Lesnar–Reigns rivalry

Brock Lesnar (left) and Roman Reigns (right)

The Brock Lesnar–Roman Reigns rivalry was a professional wrestling rivalry in the 2010s and 2020s.

Lesnar and Reigns are wrestlers signed to WWE, who have starred in the main event of WrestleMania the most times with three, all for a world title: first at WrestleMania 31 for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, then at WrestleMania 34 for the WWE Universal Championship and then at WrestleMania 38 for both titles.

Beginnings of the rivalry (2015-2016)

At Royal Rumble, Lesnar successfully defended the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against John Cena and Seth Rollins in an intense triple threat, while Reigns was the winner of the Royal Rumble match despite loud boos from the Philadelphia crowd due to the early elimination of the favorite Daniel Bryan, earning him a main event title match against Lesnar at WrestleMania 31. On the February 2 episode of Raw, at the insistence of The Authority to address the controversial victory, Reigns agreed to put his opportunity on the line in a match at Fastlane. Later in the night, Daniel Bryan defeated Seth Rollins to earn the right to face Reigns at the event. At Fastlane, Reigns defeated Bryan to secure his title shot against Lesnar at WrestleMania.

Shortly before Wrestlemania, it was recognized in the storyline that Lesnar's contract was set to expire not long after. However, amid speculation that he would return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Lesnar announced the signing of a new contract with WWE and his retirement from mixed martial arts.

On March 29 at WrestleMania, when Reigns was about to defeat Lesnar, Rollins appears to cash in his Money in the Bank contract in what was described as "The Heist of the Century", turning the match into a triple threat, which Reigns was defeated when Rollins pinned him.

On the January 11, 2016 episode of Raw, Lesnar reappeared on the schedule after three months attacking The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods), Sheamus, Alberto Del Rio, King Barrett, Rusev and Kevin Owens before applying an F-5 to Reigns, who previously successfully retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Sheamus. At Royal Rumble, both Reigns and Lesnar were participants in the royal battle; neither took the victory as Lesnar was eliminated by Bray Wyatt and Reigns by the eventual winner Triple H, also taking the title that was at stake. The feud between the two wrestlers was reignited on February 25 when Stephanie McMahon announced a triple threat match including Dean Ambrose, Reigns' former partner in The Shield, for Fastlane whose winner would face Triple H for the title at WrestleMania 32. Over the next few weeks, Ambrose and Reigns teamed up – momentarily – to take on Lesnar. On February 22 at Fastlane, Reigns took the victory over Lesnar and Ambrose, pinning the latter with a Spear to earn himself a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the second consecutive year at WrestleMania, ultimately defeating Triple H. to become a new champion.

Duels for the Universal Championship (2017-2018)

On the June 19, 2017 episode of Raw, Reigns challenged the holder of the WWE Universal Championship en route to SummerSlam, before being attacked by Braun Strowman costing him his match against Samoa Joe. Lesnar, in the same period, returned to WWE programming after his victory at WrestleMania 33 to defend the championship against Joe, while Reigns maintained a strong rivalry with Strowman heading to the event Great Balls of Fire. At the event, Strowman defeated Reigns, but Reigns then locked him in the ambulance and crashed into a truck, severely injuring Strowman, and then Lesnar defeated Joe to retain the WWE Universal Championship. On the July 24 episode of Raw, before Raw General Manager Kurt Angle could announce who would face Lesnar at SummerSlam, he was interrupted by Reigns, Strowman and Joe to declare their intentions to be in that match. Angle then scheduled a Fatal 4-Way match for the event, and the three men then got into a feud, which had to be stopped by the roster. On August 20 at SummerSlam, Lesnar defeated Reigns, Strowman and Joe in a tough match by reversing Reigns' Spear into an F-5 to defend the title and incidentally his stay and that of his manager Paul Heyman in WWE.

Confrontation between Lesnar and Reigns before their match for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 34.

In 2018, Lesnar and Reigns resumed their one-on-one rivalry for the WWE Universal Championship heading to WrestleMania 34. This, after Shinsuke Nakamura chose to fight for the WWE Championship due to his status as the winner of the Royal Rumble, and Kurt Angle announced that the winner of the Elimination Chamber match of the Raw brand in the Elimination Chamber would be Lesnar's title challenger. In this last event, Reigns took the victory after eliminating Braun Strowman, thus earning a match against Lesnar at WrestleMania 34. However, Reigns was suspended (kayfabe) for making uploaded comments regarding Lesnar and WWE. Seven days later, Reigns was arrested by the United States Marshals for trespassing after trespassing on Raw despite his suspension. While engaging in a brawl with the marshals, Reigns was attacked by Lesnar. Already on the night of WrestleMania, both faced each other in a match that, compared to the one they had three years ago, was panned by fans and critics alike, with Lesnar taking the victory with several F-5 to a bloody Reigns. In April 2018, it was announced that Lesnar would defend the title against Reigns in a rematch at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia, this time in a steel cage match. At the event, Lesnar retained the title after Reigns speared him through the cage, accidentally giving him the win.

After Reigns defeated Bobby Lashley in a match to define the #1 contender for the WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam, he reignited his feud with Lesnar. On the August 13 episode of Raw, after calling out Lesnar and Heyman for a confrontation, the latter ended up pepper spraying Reigns, allowing Lesnar to attack him. Reigns was finally able to defeat Lesnar to become the new champion, thus ending Lesnar's 504 day reign. After Lesnar interfered in Reigns and Braun Strowman's match at Hell in a Cell, a triple threat match was scheduled for Crown Jewel. But, on the October 22 Raw, Reigns vacated the title and announced that he would be taking time out of the ring, revealing that his leukemia had returned after 11 years of private wrestling.

End of rivalry (2021-2022)

In August 2021, after Reigns retained the WWE Universal Championship he had held for almost a year at SummerSlam, he faced a returning Lesnar in his first appearance with a new look since WrestleMania 36 in April 2020. A new chapter of this rivalry began, only that Lesnar was a face wrestler, and Reigns was a heel wrestler and Paul Heyman was accompanying Reigns. On the September 10 episode of SmackDown, Lesnar appeared again to confront Reigns and claimed that Heyman knew something about his return at SummerSlam in an attempt to cause lawsuits between the two. Lesnar then challenged Heyman to accept a title match against Reigns at Crown Jewel, who reluctantly ended up accepting. At the event, Reigns successfully defended the title with the help of The Usos after hitting Lesnar with the title belt. Days later on SmackDown, Lesnar, frustrated by the loss at Crown Jewel, decided to attack The Bloodline, other wrestlers on the roster, and security personnel. Following this, he was suspended indefinitely by WWE official Adam Pearce, whom he attacked with an F-5 before being fined $1 million.

On the November 26 episode of SmackDown, Sami Zayn won a battle royal to become Reigns' #1 title contender. However, immediately after the match, it was announced that Lesnar's suspension had been lifted and that he will return next week. Lesnar then convinced Zayn to face Reigns for the title that same night, announcing afterward that the winner would defend the WWE Universal Championship against himself at the Day 1 event. However, before the match, Lesnar attacked Zayn, allowing Reigns to easily retain the title and secure a rematch. On the December 17 episode, Reigns unexpectedly fires Heyman as his special advisor as he claimed to be responsible for Lesnar's return, attacking him with a Superman Punch. When The Bloodline was about to break Heyman's neck with a chair, Lesnar appears to save him.

The match between the two was canceled from the event due to Reigns testing positive for COVID-19. Lesnar, meanwhile, is added to the Fatal 5-Way match for the WWE Championship between Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Bobby Lashley and the champion Big E. Lesnar ended up winning the match and the title for the sixth time in his career. On the following Raw, Lesnar met with Paul Heyman, who announced that the first contender for the title would be determined by a fatal four-way match between the same four men he defeated on Day 1. Despite Lesnar losing the title to Lashley thanks to Reigns' interference, all was not lost for him, deciding to enter the Royal Rumble match and win it a second time. Lesnar challenged Reigns to a title match at WrestleMania 38 for the WWE Universal Championship, although he also reaffirmed his stance that he would also go for the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber, which he managed to get. The match was then announced to be a Winner Takes All match, marking the third time in history that the two superstars would go head-to-head at WrestleMania and the first time two world titles were on the line in the same match. In the main event of night 2 of WrestleMania, Reigns was victorious, thus unifying both championships to form the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

On the June 17 episode of SmackDown, Reigns successfully defended the titles against Riddle. Moments later, Lesnar reappears to offer him a handshake, although it was all a ruse to attack him and The Usos, wanting to enforce his rematch clause. A match between Reigns and Lesnar for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship was announced at SummerSlam under the Last Man Standing match stipulation. Reigns won the match after placing pieces of the broadcast table over Lesnar's body to prevent him from breaking the referee's count, maintaining his reign as undisputed champion. This would mark the end of a historic feud.

References

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