Is Roman Reigns' Universal Championship Reign The New Triple H Reign Of Terror?
WrestleMania 38 is in the books and at the mega-event, Roman Reigns got the last laugh in his feud with Brock Lesnar as he defeated the WWE champion and walked out with two world titles resting on his shoulders.
Historically, Lesnar was the only adversary Reigns just could not beat cleanly but this time around, Reigns did so and sent the Beast packing, even after suffering an injury. As of right now, Reigns is peerless, uniquely dominant and despite being a heel, he is pushed as the biggest star in the company.
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His initial run as a villainous character was widely praised and rightfully so as the character of the Tribal Chief was a breath of fresh air in the company and for the most part, Reigns worked this character to near-perfection, cementing a concrete identity and standing head and shoulders above his peers in terms of charisma and character but he has now held the world title for over two years and his rise to the stardom had elevated no one else but himself.
Reigns Has Smashed Everyone
After two years of holding the title hostage, Reigns has no viable contenders left to feud with. Cody Rhodes is certainly an option and the company might build up a few other wrestlers in order to feed him to Reigns but common wisdom predicts that Reigns will almost definitely hold the title until a feud with The Rock.
More importantly, no one on the entire roster, apart from Lesnar, is a credible threat to Reigns. After all, if Brock Lesnar could not beat him, who else can?
The dominance of Roman Reigns has drawn comparisons to Triple H and his stranglehold over RAW back in the 2000s. The "Reign Of Terror" is infamous in WWE lore as Triple H dominated the main-event scene and buried one championship contender after another and while he lost the belt from time to time, with his losses to Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit, The Game was always at the top of the mountain and a class apart in comparison to the rest.
Unstoppable Heels Can Book Wrestlers Into A Corner
A monster heel is often appreciated in the world of wrestling but fans vehemently despised the Reign of Terror and it still stands out today as one of the most awful time periods in the history of RAW. Roman Reigns is treading dangerously close to that territory and might even surpass it as unlike Triple H, the Tribal Chief has not demonstrated even a single moment of vulnerability for almost two years, while Triple H had a few foils in Benoit and Michaels.
Both Triple H and Reigns were leaders of a faction, such as the Bloodline and Evolution and both had a mentor figure in Ric Flair and Paul Heyman, respectively. Even the style of promos are pretty similar as Roman Reigns demands acknowledgments while Triple H was fond of cutting long promos at the start of the show, declaring that he was the best in the world and nobody else could do what he did inside the ring.
Finally, despite being the biggest heels in the industry, both Reigns and Triple H were presented and pushed as the biggest stars in the company, always protected as they were hand-picked by the boss himself, Vince McMahon.
Who Has Roman Reigns' Reign Help Build In WWE?
Batista turning on Triple H still stands out as one of the best babyface turns in history as Triple H was loathed by the fans and Batista taking him out and defeating him at WrestleMania instantly made him a massive star. Moreover, Randy Orton somewhat benefited from his feud with Triple H as well. Backstage problems hampered his push but Orton was certainly a much bigger deal after his feud with Triple H.
RELATED: Were There Some Positives To Triple H's Reign Of Terror On WWE RAW?Meanwhile, Reigns has helped build up absolutely nobody. In fact, he has run over the same people he beat up during his atrocious babyface run a few years ago and said superstars never really had a chance against him. From Kevin Owens to Daniel Bryan to Seth Rollins, not a single superstar benefitted from a feud with Reigns as the company is still adamant on presenting him as a near-perfect competitor, at the expense of almost everyone else.
In Some Ways, Reigns Is A Step Beyond Triple H
Triple H was surrounded by legitimate stars in Evolution, wrestlers on the cusp of stardom such as Batista and Randy Orton and both went to attain massive success once they broke off. Meanwhile, as much as the Usos have improved in terms of character and intensity, neither one of them will ever come close to dethroning Reigns as their cousin is on a completely different level and always will be.
With Reigns commanding absolute loyalty from the Usos, the dynamic of the stable turned stale pretty quickly as there is no foreshadowing that either cousin will stand up to Reigns. Evolution was super dominant but the cracks in the stable presented another storyline just waiting to develop. Simply put, Triple H was surrounded by partners, while Reigns is surrounded by lackeys.
RELATED: The Bloodline: 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Anoa'i FamilyRoman ReIgns might hold onto that title for another year and as big of a star he is, a possible three-year title reign is absolutely nauseating in the current landscape of the company. Not to mention, another year of dominance will consequently regress the entire roster several times over and once Reigns retires from the sport, the rest of the wrestlers will remain in his shadow for years to come.
Despite all the faults with Triple H and his booking during 2002-2005, he was never bigger than the business himself and in the end, the Game did his job and put over Batista like a billion bucks.
Reigns is becoming bigger than the industry but not organically like Rock, Austin and Hogan did. Rather, the never-ending push hinges on a lot of hyperbole and artificial hype, benefitting no one but Reigns himself. Triple H was a few steps ahead of the roster but Reigns is in another galaxy entirely.
We are in the reign of terror part two and unfortunately, there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
