that his leukemia was once again in remission to a huge ovation from the crowd. Later in the night, Reigns and Rollins would appear to assist Ambrose from an attack by McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, Elias, and Baron Corbin. The following week on "Raw", Ambrose assisted Reigns and Rollins from another attack by the four, before the trio performed their signature pose, officially reuniting the group for the third time. The Shield defeated McIntyre, Lashley, and Corbin at Fastlane on March 10. At WrestleMania 35 on April 7, Reigns defeated McIntyre.
During the 2019 WWE Superstar Shake-up, Reigns was drafted to the SmackDown brand on the April 16 episode of "SmackDown", with WWE's announcers describing Reigns as "SmackDown's greatest ever acquisition", as well as the future of SmackDown and WWE. During the episode, Reigns attacked Elias and Vince McMahon. At Money in the Bank on May 19, Reigns defeated Elias. The next night on "Raw", Reigns, who appeared via the wild card rule, was interrupted by Shane McMahon, who was bothered by Reigns' earlier attack on his father. Reigns then challenged Shane to a match at Super ShowDown, which the latter accepted. At Super ShowDown on June 7, Reigns lost to McMahon after interference from McIntyre. Reigns defeated McIntyre in a rematch at Stomping Grounds on June 23, despite interference from McMahon. At Extreme Rules on July 14, Reigns and The Undertaker defeated McMahon and McIntyre in a No Holds Barred tag team match to end their feud.
On the July 30 episode of "SmackDown", an unidentified person pushed lighting equipment on Reigns. The following week, Reigns was again targeted by the attacker as he was a victim of a hit and run. After ruling out Samoa Joe and Buddy Murphy as suspects, Reigns next investigated Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan due to testimony from Murphy and seemingly incriminating video footage. However, Bryan revealed the attacker as a man who merely resembled Rowan. Nonetheless, Reigns found additional footage that showed Rowan pushing over the equipment. Rowan then admitted that it was him and said he was responsible for the hit and run as well, causing him and Bryan to split due to him lying. At Clash of Champions on September 15, Reigns lost to Rowan in a no disqualification match after interference from a returning Luke Harper. Reigns defeated Rowan in a lumberjack match on the 20th Anniversary of "SmackDown" and teamed with Bryan to defeat Rowan and Harper at Hell in a Cell on October 6 in a tornado tag team match to end the feud. At Crown Jewel on October 31, Reigns was part of Team Hogan, defeating Team Flair.
In November, Reigns began a feud with King Corbin and his allies Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. Reigns was named team captain for SmackDown at Survivor Series on November 24, where he and his four teammates defeated Team Raw and Team NXT in a five-on-five-on-five tag team elimination match; Reigns would eliminate Corbin in the match. At on December 15, Reigns lost to Corbin in a tables, ladders, and chairs match after interference from Ziggler and The Revival (Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson). At Royal Rumble on January 26, 2020, Reigns defeated Corbin in a falls count anywhere match after receiving assistance from The Usos. Later that night, he entered the Royal Rumble match at number 26, but was the last competitor eliminated by the eventual winner Drew McIntyre. At Super ShowDown on February 27, Reigns defeated Corbin in a steel cage match to end their feud.
The following night on "SmackDown", Reigns challenged Goldberg for the Universal Championship, leading to a match between the two being set up for WrestleMania 36. However, in late March, Reigns pulled out of the event amid concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and being immunocompromised from his leukemia, and he was replaced by Braun Strowman. Following WrestleMania, Reigns continued to remain absent from WWE programming in the midst of the pandemic, telling "Hindustan Times": "For me, I just had to make a choice for my family. The company (WWE) has done everything that they can to make it the safest work environment possible. It is not the workplace that I was necessarily concerned about. The decision was taken mainly because each performer travels so much, and we are all such a diverse group and from all over the place. I'm not convinced, and I can't trust the fact that everybody is taking it as seriously and locking themselves down at home like I am. I trust my life with my co-workers every time I step foot in the ring, but I just can't put the same trust when it has my children, my wife, and my family involved."
The Tribal Chief (2020–2024).
After a five-month hiatus, Reigns returned at SummerSlam on August 23, attacking new Universal Champion "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt and Strowman after their title match. On the following "SmackDown", Reigns aligned himself with his new manager, Paul Heyman, turning heel for the first time since 2014. At Payback on August 30, Reigns defeated defending champion The Fiend and Strowman in a No Holds Barred triple threat match to win the Universal Championship for the second time.
At Clash of Champions on September 27, Reigns made his first successful title defense against his cousin Jey Uso by technical knockout, after Reigns viciously beat down Jey and Jimmy Uso threw in the towel. On the October 16 episode of "SmackDown", Reigns retained the title against Strowman. At Hell in a Cell on October 25, Reigns again retained the title against Jey in an "I Quit" Hell in a Cell match by making him quit after attacking the injured Jimmy. Due to the loss, Jey was ordered to follow Reigns' commands and address him as "The Tribal Chief", turning him heel. At Survivor Series on November 22, Reigns defeated WWE Champion Drew McIntyre in an interbrand champion vs. champion match.
Afterwards, Reigns reignited his feud with Kevin Owens after believing Owens disrespected his family, culminating in successful defenses against Owens in a TLC match at on December 20, in a steel cage match on the December 25 episode of "SmackDown", and in a Last Man Standing match at Royal Rumble on January 31, 2021. Reigns began feuding with Royal Rumble match winner Edge and retained his title against Daniel Bryan at Elimination Chamber on February 21 and Fastlane on March 21. In the main event of Night 2 of WrestleMania 37 on April 11, Reigns defeated Bryan and Edge in a triple threat match to retain the title with assistance from Jey. On the April 30 episode of "SmackDown", Reigns defeated Bryan in a championship vs. career match, which resulted in Bryan being forced to leave SmackDown. Reigns defeated Cesaro to retain the title at WrestleMania Backlash on May 16.
Reigns then feuded with Rey Mysterio after brutalizing Mysterio's son Dominik. On the June 18 episode of "SmackDown", Reigns successfully defended the title against Mysterio in a Hell in a Cell match. The following week, Reigns was attacked by the returning Edge, leading to a match between the two at Money in the Bank on July 18, where Reigns retained the title after interference from Seth Rollins. After the match, Reigns was confronted by a returning John Cena. Over the following weeks, Cena challenged Reigns for a title match at SummerSlam, which he initially rejected before Cena hijacked a contract signing between Reigns and Finn Bálor to make the match official. At the event on August 21, Reigns defeated Cena to retain the title; he was confronted by a returning Brock Lesnar after the match. Reigns successfully defended the title against Bálor on the September 3 episode of "SmackDown" and in an Extreme Rules match at Extreme Rules on September 26 with Bálor in his Demon persona. On October 21, at Crown Jewel, Reigns retained the title against Lesnar with help from the Usos. At Survivor Series on November 21, Reigns defeated WWE Champion Big E in a champion vs. champion match.
On the December 3 episode of "SmackDown", Reigns defeated Sami Zayn in 15 seconds to retain the title after Lesnar attacked Zayn before the match began. A match for the Universal Championship between Reigns and Lesnar was then set for Day 1. On the December 17 episode of "SmackDown", Reigns fired Heyman as his manager due to Heyman's past association with Lesnar. On January 1, 2022, the day of the event, the match between Reigns and Lesnar was cancelled as a result of Reigns testing positive for COVID-19. On January 16, Reigns surpassed Lesnar's 503-day reign to become the longest reigning Universal Champion, in turn having the sixth longest world championship reign in the company's history. At Royal Rumble on January 29, Reigns defended the championship against Seth "Freakin" Rollins, losing the match by disqualification; since championships cannot change hands by disqualification, Reigns retained the title. Later that night, he interfered in the WWE Championship match between Lesnar and Bobby Lashley, reuniting with Heyman to cause the upset victory for Lashley to regain the championship. Also that night, Lesnar won the Royal Rumble match, and on the following episode of "Raw", he challenged Reigns to a match in the main event of WrestleMania 38, marking the third time Reigns would face Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania. On the February 4 episode of "SmackDown", Goldberg returned and challenged Reigns for the title at Elimination Chamber on February 19, where Reigns defeated Goldberg via technical submission to retain the title. Later in the event, Lesnar won the WWE Championship in an Elimination Chamber match, turning their match at WrestleMania into a Winner Takes All match.
On Night 2 of WrestleMania 38 on April 3, Reigns defeated Lesnar to win the WWE Championship for a fourth time and became the first wrestler to hold both the WWE Championship and WWE Universal Championship simultaneously and be recognized as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. At WrestleMania Backlash on May 8, Reigns and The Usos defeated RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle) and Drew McIntyre. On the June 17 episode of "SmackDown", Reigns successfully defended the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Riddle, but after the match, he was attacked by a returning Lesnar to renew their rivalry and set up a Last Man Standing match at SummerSlam on July 30, which Reigns won to end their seven-year feud. At Clash at the Castle on September 3, Reigns successfully defended the titles against McIntyre after interference from the debuting Solo Sikoa. At Crown Jewel on November 5, Reigns retained the titles against Logan Paul. Three weeks later at on November 26, Reigns, along with The Bloodline, defeated McIntyre, Kevin Owens and The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Ridge Holland and Butch) in a WarGames match.
On January 18, 2023, his Universal Championship reign reached 871 days, breaking Gunther's NXT UK Championship reign of 870 days, giving him the longest reign of any WWE championship since 1988. At Royal Rumble on January 28, Reigns successfully defended the titles against Owens for the fourth time. Following the match, Sami Zayn would turn on The Bloodline, smashing Reigns with a chair. He then began feuding with Cody Rhodes, who won the Royal Rumble match and earned a match against Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 39. At Elimination Chamber on February 18, Reigns retained the titles against Zayn. At Night 2 of WrestleMania 39 on April 2, Reigns successfully defended the titles against Rhodes after interference from Sikoa.
At Night of Champions on May 27, Reigns and Sikoa unsuccessfully challenged Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship. During the match, The Usos interfered and accidentally attacked Sikoa while aiming for Zayn. The subsequent sequence of events culminated in Jimmy Uso attacking Reigns, and The Usos walking away from The Bloodline. It was on this day as well, that Reigns hit 1,000 days as Universal Champion, the first to do so in over thirty-five years, and only the fifth wrestler ever to accomplish the feat with a world championship in the history of WWE. On June 24, Reigns reached 1,028 days as Universal Champion, passing Pedro Morales' reign of 1,027 days with the WWE Championship (at the time known as the WWWF Heavyweight Championship), giving Reigns the fifth longest world championship reign in company history. At Money in the Bank on July 1, Reigns and Sikoa lost to The Usos in a "Bloodline Civil War" tag team match after Reigns was pinned by Jey, marking his first pinfall loss since . On August 5, at SummerSlam, Reigns defeated Jey in Tribal Combat to retain the titles and his status as Tribal Chief, after Jimmy betrayed Jey. At Crown Jewel on November 4, Reigns successfully defended the titles against LA Knight. At Royal Rumble on January 27, 2024, Reigns defeated Knight, Randy Orton and AJ Styles, who Reigns pinned, to retain the titles in a fatal four-way match.
On the February 2 episode of "SmackDown", Rhodes, who again won the Royal Rumble match, said that he would not challenge Reigns for the titles at WrestleMania XL, after which The Rock confronted Reigns, implying he would be Reigns' opponent instead. After this development drew backlash for disrupting their long-term storyline, during the "WrestleMania XL Kickoff" media event on February 8, Rhodes announced that he would face Reigns. On Night 1 of WrestleMania XL on April 7, Reigns and The Rock defeated Rhodes and Seth Rollins to enforce Bloodline Rules for their title match. The next night, Reigns lost the titles to Rhodes, ending his second record-setting Universal Championship reign at 1,316 days and ending his fourth WWE Championship reign at 735 days.
The O.T.C. (2024–present).
After losing the titles, Reigns took time off from television and Sikoa was appointed himself as the "de facto" leader of The Bloodline. The formation changed when Jimmy was kicked out of the group and The Tongans (Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa), the sons of Haku, as well as Jacob Fatu, the son of the Tonga Kid, were included into the stable. On the April 26 episode of "SmackDown", Paul Heyman announced that Reigns voluntarily withdrew from the 2024 WWE Draft. After weeks of bypassing Reigns' orders in storyline and ousting Heyman from the group, Sikoa removed Reigns from the leadership of The Bloodline and the group altogether, declaring himself as the new "Tribal Chief".
Following a four-month hiatus, on August 3, Reigns made his return at SummerSlam under the new moniker "The O.T.C" ("The Only Tribal Chief" or "The Original Tribal Chief"), attacking Sikoa and helping Rhodes retain his title in a Bloodline Rules match, turning face for the first time since 2020. At Bad Blood on October 5, Reigns and Rhodes defeated Sikoa and Fatu after interference from the returning Jimmy Uso. On the October 25 episode of "SmackDown", Reigns and the reunited Usos cost The Tongans the WWE Tag Team Championships, setting up a six-man tag team match against Sikoa, Tonga and Fatu at Crown Jewel on November 2, which they lost. At on November 30, Reigns, the Usos, Sami Zayn and CM Punk defeated The Bloodline and Bronson Reed in a WarGames match, with Reigns pinning Sikoa. Reigns then challenged Sikoa for the Ula Fala and Tribal Chief title in Tribal Combat at the "Raw" premiere on Netflix on January 6, 2025, where Reigns defeated Sikoa to reclaim his Ula Fala and Tribal Chief title, with The Rock presenting Reigns with the Ula Fala after the match.
At Royal Rumble on February 1, Reigns entered the Royal Rumble match at number 16, scoring four eliminations. As he and Rollins attempted to eliminate each other, both were eliminated from behind by Punk. Rollins then delivered multiple Curb Stomps to Reigns before storming off. He returned on the March 10 episode of "Raw" to attack both Rollins and Punk during their steel cage match. On the March 21 episode of "SmackDown", a brawl ensued between all three men, with Reigns, Rollins, and Punk pointing at the WrestleMania sign, leading to a triple threat match between the three being made official as the Night 1 main event of WrestleMania 41.
Personal life.
In early 2005, while studying at Georgia Institute of Technology, Anoaʻi met and began dating Galina Becker. They were married in December 2014, and reside in Tampa, Florida. Their first child, a daughter, was born in December 2007 and appeared with Anoaʻi in a PSA in June 2014. They had twin sons in November 2016, followed by another set of twin sons in March 2020.
In 2018, Anoaʻi shared that he had been living with chronic myeloid leukemia, an incurable but treatable form of blood cancer. He was diagnosed in 2007 during his American Football career and continues lifelong oral chemotherapy to manage the condition.
Other media.
Anoaʻi appeared as Roman Reigns in "WWE 2K14", "WWE 2K15", "WWE 2K16", "WWE 2K17", "WWE 2K18", "WWE 2K19", "WWE 2K20" (of which he was the cover star), "WWE 2K Battlegrounds", "WWE 2K22", "WWE 2K23", "WWE 2K24", "WWE 2K25" (of which he was the cover star again) and "Madden NFL 24" (as part of the "Reel Deals" promotion in the game's Madden Ultimate Team mode).
Reigns also makes regular appearances on fellow wrestler Xavier Woods' comedic YouTube channel UpUpDownDown under the nickname "The Merchandise".
On December 31, 2019, Reigns appeared on "Fox's New Year's Eve with Steve Harvey", where he defeated Dolph Ziggler in a pre-taped match.
Notes.
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
References.
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Royal Rumble (2015)
WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event
The 2015 Royal Rumble was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE. It was the 28th annual Royal Rumble and took place on January 25, 2015, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, marking the second Royal Rumble held at this venue after the 2004 event, when it was formerly known as Wachovia Center; the arena changed its name to Wells Fargo Center in 2010. The event aired via pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming, which made it the first Royal Rumble to livestream on the WWE Network, which launched in February 2014. As has been customary since 1993, the Royal Rumble match winner received a world championship match at that year's WrestleMania. For the 2015 event, the winner received a match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31.
Six matches were contested at the event, including one on the Kickoff pre-show. In the main event, Roman Reigns won the 2015 Royal Rumble match by last eliminating Rusev. Also on the event's card, The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) defeated The Miz and Damien Mizdow to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship, while WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar successfully defended his title against Seth Rollins and John Cena in a triple threat match in the penultimate match.
Like the previous year's event, the 2015 Royal Rumble was marred by a strongly negative audience reaction to the Royal Rumble match, which was won by Roman Reigns. However, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship triple threat match received high praise from critics and fans. The event received 145,000 buys (excluding WWE Network views), down from the previous year's 467,000 buys.
Production.
Background.
The Royal Rumble is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) produced every January by WWE since 1988. It is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, dubbed the "Big Four". It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle royal in which the participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time. The match generally features 30 wrestlers and the winner traditionally earns a world championship match at that year's WrestleMania. For 2015, the winner received a match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31. Announced on October 7, 2014, the 2015 event was the 28th Royal Rumble and was scheduled to be held on January 25, 2015, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was the second Royal Rumble held at this venue after the 2004 event, when it was formerly known as Wachovia Center; the arena changed its name to Wells Fargo Center in 2010. In addition to airing on traditional pay-per-view, the event was available through WWE's livestreaming service, the WWE Network, which launched in February 2014, which made it the first Royal Rumble to air on the WWE Network.
Storylines.
The event comprised six matches, including one on the Kickoff pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, "Raw" and "SmackDown".
At SummerSlam, Brock Lesnar defeated John Cena and won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Cena would receive his rematch the following month at Night of Champions which he would win by disqualification after Seth Rollins interfered and attempted to cash-in his Money in the Bank contract. At the next event, Hell in a Cell, Cena defeated Authority member Randy Orton in a Hell in a Cell match to earn a future title shot at Lesnar. The Authority was then removed from power after losing the 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match at Survivor Series with Cena being the only one who could bring them back if he chose to. At , Cena faced Rollins in a tables match which he won to retain his number one contender status. Later in the event, it was announced that Cena would face Lesnar for the title at the Royal Rumble. On the final "Raw" of 2014, Rollins attacked special guest host Edge and threatened to perform a Curb Stomp on him if Cena did not reinstate The Authority. Cena came down to save Edge but reluctantly brought The Authority back after Rollins held Edge hostage. On the January 5, 2015, episode of "Raw", Rollins was added to the Lesnar-Cena title match by Triple H as a reward for bringing back The Authority, turning the singles match into a triple threat. That same episode, the members of Team Cena from Survivor Series (Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, and Erick Rowan) were fired by The Authority for helping Cena to remove them from power. The following week, Lesnar returned for the contract signing with Cena and Rollins. A brawl broke out between all three men and ended when Rollins performed a Curb Stomp each on Cena and Lesnar. On the final "Raw" before the Royal Rumble, Triple H forced Cena to compete in a 3-on-1 Handicap match against Rollins, Big Show and Kane to not only secure his spot in the triple threat match, but also win Ziggler, Ryback and Rowan their jobs back. During the match, Sting, who previously assisted Team Cena at Survivor Series, caused a distraction which allowed Cena to roll-up Rollins for the win to keep his spot in the match and reinstate Ziggler, Ryback and Rowan. Lesnar then came down to the ring and attacked Rollins before executing an F-5 each on Kane and Big Show. Rollins then retreated to avoid further punishment.
On the December 29 episode of "Raw", The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) defeated The Miz and Damien Mizdow to win the WWE Tag Team Championship. On the January 15 episode of "SmackDown", it was announced that The Usos would defend the titles against Miz and Mizdow at the event.
On the January 5 episode of "Raw", Paige came out and helped Natalya to defeat Nikki Bella. On the January 6 episode of "Main Event", Natalya came out and helped Paige to defeat Nikki Bella. On the January 12 episode of "Raw", Brie Bella defeated Paige due to distraction by Tyson Kidd. On the January 15 episode of "SmackDown", Natalya defeated Nikki via submission. On the January 19 episode of "Raw", after Paige and Natalya defeated Summer Rae and Alicia Fox, it was announced that The Bella Twins (Brie and Nikki) would face Paige and Natalya in a tag team match at the event.
On the January 5 episode of "Raw", Cesaro and Tyson Kidd attacked Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, which let Adam Rose to defeat Big E. On the January 19 episode, Big E and Kofi defeated Cesaro and Kidd. Later in the night, it was announced that The New Day would face Cesaro, Kidd and Rose in a six-man tag team elimination match on the Royal Rumble Kickoff Show. On January 25, it was changed to a tag team match with Cesaro and Kidd (accompanied by Rose) vs. Big E and Kingston (accompanied by Woods) due to Woods being unable to compete.
On the December 29 episode of "Raw", The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) made their WWE debut. Over the next few weeks, the duo would easily defeat local preliminary wrestlers and compare themselves to famous tag teams, like The Road Warriors. On the January 19 episode of "Raw", the Ascension were confronted and attacked by the New World Order(nWo), the APA and New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn and Road Dogg) after the Ascension interfered in the nWo reunion segment. Later in the night, it was announced that the Ascension would face the New Age Outlaws at the event.
Event.
Pre-show.
During the Royal Rumble Kickoff pre-show, Cesaro and Tyson Kidd (accompanied by Adam Rose and Natalya) faced The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston, accompanied by Xavier Woods). Kingston and Big E were in control for most of the match until Cesaro executed a European uppercut on Kingston (from the outside) and Kidd executed a fisherman's neckbreaker on Kingston to secure a decisive victory.
Preliminary matches.
The actual pay-per-view opened with The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) facing The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn). The Ascension had control for the majority of the match, however, Gunn came back with a tilt-a-whirl slam and positioned Viktor for the "Famouser". Viktor made a blind tag to Konnor and executed the "Fall of Man" on Gunn for the win.
Next was the WWE Tag Team Championship match between The Miz and Damien Mizdow and The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso). During the match, The Miz refused to tag Mizdow into the match, but Mizdow made a few saves. Miz executed a "Skull Crushing Finale" on Jey for a near-fall. Mizdow did the same to Jey but earned a near-fall again. The Usos won the match with a "Samoan Splash" on Miz.
After that, The Bella Twins (Brie Bella and Divas Champion Nikki Bella) faced Paige and Natalya. Nikki executed a forearm smash on Natalya for the victory.
In the fourth match, Brock Lesnar (accompanied by Paul Heyman) defended the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against John Cena and Seth Rollins in a triple threat match. Lesnar dominated the match early with multiple Suplexes on both Cena and Rollins, at one point even executing a double German suplex on Rollins' associates J&J Security, briefly taking them out of the match. Lesnar then applied the Kimura Lock on Cena, but Rollins broke it up. Cena executed an Attitude Adjustment on Lesnar, but Rollins threw Cena out of the ring to steal a pin attempt, but Lesnar kicked out at one. Lesnar caught Rollins and executed an F-5 on him, but Cena broke up the pin. Cena executed three more Attitude Adjustments on Lesnar, but Rollins broke up the pin. Rollins then executed a Curb Stomp on Lesnar, but Cena broke up the pin. Cena tackled Lesnar through the barricade in the timekeeper's area, threw him to the steel steps, hit him with the same steel steps putting him on an announce table and Rollins finished the combo with a Diving Elbow Drop on him through it. Doctors came from backstage to check on and eventually attempt to stretcher out Lesnar. Cena eventually locked in the STF on Rollins, but J&J Security (Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury) interfered once more, resulting in Cena executing a Double Attitude Adjustment on Mercury and Noble, finally ending their involvement in the match. Cena then executed an Attitude Adjustment on Rollins and Rollins would execute a Curb Stomp on Cena in turn with both resulting in near-falls. Eventually, Rollins repositioned Cena and performed a Phoenix Splash on him, and was about to cover Cena. But; an angry Lesnar quickly recovered from the broken announcers table and rushed past the EMTs sent to check on him, returned to the ring, took down both men with German suplexes and one of those threw Cena out of the ring. Rollins tried to take advantage after landing on his feet after an attempted German from Lesnar failed; hit Lesnar twice with his Money in the Bank briefcase, and positioned the briefcase under Lesnar's head. As Rollins attempted a second Curb Stomp to Lesnar (with the briefcase still underneath his head), Lesnar countered with a second F-5 on Rollins to retain the title by pinfall.
Main event.
The main event was the traditional 30-man Royal Rumble match, where the winner would receive a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania 31. The Miz and R-Truth started the match at #1 and #2 respectively. Bubba Ray Dudley made his return to WWE at #3 eliminating Miz and Truth. Bray Wyatt at #5 would soon begin a string of eliminations one by one (including Bubba and The Boogeyman, who was another surprise entrant at #7). The string ended once Daniel Bryan entered at #10. During the string, Curtis Axel, who was supposed to enter at #6, was attacked by Erick Rowan and was unable to compete in the match.
Diamond Dallas Page was the third surprise entrant at #14 and executed the Diamond Cutter on various wrestlers, before being eliminated by #15 entrant Rusev. Like in 2014, the namesake match's reception flipped again to a turning point for worse as Wyatt eliminated fan-favorite Bryan, disappointing the audience potentially more than the previous year when he was absent. Towards the end of the match, Kane (entering at #24) and Big Show (entering at #29) from The Authority teamed up to go on a string of eliminations - including Wyatt and other popular stars like Ryback at #23, final entrant at #30 Dolph Ziggler, and Dean Ambrose at #25 (who had teamed up with Roman Reigns as The Shield went against the duo).
The final four consisted of Rusev (who was outside the ring at the time having gone under the bottom rope), Reigns, Kane, and Big Show. Reigns (who during the match suffered a cut from Big Show on one cheek, after being thrown to a padded turnbuckle and another one from Kane on the lips, after a Big Boot) sent out the duo at the same time. However, they both re-entered the ring and began a double team assault on Reigns. The Rock emerged and executed a Spinebuster-People's Elbow combo on Kane. Big Show attempted to Chokeslam Rock but Rock hit a low-blow in return, setting up a Rock Bottom after a Superman Punch from Reigns. Rusev re-entered the ring, but was speared by Reigns, who proceeded to throw him out to win the match. As WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman saw this on a television in their locker room, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon showed up at the end of the show unhappy with the result watching The Rock congratulate Reigns. Reigns was booed as the winner in a similar fashion as Batista the previous year, whereas at the same event Reigns was cheered.
Reception.
The very negative reaction of the fans attending the event in Philadelphia towards the Royal Rumble match and its winner was described as being even worse than the 2014 event. When Daniel Bryan was eliminated in the first half of the match, the crowd repeatedly chanted his name for the second half of the match while booing other wrestlers making their entrance to the match, including eventual winner Roman Reigns. The crowd grew even more unhappy when fan favorites Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose were eliminated, and chanted for the anti-American villain Rusev when the main event came down to Rusev and Reigns, as well as chants of "bullshit" and "CM Punk". Reigns was booed after winning the main event, even after he received The Rock's endorsement, and The Rock was heckled for helping Reigns. Many fans took to social media to display their displeasure at Bryan's elimination.
Dave Scherer of "PWInsider" wrote that the event "is definitely worth watching for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship triple threat match and how the Rumble went bad". He added that "bringing Bryan back for this match was a huge mistake, at least tonight", as "the fans wanted Bryan and they took him away", with the result that it "totally killed Roman in the eyes of those fans", resulting in a "really bad" ending.
James Caldwell of "Pro Wrestling Torch" rated the Royal Rumble main event as 3.5 stars out of 5, commenting that it was a "pretty good Rumble" until "the crowd turned on the match when they saw the writing on the wall for how it would end". Caldwell praised Bray Wyatt's involvement in the match and noted that Bubba Ray Dudley was a "good surprise return", but added that any good moments during the match were "overshadowed by the ending". Caldwell rated the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match as 4.0 out of 5 stars which was his highest rated match from the event, praising the "very strong story-telling" and describing the action as "top-notch" but adding that the match was "too dependent on the finisher kick-outs". He rated the Tag Team Championship match at 2.5 stars, describing it as a "solid tag match", while the Divas match and the opening bout between The Ascension and The New Age Outlaws were both rated at 1.5 stars out of 5.
Kenny Herzog of "Rolling Stone" questioned the possibility of the Royal Rumble match being the worst in history, arguing that several factors such as the poor treatment of former Intercontinental champions, Daniel Bryan's unexpected early elimination and Kane and Big Show's dominance over younger talent all detracted from the match. Herzog concluded, "That was less a Rumble match – i.e. the kind replete with feats of endurance and athleticism, free-for-all chaos and dozens of developing stories – than random gauntlet of triple-threat and four-way slugfests with no pacing or point. Unless, that is, you still think serving some idea of the Authority's omnipresence is really what's best for business." Despite this, Herzog praised the lively Philadelphia crowd, the return of Bubba Ray Dudley and Rollins' performance in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match as positives.
Luke Winkie of "Sports Illustrated" was less critical of the Royal Rumble match, attributing Bryan's elimination to good storytelling and an instance where "you're supposed to hate the product". Winkie suggested that the "tepid reaction to [Reigns'] win has much more to do with Daniel Bryan’s early departure than it does with [Reigns'] actual reputation". Winkie singled out Ziggler's late entrance and elimination as "the most heartbreaking". He also praised the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match as being an early "Match of the Year" candidate, while questioning whether anyone cared about the Ascension.
WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley, who had been critical of the previous year's show, wrote that he was saddened by the prospect of the Royal Rumble losing its luster and relevance as an annual event, and that he now considers it to be "a roadblock to the good will and excitement needed for a truly memorable WrestleMania atmosphere." Foley took aim at WWE for the supposedly unimaginative and unflattering use of fan favorites in the main Royal Rumble match, and, based on his observations of fans as they exited the arena, said "there was no joy in Philadelphia".
Observing the ensuing debates among wrestling enthusiasts, communications psychologist Carrrielynn Reinhard commented the online discourse highlighted fans' emotional attachment to wrestlers' fictional personas, similar to that of "shippers" in other fandoms.
In 2024, Roman Reigns spoke about his victory. He pointed that, after the bad reception by the public, he tries to forget about the Royal Rumble.
Aftermath.
Shortly after the event, #CancelWWENetwork became the top Twitter trend worldwide, while "PWInsider" reported that the WWE Network online cancellation page had crashed and that some subscribers who had called WWE to cancel their subscription were told to call back the next day as there were too many people attempting to manually cancel their subscription. The day after the Royal Rumble, Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that Vince McMahon and WWE had expected that Reigns's victory would receive some backlash, but not to the level they had experienced, and that despite this, WWE would not add Daniel Bryan to the main event at WrestleMania 31, since Vince felt that "it would be a repeat and gone to the well one time too often". Two days after the Royal Rumble event, WWE announced that the WWE Network surpassed 1 million subscribers worldwide, but the "Pro Wrestling Torch" newsletter reported that the recent "upset subscribers canceling" had yet to be factored into the subscriber count. Four days after the Royal Rumble, WWE announced a new promotion for the WWE Network where new subscribers could watch for free for the month of February. In February 2015, WWE held a poll on WWE.com asking if fans thought Bryan or Reigns was more deserving of headlining WrestleMania 31; following more than 33,000 votes, 86% of votes went to Bryan. Also in that month, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon responded to #CancelWWENetwork in a conference call, saying that the controversy was good for WWE. McMahon labelled it as a vocal minority upset that "the babyface did not win" and "Santa Claus didn't come on that PPV", but he expected those who complained to continue watching WWE anyway.
WWE had to postpone the post-Rumble "Raw" from Hartford, Connecticut due to the January 2015 nor'easter, marking the first time WWE had to cancel a scheduled "Raw" taping since the Chris Benoit double-murder and suicide and the first time "Raw" had to be moved to another city since 2009. WWE also canceled its scheduled "SmackDown" taping from Boston the following night. WWE decided to have "Raw" come from WWE headquarters in nearby Stamford, Connecticut instead, announcing it would hold a live "SmackDown" on Thursday from Hartford, honoring tickets that would be used for "Raw", while allowing fans in Boston to either exchange their tickets for an upcoming house show on June 27 or obtaining a full refund. The post-Rumble "Raw" showed the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match and the main event of the Royal Rumble, albeit with commercial breaks. Seth Rollins, Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman, Roman Reigns, and Daniel Bryan did in-studio interviews with several WWE announcers, such as Michael Cole, Renee Young and Byron Saxton, while Dean Ambrose "walked" to WWE headquarters from Hartford due to the statewide 9 PM travel ban.
Although Curtis Axel being unable to participate in the Rumble match was not unprecedented, the fact that Axel was not eliminated (having never officially entered the match) ended up trended on Twitter following the event, and also received supportive tweets from former WWE wrestlers Lance Storm and Tommy Dreamer, and then later from current WWE wrestlers Xavier Woods, Zack Ryder, and David Otunga, the latter offering his legal services. This led to an angle where he began referring to himself as "the true winner" of the Royal Rumble, claiming that he still had not been eliminated from the match and that he thus deserved a match with Lesnar at WrestleMania 31 for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. This also led to Axel starting his own hashtag (#AxelMania). Instead of facing Brock Lesnar, Axel participated in the second annual André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 31, but was the first wrestler eliminated after the majority of the field threw him out of the ring.
Results.
Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations.
A new entrant came out approximately every 90 seconds.
<templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" />  – Winner
References.
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />